Kalpana Viswanath, Co-Founder, Safetipin
- Co-Founder Safetipin, to support women’s safety
- Consultant with several UN bodies on gender and urban safety
Podcast
Overview
“As Indians, we seem to find it completely okay to worship a goddess and beat up one’s wife at home.”- Kalpana Viswanath.
In this episode, Ashutosh Garg engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Kalpana Viswanath, Co-Founder, Safetipin, an organization that assures safety to women. Kalpana, a sociologist and a women safety activist, is a consultant with several bodies of the UN.
Kalpana discusses the primary issues related to women’s safety. “In India, the female labour participation is falling”- she comments. The talks about a hidden danger: the normalization of sexual harassment. She attempts to interconnect theological ideologies and the social norms existing today. She talks about polytheism and goddesses.
Kalpana attempts to explore the roots of patriarchy. She elaborates on the functioning of Safetipin and shares her interesting findings. Before concluding, she talks about her learning from her biggest mistakes.
Profile
Am committed to building safer cities especially for women. In addition to being the Co Founder of Safetipin, I am fortunate to be a part of the global agenda towards safer and smarter cities.
• Member, Advisory Group on Gender Issues , UN Habitat
Member of the Steering Committee – Global Network of Safer Cities of UN Habitat.
• Board Member – International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC)
Board Member, SLOCAT
• Chariperson – Jagori
• Chair – International Advisory Committee of Women in Cities International.
• Member, Expert Advisory Group for the 2nd State of Asian Cities report (by UN ESCAP and UN)
• Member, Women’s Safety Committee, Delhi
Presented at several international conferences including:
. World Urban Forum in Nanjing, Naples and Medellin
. International Center for Prevention of Crime Colloquium in Mexico and Cape Town
. World Bank, Washington DC and Barcelona
. UN Women, New York and Rio de Janeiro
Have published widely in newspapers, magazines and journals and appear regularly on national and international TV and radio on women’s rights and safety. Write a weekly column for Hindustan Times.
Am the recipient of the Lotus Leadership Award (2019) and Global Urban Innovator Award (2017)
