Farah Naqvi
{{Short description|Indian writer and feminist activist}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Farah Naqvi
| image = FarahNaqvi.jpg
| alma_mater = Columbia University
| known_for = Women’s Rights, Policy Work, and Human Rights Activism
}}
Farah Naqvi is an Indian feminist, writer, educator, consultant, and activist known for her significant contributions to justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her work primarily addresses the equity and inclusion of marginalized groups within public policies, education, development, gender justice, and efforts to combat violence against women.{{Cite web |last=PTI |date=2012-09-17 |title=Government reconstitutes National Advisory Council |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2012/Jun/29/government-reconstitutes-national-advisory-council-381909.html |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=The New Indian Express }}
In 2010, Naqvi was appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the National Advisory Council (NAC), which was chaired by Indian National Congress president Sonia Gandhi.{{Cite web |date=2010-06-01 |title=PM nominates 14 members for NAC |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi/pm-nominates-14-members-for-nac/story-shrcdqmEmLqxiuSMsNtSyH.html |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Hindustan Times }} She also co-founded Nirantar, a women's rights organization that promotes a gender and women's rights perspective in education. For her extensive work, Naqvi was honored with the Human Rights Award by the Delhi Minorities Commission in 2019.{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Maktoob |date=2020-06-09 |title=Maktoob journalist Shaheen Abdulla wins Delhi Minorities Commission Award |url=http://maktoobmedia.com/india/maktoob-journalist-shaheen-abdulla-wins-delhi-minorities-commission-award/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Maktoob media }}
Career and activism
= Public policy =
In 2010, Naqvi was appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the National Advisory Council (NAC), chaired by Sonia Gandhi. She was re-appointed to the council in subsequent years, and remained a member of NAC till the change of government in 2014. She convened the NAC working groups on Strengthening the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, Inclusion of Domestic Workers in Sexual Harassment at Workplace Legislation, Scheduled Caste (SCSP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP).{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2012-10-26 |title=Sonia's NAC wants professional expertise in SC Commission |url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/sonia-s-nac-wants-professional-expertise-in-sc-commission-18356.html |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=www.indiatvnews.com }}{{Cite news |date=2011-11-07 |title=NAC suggests Dalit sub-Plan, law to monitor schemes under it |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/nac-suggests-dalit-sub-plan-law-to-monitor-schemes-under-it/articleshow/10642335.cms |access-date=2024-04-24 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}
She co-convened the NAC working groups on Right to Education, Improving Sex Ratio at Birth, Minorities Development, and Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence. Amendments to the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Ac
She served as:
- Member, Post-Sachar Evaluation Committee (Kundu Committee), Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India (2013–2014).{{Cite web |title=Committee to Evaluate Sachar Committee Recommendations' Implementation Constituted:Holds First Meeting |url=https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=98835 |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=pib.gov.in}}{{Cite web |date=2013-08-12 |title=After Sachar,govt plans panel to review progress |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/after-sachar-govt-plans-panel-to-review-progress/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=The Indian Express }}
- Member, (Government of India) Planning Commission Steering Committee on Empowerment of Minorities, for India's 12th five-year plan (2011–2012).{{Cite journal |last=Naqvi |first=Farah |date=2019-04-03 |title=Accumulation by Segregation |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09584935.2019.1613285 |journal=Contemporary South Asia |language=en |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=286–289 |doi=10.1080/09584935.2019.1613285 |issn=0958-4935|url-access=subscription }}
- Member, (Government of India) Planning Commission Steering Committee for Women and Child Development, for the 11th five-year plan (2007–2008).
- Member, (Government of India) Planning Commission Working Group on Adolescents’ Development & Youth Affairs, 11th Five Year Plan (2007–2008).
- In 2013 she was appointed to the National Integration Council.{{Cite web |title=List of NIC Members |url=https://mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/FINAL-LISTOfNIC-2013MEMBERS.pdf |website=Ministry of Home Affairs}}
= Women’s rights =
In 1993, she and four colleagues founded Nirantar, a women's rights group, to foreground a gender and women rights lens in education. Nirantar published Pitara, a Hindi feminist magazine (1994–2010), writing simply for neo-literate readers in India's rural hinterland.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-05 |title=Outlook India - India's Best Magazine{{!}} Find Latest News, Top Headlines, Live Updates |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/miscellaneous/the-word-reached-the-fields-news-229581 |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Outlook India }}
Nirantar also started Mahila Dakiya, a rural newspaper run by women from marginalised communities, which in 2002 became Khabar Lahariya. The all-women teams of both Mahila Dakiya and Khabar Lahariya won the Chameli Devi award for Excellence in Journalism in 1996 and 2004 respectively. Writing with Fire, a film on the women journalists of Khabar Lahariya, was nominated for an Oscar in 2022.{{Cite web |last=AC |first=Annie |date=2022-02-15 |title=The origin story of Khabar Lahariya and with it the Oscar nominated 'Writing with Fire' |url=https://nwmindia.org/at-work/independent-journalism/the-origin-story-of-khabar-lahariya-and-with-it-the-oscar-nominated-writing-with-fire/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=NWM India }}{{Cite web |title=Writing from the Margins: The Journey of Khabar Lahariya {{!}} Columbia Global Centers |url=https://globalcenters.columbia.edu/content/writing-from-the-margins |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=globalcenters.columbia.edu}}
Farah Naqvi lead a study for the BBC World Service Trust called ‘Images and Icons’ on using mass media to reduce Sex Selection.{{Cite journal |last=Rahm |first=Laura |date=August 2019 |title=Protect, Track, Emancipate: The Role of Political Masculinities in India's Fight against Sex Selection |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1097184X18768873 |journal=Men and Masculinities |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=529–562 |doi=10.1177/1097184X18768873 |issn=1097-184X|url-access=subscription }} And as NAC member, she continued to push for policy interventions for a wholistic and women's rights approach to the issue of sex selection.{{Cite web |title=NAC calls for national policy to tackle declining child sex ratio |url=https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/nac-calls-for-national-policy-to-tackle-declining-child-sex-ratio-38284 |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=www.downtoearth.org.in }}{{Cite news |last= |date=2012-02-03 |title=Don't trash this law, the fault lies in non-implementation |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/dont-trash-this-law-the-fault-lies-in-nonimplementation/article2858004.ece |access-date=2024-04-24 |work=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X}}
She has worked for over three decades on the issue of sexual and domestic violence against women.{{Cite journal |last=Bezbaruah |first=Vaijayanti |date=2014 |title=Review of Nine Degrees of Justice: New Perspectives on Violence Against Women in India |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43899395 |journal=Indian Anthropologist |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=88–90 |jstor=43899395 |issn=0970-0927}}{{Cite book |url=https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/N/bo16064198.html |title=Nine Degrees of Justice: New Perspectives on Violence Against Women in India |publisher=Seagull Books |editor-last=Datta |editor-first=Bishakha }} She co-authored the Survivors Speak (2002), a fact finding that focussed on the impact the Gujarat 2002 violence had on Muslim women.{{Cite web |date=2002-05-02 |title=Outlook India - India's Best Magazine{{!}} Find Latest News, Top Headlines, Live Updates |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/national/the-survivors-speak-news-215433 |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Outlook India }} And was a member of the International Initiative for Justice (2003), a global panel of gender experts, which produced Threatened Existence: A Feminist analysis of the long-term impact of this violence against women. In 2013, following national outrage about sexual violence in the wake of the Nirbhaya case, Farah Naqvi was an active part of a group of feminists from the women's movement who contributed to the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013 (which changed India's rape laws). [{{Cite news |date=2013-03-06 |title=For the women of India, Parliament must speak |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/for-the-women-of-india-parliament-must-speak/article4482470.ece |access-date=2024-04-24 |work=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X}}][{{Cite web |title=Women's Victory: Justice Verma Committee Report and the Road (...) - Mainstream Weekly |url=https://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article3977.html |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=www.mainstreamweekly.net}}]
= Minority rights =
Farah Naqvi made significant contributions to minority rights in India, including rights of minority women. She provided gender inputs into the work of the seminal Sachar Committee Report (2006), which noted her contribution and was a member of the Kundu Committee (Post-Sachar Evaluation), which submitted its report to the Government in 2014.{{Cite web |publisher=Government of India: Prime Minister’s High Level Committee, Cabinet Secretariat |date=November 2006 |title=Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India: A Report |url=https://minorityaffairs.gov.in/WriteReadData/RTF1984/7830578798.pdf |website=minorityaffairs.gov.in}}
As a member of the Planning Commission Steering Committee on Empowerment of Minorities (2011–12), she pushed for greater outlays.{{Cite news |date=2012-04-23 |title=Will big bucks flow in for minority welfare? |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/will-big-bucks-flow-in-for-minority-welfare/articleshow/12830142.cms |access-date=2024-04-24 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} She also designed and proposed a Central Scheme for the leadership development of minority women, modelled on the Mahila Samakha (MS) programme, and based on her own early experiences of working in Mahila Samakhya. The scheme was rolled out as Nai Roshni: The Scheme for leadership development for Minority Women in 2012–13.
= Internally displaced people =
She has worked extensively on the issue of post-conflict internal displacement through direct work with IDPs, writing, fact-finding, and policy advocacy.{{Cite news |date=2014-01-01 |title=From displacement to disappearance |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/from-displacement-to-disappearance/article5526997.ece |access-date=2024-04-24 |work=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X}}{{Cite news |date=2013-09-17 |title=The chilling familiarity of Muzaffarnagar |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-chilling-familiarity-of-muzaffarnagar/article5138832.ece |access-date=2024-04-24 |work=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X}}{{Cite news |date=2012-08-05 |title=Assam calls for a human response |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/assam-calls-for-a-human-response/article3731625.ece |access-date=2024-04-24 |work=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X}}{{Cite web |date=2011-06-24 |title=Internally displaced persons in NAC draft |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/internally-displaced-persons-in-nac-draft/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=The Indian Express }}
Farah Naqvi brought together 3 partners (Sadbhavna Trust, Vanangana and Hunnarshala Foundation) for a pilot rehabilitation project for internally displaced people after the Muzaffarnagar riots. From 2013 to 2016, they built two housing colonies, designed by the survivors themselves. This initiative was hailed as the first of its kind in India.{{Cite news |date=2016-08-21 |title=Muzaffarnagar riot victims build their homes |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/muzaffarnagar-riot-victims-build-their-homes/articleshow/53800624.cms |access-date=2024-04-24 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}{{Cite news |date=2016-08-13 |title=Houses of harmony for Muzaffarnagar riot victims |url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |work=The Hindu |issn=0971-751X}}{{Cite web |title=The Wire: The Wire News India, Latest News,News from India, Politics, External Affairs, Science, Economics, Gender and Culture |url=http://thewire.in/59359/muzaffarnagar-shamli-rehabilitation/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=thewire.in}}
= Syncretic traditions =
Farah Naqvi also works on and anchors performances based on India’s syncretic and pluralistic cultural traditions.{{Cite news |date=2016-02-06 |title=Urdu, Awadhi, Hindustani blend on stage for marsiya |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/urdu-awadhi-hindustani-blend-on-stage-for-marsiya/articleshow/50872891.cms |access-date=2024-04-26 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}{{Cite web |title=Expressions of Muharram |url=https://bangaloreinternationalcentre.org/event/expressions-of-muharram/ |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=Bangalore International Centre |language=en-GB}}
Films
In 2017 she made The Colour of My Home{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ0zWug3_O0 |title=The Colour of My Home |language=en |access-date=2024-04-24 |via=www.youtube.com}} (In collaboration with the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore. Co-director, Sanjay Barnela), a film set in Muzaffarnagar after the 2013 violence, following the lives of survivors especially women,{{Cite news |date=2019-07-29 |title=International documentaries themed on 'freedom' to be screened in Chennai |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/international-documentaries-themed-on-freedom-to-be-screened-in-chennai/articleshow/70437662.cms |access-date=2024-04-24 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}} violently displaced from their homes and ancestral villages. How do they rebuild new homes and lives, with hearts unable to leave the old one behind? The film is about the idea of home. About remembering and loss. About the power of hope and the will to survive. It was screened at film festivals across India.{{Cite web |date=2019-01-15 |title=THE COLOUR OF MY HOME{{!}}Yeh Mera Ghar. – Lamakaan |url=https://digital.lamakaan.com/index.php/2019/01/15/the-colour-of-my-homeyeh-mera-ghar/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |language=en-US}}
Literary works
Waves in the Hinterland. (2008){{Cite book |last=Naqvi |first=Farah |url=http://asiatic-koha.informindia.co.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=165808 |title=Waves in the hinterland: the journey of a newspaper |date=2007 |publisher=Nirantar |isbn=978-81-89884-56-7 |location=New Delhi}} (Zubaan Publications, New Delhi. Distributed by Cambridge University Press). A book about Dalit women journalists, rural journalism and empowerment{{Cite web |date=2009-12-18 |title=Breaking news |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/breaking-news/story-mKlOVcKag3cQsWNXg0iovJ.html |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}} through the stories of Mahila Dakiya and Khabar Lahariya, two award-winning rural newspapers.{{Cite web |title=Living the report |url=https://www.downtoearth.org.in/reviews/living-the-report-1012 |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=www.downtoearth.org.in |language=en}} The books was launched by then Minister for Rural Development, along with Veteran BBC journalist, Mark Tully.{{Cite web |title="Waves in the Hinterland" Book Launch Followed by a panel discussion on Rural Media, Rural Voices : Can Grassroots Journalism Survive in India? at Habitat World, IHC - 6:30 pm on 9th November 09 |url=https://www.delhievents.com/2009/11/in-hinterland-book-launch-followed-by.html |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Delhi Events}}
Working with Muslims: Beyond Burqa and Triple Talaq - Stories of Development and Everyday Citizenship in India (2017){{Cite web |date=2019-03-07 |title=Mapping Muslims in the Development Landscape {{!}} Economic and Political Weekly |url=https://www.epw.in/journal/2019/10/book-reviews/mapping-muslims-development-landscape.html |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=www.epw.in |language=en}} (Three Essays Collective. New Delhi.) The book is based on primary research in eight major states of India, giving a granular view of civil society development work, with the largest minority in the world's largest democracy.{{Cite journal |last=Ahmed |first=Hilal |date=December 2018 |title=Book review: Farah Naqvi with Sadhbhavna Trust, Working with Muslims: Beyond Burqa and Triple Talaq—Stories of Development and Everyday Citizenship in India |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0049085718800894 |journal=Social Change |language=en |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=673–675 |doi=10.1177/0049085718800894 |issn=0049-0857|url-access=subscription }} The book was launched in Delhi by former Vice President of India, Shri Hamid Ansari.{{Cite web |date=2018-03-28 |title=Focused affirmative action needed for Muslim empowerment: Hamid Ansari |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/focused-affirmative-action-needed-for-muslim-empowerment-hamid-ansari-5113881/ |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=New Book on Muslim developmental work and leadership, urges civil society to engage 'Beyond Burqa and Triple Talaq' |url=https://www.milligazette.com/news/13-books/16201-new-book-on-muslim-developmental-work-and-leadership-urges-civil-society-to-engage-beyond-burqa-and-triple-talaq/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=The Milli Gazette — Indian Muslims Leading News Source |language=en}}
= Books =
- {{Cite book |last1=Naqvi |first1=Farah |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sK50tAEACAAJ |title=Working with Muslims: Beyond Burqa and Triple Talaq : Stories of Development and Everyday Citizenship in India |last2=Trust |first2=Sadbhavna |date=2017 |publisher=Three Essays Collective |isbn=978-93-83968-24-4 |language=en}}
- {{Cite book |last=Naqvi |first=Farah |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S4ULAQAAMAAJ |title=Waves in the Hinterland: The Journey of a Newspaper |date=2007 |publisher=Nirantar |isbn=978-81-89884-56-7 |language=en}}
Personal life
Naqvi is the daughter of veteran journalist Saeed Naqvi, and sister of senior journalist and author Saba Naqvi.{{Cite web |title=What We Did When Our Government Collapsed: My Father Saeed Naqvi's COVID Story |url=https://thewire.in/science/saeed-naqvi-delhi-second-covid-19-wave-oxygen-cylinder |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=The Wire }} She is an alumna of Columbia University, United States.{{Cite web |title=Farah Naqvi |url=https://mayday.leftword.com/author/post/farah-naqvi/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=mayday.leftword.com}}