Navya Naveli Nanda’s tireless quest to carve her own path, independent of her Bollywood lineage, has seen the young woman work for women empowerment, gender equality and social justice through her parent project Project Naveli. Navya is also a spokesperson for L’Oreal Paris and has now joined hands with the global beauty brand for their Stand Up Against Street Harassment initiative. A candid chat with Navya.
What are the foremost factors that prompted you to sign up for L’Oreal Paris’s ‘Stand up against street harassment’ initiative?
I have been working with L’Oreal Paris for a year-and-a-half now. One of the biggest reasons why I even wanted to work with them was that I felt that more than just being a beauty brand, they focus on a lot of things that are close to my heart, like self-worth and the emphasis on empowerment.
‘Stand up’ (initiative) was also a very, very big factor. I work a lot in the women empowerment space. This was something that gelled really well with me. Understanding the mission behind the stand up project and how they wanted not just to bring in awareness, but also go a level deeper and talk about tools and tactics that one can use to intervene and defend themselves... things like what it means to be a bystander, how do you intervene, how do you help someone who’s experiencing street harassment... These are all things that really aligned with what I do on a daily basis and also what I believe in as a person.
That was really the motivation and it was just a very, very clear partnership that I felt that I could really add some benefit to and also put my energy and force behind.
I am advocating for people to take the programme, which is something I’ve been doing on my social media today, basically encouraging the community and more women to take the course. It is a 15-minute training programme that talks you through the different pointers of what it means to defend yourself.
What do you think needs to be done at the grassroots level to stand up against street harassment?
A book that I was reading recently talked about how public spaces are actually mostly and largely built around the needs and preferences of men. A lot of women don’t feel safe waiting, for example, at a bus stop because it’s often on a very narrow road and women would feel more comfortable if it was near a building or a shopping mall where there would be more people. So, step one would definitely be an active effort to collect data on women. Often, I think data is very biased... we don’t really take into account what women’s needs are.
An in-depth understanding of what women, not just on a grassroots level, but even in urban cities, require when they are stepping out of their homes would be a big factor. And number two, it’s really important to also get men involved, especially on a grassroots level. Talking to husbands, brothers, uncles, grandfathers, and in the case of villages, also talking to panchayats about the safety of women when they are stepping out of home.
It’s important to incorporate the idea of personal space at a much younger age in schools... incorporating it into our education system, not just for young girls, but for young boys as well. To understand what it means to have personal space or the concept of ‘good touch’, ‘bad touch’.... These are things that we don’t often discuss in a younger age group. I think that is something that can have a big impact.
We always talk about how women are subjected to harassment on the streets. That, of course, is the majority. But men face it too and also members of the LGBTQ community. What do you think needs to be done to make people aware that street harassment is not limited to any one gender?
In the last couple of months, we have heard a lot of stories of men who felt that their personal space has been invaded, along with women, of course. When I advocate speaking up against street harassment, I don’t just mean women; I mean it equally for men and members of the LGBTQ community. A basic understanding of what personal space is and how it is equally important for us to understand that it’s not just something that women experience, but also men.
Just sharing those stories, and hearing them out is very important. I read a lot in the last couple of months about celebrities who face an invasion of personal space from fans. It’s just a rise in these stories that makes you realise and breaks the stereotype that only a woman’s personal space is being invaded. I think that the more people, especially victims, are open to sharing their stories, the more awareness will happen.
Do you think that in a country as populous as India, and where, unfortunately, there is very little civic sense, the concept of personal space is even possible, especially in crowded buses or trains?
I am taking an optimistic view here, but I think it’s possible. The more we have these conversations on a public level or at a school level or even through social media, the more that we talk about personal space, it could suddenly become something that people are aware of and respect.
When you talk about public transport, it has its negatives like overcrowding, but it has also given people, especially women, access. I think metros have been safer than, say, taking the bus. Late at night, it has given women a way to step out, go to work. It has its positives and negatives, but it is something that we can learn to respect and abide by as a community.
Over the years, we have seen how the paparazzi culture has grown. Would you also count that as street harassment and invasion of space?
Being a public figure is accepting that these are things that will be a part of your life. When we talk about the paparazzi, all public figures are accustomed to it and they know that it comes with being who they are.
But regardless of who it is, whether it’s a public person or not, there’s a boundary that you can’t cross when it comes to personal space. There have been a lot of people who have actively spoken out in situations where they felt that their privacy wasn’t respected. I think it’s great that they are shedding light on these issues. It has a level of influence and it trickles down into the larger community.
It’s great that they stood up and called it out and I really hope that it sets a trend moving forward where people learn to respect those boundaries that are there for a reason.
Have you personally felt uncomfortable at any point in time?
I haven’t actually... maybe I might in the future, I don’t know. But up till now, I haven’t felt violated in any way. I am touching wood for that.
How does your own Project Naveli work in emphasising safe public spaces for women?
A lot of the work that I do is women-centric. There are a lot of projects that we work on, from healthcare to entrepreneurship to education, but one that is especially relevant to what we are talking about today is a project called Nyayri, where we offer free legal counselling to women who come from backgrounds of domestic violence or sexual abuse or have any legal query as such.
A lot of the queries that come are from a harassment background, whether that be domestic or even verbal or cyber harassment. We pair them with a lawyer that gives them a breakdown of what their rights are. Knowing your legal rights is a major part of the work against street harassment.
What’s your vision for Project Naveli over the next few years?
I would really want a lot of younger girls to be involved in the project. We work across different sectors that are going to be extremely important, not just for women, but as a country... education, legal systems, healthcare and entrepreneurship. These are four key areas for us as a nation as well. I would really want young girls in schools and colleges to join or start initiatives on their own, which Project Naveli can support through funding or mentorship or guidance or creating a network of these young women who are wanting to bring in change.
The last time we had spoken, you had told me how big a reader you are. What’s on your list right now?
I am reading a book called Chai Chai by Bishwanath Ghosh. It’s an interesting travel literature on the railway stations in small towns and an exploration of these towns because otherwise people just kind of get off, get a chai, get back onto the train and leave. No one ever stops to explore those towns. It’s a different perspective on small towns.
Are you somebody who reads one book at a time or multiple books?
I like reading one book at a time because I want to give it all my attention. But I read a lot. I go through three or four books a week.
Three or four books a week?!
Yeah, I read very fast... it’s this weird talent I have (laughs), I guess if you call it, that I read extremely fast. So I am constantly going through books at a very fast pace.