In India, the lockdown and the associated stress and anxiety have exacerbated the levels of
frustration, mental-health issues and gender-based violence. A steep increase in the number of
domestic violence cases has been alarming. Many women have been locked in their houses
with their abusers and no means of seeking help. At a time like this, when it is paramount to
work to provide a safe space to women in danger, Aambra foundation’s flagship project
SheSpeaks has taken the initiative of launching a helpline to offer mental and emotional support
to adolescent girls and women in distress. This helpline also specifically deals with providing
support and help to women facing domestic violence.
On the auspicious day of India’s 74th Independence Day, the SheSpeaks Sashakta toll free
helpline and a global campaign ‘Lend a Ear and Extend a Hand’ were launched at 4pm using an
online platform. This event was attended by various dignitaries and well-wishers such as Dr.
Dnyaneshwar Manohar Mulay (Former Diplomat in the Indian Foreign Services and current
member of the National Human Rights Commission of India), Ms. Nishtha Satyam (Deputy
Country Representative & Officer in Charge, UN Women India), Ms. Ira Singhal (Deputy
Commissioner North MCD), Padmashri Shobana (Indian film actress and accomplished Bharata
Natyam dancer), Dr. Anil Jauhri (Former Chief Executive Officer for National Accreditation
Board for Certification Bodies and currently the lead Evaluator for International Accreditation
Forum (IAF) as well an honorary member of Yoga and Naturopathy Certification Board of
ministry of AYUSH), Ms Nisha Jamwal (Celebrity Columnist and Social Entrepreneur) along with
Ms Vinita Bakshi (Founder and President of Aambra Foundation) and Mr. Sandeep Bhargava
(Advisory Board Member, SheSpeaks). However, Ms. Nishtha Satyam (Deputy Country
Representative & Officer-in-Charge, UN Women India) could not join the launch event due to
connectivity issues.
The inauguration ceremony began with honouring the Indian flag and singing the National
Anthem. Followed by this, there was a brief introduction by the event’s compere Ms. Sangeeta
Sanju, highlighting the need for the helpline and explaining the flow of the event. Ms. Sangeeta
addressed the current statistics like women being victims to crime every 3 minutes in India
(National Crime Records Bureau of India) which threw light on the startling spike in gender-
based violence and the urgent need for hope, change and empowerment. Following this, Ms.
Vinita Bakshi, the Founder and President of Aambra Foundation, addressed the attendees. She
spoke about the continuous need for women empowerment and the aim of the SheSpeaks
project to give a voice to issues related to women and celebrate their strengths. She
emphasized the need for society to unite and battle abuse and domestic violence to the best of
their capacities. Followed by Ms. Vinita’s passionate and empowering address, the illustrious
history of SheSpeaks organization, its associations with various influential individuals and past
initiatives were discussed briefly to set the context for the inauguration. After the Founder’s
note, there was a short lamp lighting ceremony to invoke blessings and create an auspicious
atmosphere before the official launch of the SheSpeaks Sashakta helpline by chief guest Dr.
Dnyaneshwar Mulay.
After the official launch of the SheSpeaks Sashakta toll-free helpline, there was a brief address
by Padmashri Shobhana, accomplished actress and Bhartnatyam dancer. She expressed her
heartfelt support and admiration for the SheSpeaks helpline initiative. She mentioned the stigma
still associated with seeking help and the urgent need for dissemination of information. She
highlighted the need to provide valuable advice to those seeking help from the helpline by
acknowledging their courage and connecting them to all relevant channels of help. She spoke
about the diverse manifestations of harassment and the need to also empower and reach
women who are unable to reach the helpline and get help themselves due to various reasons.
After Padmashri Shobhana’s address, the chief guest Dr. Dnyaneshwar Mulay, Member of the
Human Rights Commission of India, addressed the event. He mentioned how, though India
achieved independence in 1947, there is still a long way to go for us to be completely
independent. Speaking from his experience of working in Human Rights, he spoke about how
each individual has a Right to Life, Liberty, Dignity and Equity. Until we have made sure that
each individual has these rights, true freedom cannot be realized. He recognized the
SheSpeaks Sashakta Helpline as a step towards establishing this true freedom. He emphasized
the need for society to start taking small steps in the journey to becoming independent as a
Nation. He talked about how the women of India are neglected even though Indian culture
worships Goddesses. There is a need, in today’s independent and developing world, to give
women their due rights to live freely and without fear in their own country. Dr. Mulay
emphasized the need for the community to come together as a whole as no one agency can do
it alone, neither the public nor the government. He expressed his appreciation and support for
this initiative by SheSpeaks and Aambra Foundation, especially in these times of COVID-19.
After Dr. Dnyaneshwar Mulay’s inspiring talk, there was a speech by Ms. Ira Singhal, an Indian
Administrative Service officer currently serving as Deputy Commissioner North MCD and the
first physically challenged woman to top the Civil Services Examination of the country. She
expressed her appreciation for the helpline providing a voice to women, an otherwise repressed
group in society. Ms. Ira spoke about how domestic violence complaints increased rapidly with
the onset of the pandemic and initially, went relatively unnoticed. She mentioned how, during
the pandemic, many victims of domestic abuse had been locked in with their abusers and had
no respite from the violence and constant mental pressure. She also brought up an interesting
point about how the pandemic had bought to notice abuse even in cases where it was otherwise
subtle or unnoticed. Women who were subjected to small doses of subtle abuse noticed that
they were being abused only due to the extended hours with their abuser. The increased
frustration in families due to the lockdown is often directed towards women, the perceived
weakest link in the family, and all the abuse and negativity is usually borne by them. Ms. Ira
spoke about how common and internalized violence has become for women with demands like
being ‘flexible’ and ‘easily adjustable’ being forced on them. Women are expected to suffer and
this expectation must be changed n to empower these women to seek help and it is our duty, as
a society, to follow through and actually help these women to remove themselves from their
abusive situations.
Followed by this talk, Mr. Sandeep Bhargava,an Advisory Board Member of SheSpeaks,
provided a detailed technical explanation of how the helpline is going to work. He explained the
flow of the helpline and the automatic process of storing basic information about the clients to
aid in their service. He described the role of the counselors, bilingual provision of service in
Hindi and English, the two channels being provided- mental health and domestic violence and
also, the system of referral to qualified professionals when required. Ms. Vinita Bakshi also
added that the helpline is a toll-free number and the cost of these calls is being borne by the
foundation currently. The foundation also welcomed donations from anybody desiring to
contribute to the betterment of society.
Following this, Ms. Nisha Jamvwal, Celebrity columnist and Social Entrepreneur, addressed the
event. She praised the SheSpeaks helpline for being the need of the hour and emphasized the
need for using our influence to create awareness and safe spaces for adolescent girls and
women subjected to domestic violence, harassment, molestation and distress. She graciously
offered to help establish systems that would aid in the reduction of crime and violence against
women. She spoke about the need for Indian citizens to band together, now more than ever, to
work on these issues themselves to help elevate India to a global level. She spoke about the
need for role models and more women in the workforce and the efforts required to enable that.
She encouraged the involvement of more men in this movement, the need for them to attack the
prevalent patriarchal structures and come out in support of women. She also brought to the
foreground the need for women to teach their sons respect and good values and also the need
for more men to engage in dialogue about domestic violence.
Lastly, Dr. Anil Jauhri, Lead Evaluator for International Accreditation Forum (IAF) as well as an
honorary member of Yoga and Naturopathy Certification Board of ministry of AYUSH,
addressed the attendees. He expressed his genuine support for the cause by saying that in a
country like India, any amount of empowerment is not enough. He talked about how the
widespread nature of issues like poverty and discrimination against women has the tendency to
make us desensitized to the pain and suffering around us. It is important to consciously
sensitize ourselves to this and work towards eliminating this pain. Through his experience, he
highlighted how even small steps can help make the women in our immediate surroundings feel
safe, respected and skilled.
To conclude the inauguration event, Ms. Vinita Bakshi expressed her sincere gratitude to the
chief guests and well-wishers for their heartfelt support and participation. She concluded with
her feelings on the need to empower and equip women with the necessary legal, judicial, social,
health and psychological resources to have the courage to leave their abusive situations and
abusers who have constantly subjected them to humiliation, degradation and all kinds of abuse.
She emphasized the need to destigmatize seeking help and to encourage more survivors to
empower others by sharing their stories. The awakening of women is incoming and society must
band together to aid them in this journey by destroying the patriarchal tendencies of making
women the quiet, silent sacrificial lambs, subject to incessant abuse and torture. This event and
launch of the helpine were successful in their aim to generate dialogue and help empower
women to break free from the shackles of abuse and subjugation, and develop their own special
identities. The event also conveyed to the attendees and all members of the society, the need to
participate and contribute to the cause in any way they can, be it through direct participation,
donations, spreading the word or even by creating awareness and educating masses about the
cause.
