Ankita Shah: We Need To Unlearn Unfair Practices That We Have Normalised

A speaker at the TEDxGatewaySalon,Ankita Shah co-founded The Poetry Club almost 6 years back.Shah worked as a tax consultant at Ernst & Young, and spends her weekends organising poetry gatherings and performing at open mics and slams. She is currently working as Manager of Program and Development at G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture. Ankita spoke about how women can support other women and why it’s important in times like ours where we are constantly pitted against each other.

Ankita believes that her mother has raised her very differently from her own upbringing which was guided by a lot of patriarchal values. She told HerZindagi in an interview that "I wanted to use that example to inspire other women and talk about little acts of support that we could extend to each other to empower each other and make this movement less difficult."

Speaking on platforms like TEDx in India, Ankita believes the more the merrier as more people can express and share.

"Of course, we always need more platform – places that allow people to speak, to express what they feel are always important for any community to grow and be more inclusive. It is the only way we will learn from each other, allow new perspectives to enter the traditional ways of understanding and living lives. We need more platforms and ways in which we can tell stories that inspire, that empower other people."

What were the problems that you faced in your profession? Something you would like to share with our women readers?

My journey as a woman has been just like other women, where I’ve experienced many of the discriminatory, biased behaviours of other people. I’ve learnt that it is extremely important to have support systems that are truly supporting your growth and not the growth of problematic traditions/norms that don’t really help anyone. These support systems can be family, your partner, your office best friend, your school teacher etc.

The decision for me to move from tax consultancy to arts was a tough one but my mother’s tendency to not interfere too much in my life and trusting me on my decisions was what helped me sail through it. All of us women must really hold on to those women who empower us, recognise their contributions and find other women in our lives who we could be of such help.

As far as problems in my profession are concerned, they’re similar to any other – not being heard, not being given the chance to speak, having men overpower the whole conversation, feeling of entitlement that comes from men at some points and such. There is a lot of training that we need to include in professional spaces to sensitise people and unlearn unfair practices that we have normalised.

Poetry is an art and not all have the gift. Being a Tax consultant, how did this happen?

I was writing poetry since I was in college and had a brief encounter with it when I was school too. I have always deeply connected to poetry. So, when it came to expressing what I wanted to say, poetry came naturally and without inhibitions. It was the space where I could say everything I wanted to say and yet sometimes not say everything. It was a beautiful space. I think the question should be how did tax consultancy happen? It’s one of the things that I thought could help keep me afloat while I pursued my creative projects. It was also the best of the options I had – doctor, engineer etc. Our education system hadn’t really given so much importance to what arts can do and what we could do in the arts. It is changing slowly now.

Don't Miss:Vidhya Subramanian: Art Forms Get Respect But Not Enough Money!

How do you use The Poetry Club to reach people? Has it helped?

The Poetry Club was mainly to encourage an exchange of conversations, feedback, criticism so that the poetry community and poetry itself could grow. We reached out to more people because as a collective, you tend to get people’s attention. So, whether it was public performances, or workshops or such programs, we brought the best of the poets we knew to read their work here and it really helped them find new audiences, expand their reach and some of them have even been able to get major writing projects through our initiative.

Recommended Video

A message for our women readers?

Support other women – we all are growing because of each other’s growth and successes. Incredible things are waiting for us, and the world is ready to correct its injustice – there could not have been a better time to ask for what you really want, and you think you deserve.