Young Feminism, vodcasts that question society

DW Akademie and Goethe-Institut Bangladesh have started a project with young feminists. 

Chittagong University selected two students, Romana Akthar Shanta and Mohammad Jawad Hossain, from their Communication and Journalism program to interview Esha Aurora, a journalists and feminist herself, and Tasnuva Ahmed, a broadcast media personality and gender equality promoter. 

Feminism and its definitions are constantly evolving. The vodcast discusses what Millennials and Generation Z think about this and which topics really matter to them.

The Young Feminism vodcast is insightful, casual, and easy to absorb. It talks about the ever-evolving challenges women have to face every day of their lives.

The guests at Young Feminism greatly challenge much of the outdated mentality society has towards women. They beautifully illustrate their own experiences and reasons that got them into feminism in the first place.

It is important to tell stories that are unheard – especially for the male counterparts who rarely get exposed to feminism.

This vodcast caters to both men and women. It is just as important to reach out to men about these issues, since patriarchy affects everyone in the society.

Topics the vodcast talked about include the law and how it treats rapists, victim blaming, racism, religion, gender violence, democracy, socio economics, and mental health, since feminism is also tied up with these concepts. 

Women barely know that they have rights. Sometimes culture ingrains abuse so meticulously that it seems like the norm. People as a society just accept oppression as a norm – and this is where the vodcast challenges its audience to deprogram themselves and unlearn the toxic mindset.

One of the guests, Tasnuva Ahmed, founder and chairperson of Thought Makers Ltd, talks about her work on “Power Women” where she covers seemingly ordinary women that break stereotypes everyday through their actions, professions, and merely their existence. 

Girls in Bangladesh need good role models, and it is extremely important that these girls get to know about these bold women. 

“We need to be able to look at women as people first and their gender second otherwise there is always inequality and gender disparity in society,” thinks Esha Aurora, assistant news editor at the Dhaka Tribune.   

Young Feminism will hopefully help a lot of younger girls to realize their potential and show that there are other ways of existing beyond the one mold society has tried to force them into. 

The very first vodcast episode of Torun Naribadi just got released on Goethe-Institut Bangladesh’s YouTube channel. A short version is available on Deutsche Welle Bengali’s Facebook page.