Spotlight – Zero Discrimination Day

On 1 March the international community commemorates ‘Zero Discrimination Day’, celebrating the right of everyone to live a dignified and productive life. This is usually done by raising awareness and promoting peaceful inclusion, showing compassion, and – above all – working towards a positive change. Although we are living in a modern and globalised world, inequalities still persist based on prejudice and differences, such as gender and identity, age, health and ability, occupation and income, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, culture, class and religion. We at TISB believe firmly in promoting equality and inclusion, both inside and outside of school. This is something that our students are working with every day of the year and are very passionate about. This week’s Spotlight will portray a few of their initiatives and perspectives on the important topic.  

Project Daya  

The goal and vision of the Project Daya club is about raising awareness about discrimination, especially about intersectionality and the way prejudice can compound. We would love to help make TISB and our wider communities a safer and more welcoming space for everyone. 

We think zero discrimination - that is, everyone regardless of identity being allowed to flourish - is the ideal that we should be looking to reach, and is something we're trying to work towards at Daya by investigating and educating others about discrimination. 

Inside the Project Daya club meetings we've been focusing on specific issues - for example, we've taken deep dives into protest art and the connection art has to marginalised communities as well as the discrimination faced by trans-people with regards to healthcare. We have done this through both presentations for the club as well as presentations by individual club members. We have also been working on putting together our magazine Cross Currents which examines the discrimination perpetuated by our healthcare system.  

In the short term, we're looking to publish the magazine - so keep an eye out for that! In the long term, as we return to normalcy, we would be looking at doing more events and sessions physically to continue pushing towards an even more inclusive school community. 

We meet every Thursday from 4:30 - 5:30 pm - we would absolutely love to have you! If you're interested, please feel free to email us. 

Spectrum Club 

Our objective is to make sure that every student and staff member feels comfortable expressing their identity here at TISB. Our understanding of zero discrimination day is equality for all, everywhere, which is exactly what Spectrum aims to do. By discussing issues prevalent in local society, we aim to transform the school community.  

During our weekly club meetings, we have been talking about important themes such as LGBTQ+ in Indian mythology, rainbow washing, queer baiting and more. Outside of the club we have started a discord server for queer, questioning and allies where we aim to share resources for queer students, sensitisation documents for allies, and resources for students who wish to form GSAs in their school. 

Our primary course of action consists of planning of LGBTQ+ inclusive events to create more awareness about LGBTQ+ issues and to combat any harmful stereotypes. In fact, stay tuned for one. 

We meet on Mondays. If you wish to join the club or have any queries about anything, please contact us.  

Siya Foundation  

Siya Foundation’s goal is to achieve menstrual hyenine for all women of India regardless of their financial status. We aim to eradicate the social stigma surrounding Menstruation.  

Zero discrimination day represents the many women whose voices have been subdued. This aligns with Siya’s aim of providing health care to those not stable enough to seek it.  

Siya foundation has reached its aim of 300 girls on 20th February. With volunteers from Hyderabad, Nagpur, Delhi and more the number keeps growing. Siya foundation is also soon to be registered as an official NGO with the government of India.  

As of now, the short-term goals are to encourage volunteers from all over India conduct a donation drive in their respective locality. Long term goal is to reach the cumulative of 1000 women- help them with their menstrual needs and hygiene products.  

I would like to encourage fellow TISB students to volunteer and help give back to society.