Social activist and actor Mona Ambegaonkar on crime against women, child welfare and environment

Mona Ambegaonkar, Bollywood, TV and theater actor is also a social activist. In recent years, Mona has been very active politically. She has also raised her voice for child welfare and animal protection. She doesn’t have an active career in electoral politics but she has been doing social work for 8 years with the Humsafar Trust. It is India’s oldest LGBTQ organization which does outreach work in gender awareness and sensitization of human rights and health issues primarily for LGBTQ communities. Mona also uses theatre of performing art as a tool to spread awareness. She works with villages, corporate entities and educational networks.  

The Movement: Mona has been a part of the attempt to stop the government from destroying the Aarey Milk Colony which is a forest buffer zone in Sanjay Gandhi National Park. It is the only park in India which is within the city limits (Mumbai). The park is full of wildlife including tigers, leopards, jaguars etc. All these animals are grade A protected wildlife across the world. Destroying Aarey Milk Colony can generate a lot of revenue for the government but at what cost? Killing certain animal species which are endangered. Mona and her team are fighting with the government for the last 3 years. 

Plays: Mona’s work in cinema, television or theater is mostly aligned with social issues. Currently she is working on “Ek Madhav Baug” which is about homosexuality and acceptance of gay community. She is also working on “Vagina Monolog”. This award winning play fights for women rights (HT Article). The performance has been played in India for 16 years to create awareness about physical and mental assaults. In another play “Mahua” talks about tribal rights and protecting forests. Tribal people are pressured and their lands are snatched away for coal and wood. 

Mona Ambegaonkar with the team of Ek Madhav Baug (source) 

Crime Against Women: Recent rape incidents in India have made a lot of noise at national and international levels. Rapes and molestation incidents happen at regular intervals but due to high profile involvement, some recent cases have received major attention. Nirbhaya incident brought everyone together which not only contributed in government change but also forced the government to establish Nirbhaya fund. Four years later, the funds are still unused and rape/molestation incidents are still making headlines. In a recent development, POCSO act was amended allowing death penalty to those convicted of raping children upto the age of 12. According to 2005 data, a woman is molested every 20 minutes, raped every 30 minutes and killed every 90 minutes. With increasing population, these figures might have multiplied. The investigation and conviction process become complicated when the government represents and protects people involved in the crime against women. Some cases are withdrawn out of pressure and some other last decades. But the crime chart keeps on rising higher. 

Why do we have to protest everytime? Mona is also a fan of Swati Maliwal who was on hunger strike against child rape. After 10 days of her fast, government brought the ordinance and amended the POCSO act. With the opinion divided on the amendment, Mona pointed out government failure in introducing fast track courts and time bound judgements. She is skeptical about the outcomes of amendment but a bit relaxed that the government did something after all. An ideal day for a citizen would be when the government will be sensitive to every issue related to them. It is a shame for the government of any country if the people have to hit the streets every time there is an injustice. 

Will there be a march under Indian Flag for this child? @SwatiJaiHind fasts to make sure such #Rapist vermin are hung in 6 months. Join her. https://t.co/vyluEVD5Of

— Mona Ambegaonkar (@MonaAmbegaonkar) April 21, 2018

The Solution to Problems: Apart from increased crime against women, corruption, joblessness, inflation, there exists many other problems in India. Also the path to implementing solutions for each of these problems is not very straight all the time. These issues can be eradicated gradually by changing the people who rule India and educate the masses who vote in India. Replacing the authorities can be done in a short amount of time but making voters aware will require great efforts. People need to come forward and educate each other about their rights and duties. In the process, education plays a very important role. Even if we can't completely reform the mindset of current voters, we can certainly enlighten future voters by giving them the right education. And the disappointing part is that the right education policies are in the hands of ministers of the ruling party.

In short, if we teach each other our basic right and duties and vote for only the educated and deserving candidates, a positive change will not be very far.

AAP, a hope and Example: Ever since AAP government came into power, they are continuously working on improving education, health, infrastructure and environment. With quality education they are trying to develop a more aware future generation; better health services are providing a worry free environment; and a revised infrastructure is making sure the economy is growing with a sustainable environment. 

Keeping in mind the vision for a better India, please come forward to know your rights and vote for an educated and deserving candidates beyond the limitations of religion and caste politics.

AAP USA chapter organizes a weekly conference call every Sunday at noon 12:00PM EST. More details about the call and the guest can be found at @aapchat (https://twitter.com/aapchat).