The December 2012 gang-rape of a paramedical student in Delhi, which sparked public outrage across the country, lit a fire of ambition in Chandni Hemdev, a second- year Media Studies student from Jain University. She decided to do something positive for the safety of women.
She got together with her friends and started Amoksha, an organisation that is actively involved in working against crimes faced by women, especially in Bangalore. “Amoksha is a Sanskrit word meaning, want of freedom,” she says. Before starting Amoksha, Chandni handled public relations for another organisation working for the same cause, prompting her to start one of her own.
“What we do is arrange seminars in various colleges on women’s safety and their rights,” she adds. Recently, Chandni and her friends arranged a rally for women’s safety on the busy Mahatma Gandhi Road. The rally was followed by cultural programmes, such as street plays and flash mobs. “It was a grand success. Our professors, parents and students from various colleges in the city took part,” says Chandni.
Chandni, who plans to continue working with the organisation, says, “I want to work further on such issues. It is easy to say that the Government is not bothered about women’s safety. I don’t want to play the blame game sitting at home. I want to show that there are people who are concerned and youngsters have the power to bring about change.”
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