uMA cHATTERJEE
I am a post graduate in Applied Clinical Psychology from the University of Delhi. I have started multiple organisations throughout my life - Sanjog – a social impact organisation for emancipation of survivors of sexual violence and slavery, to Change Mantras, a leadership development firm which looks at various paradigms of the essence of leadership and followership. My passion lies in looking at individual and social justice, authentic participation in life journeys, exploring ally-ship and enabling survivor leadership through research, practice and policy.
A compassionate leader is how many of my colleagues describe me. While I hold strong convictions about my views and do not hesitate to make unconventional choices in life, I am equally empathetic to people who have different views and beliefs than my own.
I am recognised most for my work with young women and men in India who have survived gender violence, human trafficking and caste exploitation. I have invested a better part of the last decade fostering and mentoring the youth to mobilise, collectivise and organise themselves - to connect with each other and support themselves to heal and emancipate. ‘Empowerment cannot be bestowed by the privileged to disadvantaged, nor can saviours and crusaders rescue the fallen. The best way to heal the hurt is to listen and share, our vulnerabilities, our fears and anxieties, and those parts of us which we feel ashamed to reveal, even to ourselves’, I often say.
A mother of a teenage daughter, I see how, in so many ways, my daughter’s context, peer culture and worldview is different from mine. At the same time, the connect between my own mother, myself and my daughter, in our desires, our struggles and our hopes as women connects our worlds. Many of my stances as an activist and policy advocate often trigger debates, dilemmas and evoke "grey" conversations on identity, gender and, sexuality. For it is in the messy grey areas, where we find complexity, compassion and the truth. That I am certain of.