We’re still into March and as the International Women’s Day just went by, we delved into deep conversations about modern feminism in today’s time. In a tete-a-tete with Nikhat Khan, an educationist and entrepreneur, she helped us confront biases and discuss women’s struggle in the society, debunk myths, redefined gender roles and so much more.
Khan points out that the conditioning starts at a very young age. It can boil down to the minutest aspects of growing up and these values, based on what children see, are instilled in their very fabric. For instance, in most top tier schools, the head boy leads a march past. “Why can’t the head girl walk side by side?” Khan asks rhetorically.
She goes on to advice youth to question orthodoxy and challenge conventional gender roles. Young men and women need to be educated to tackle prevalent patriarchal beliefs.
Later in her emphatic speech, Khan also discusses the influence of cinema on the audiences.
She concludes by confronting the negative stereotypes like a woman considered worthy to be in front of a stove in the kitchen but worthless when behind a wheel. “If a man can drive, why can’t a woman?” How is she the bad driver in all the universes?
Be it archaic practises that continue even today — from a woman moving to the husband’s house after marriage or taking his name — or a woman’s smoking/drinking being linked directly to her character, patriarchy harms in more than one way.
Whether it’s the Karen question, “women ☕” comments bombarding a simple woman-led video or the “alpha male” hubris — modern feminism still has a long way to go and a lot to achieve!
About the Speaker, Nikhat Khan
Nikhat Khan has more than two decades of teaching experience, is an avid reader, a trekker and a state-level basketball player.
With a postgraduate degree in English Literature and an Honours in Systems Management, Khan started her training and career in the travel trade in Delhi, proceeding to work as Reservations and ticketing officer at Sita World Travel India Ltd, followed by Jetair Ltd in Kanpur.
Since English language has always been her passion, she, after five years in the travel sector, switched from passports and visas to books and syllabi. Khan taught the senior school as an English teacher in Unnao for 3 years and then at MR Jaiupria in Lucknow for 12 years, during which period she served as the house mistress, chronicle editor, academic coordinator for senior school and head of the English department.
The educationist began with ‘English classes by Nikhat Khan for classes IX-XII’ in 2016 and has since then been training several students from the ICSE, CBSE and IGCSE boards successfully. Nikhat Khan has also adjudicated a variety of prestigious literary competitions at the regional, zonal and national levels conducted at reputed schools and colleges across Uttar Pradesh.
In 2010, Khan received the best mentor’s award from the Dr Kiran Bedi.
