It is not surprising that women’s contributions to History continues to be silenced, rendered invisible and unimportant everywhere in the world. While we believe that we are a gender equal society and ‘our’ women are treated better in comparison to the mainland, the story remains the same in the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalayas.
To ‘undo’ this silencing, we at The Confluence Collective are excited to curate and launch our Gender and Sexuality Archive. This will be an archive fully dedicated to celebrating untold histories-of women, sexual minorities and Others- with the larger purpose of re-imagining histories- through the prisms of these silenced voices.
Our stories matter and we now take this bold step to re-write history - inclusively. We will be collecting visual and oral stories in curating this archive. The pursuit is to develop a repository of localised knowledge and generate a much-needed discourse on gender and sexuality in the Hills- through a rigorous and critical engagement with literature, popular culture, history and politics. As part of this effort at curating and sharing knowledge, we will be facilitating reading sessions—featuring stories, memoirs, personal narratives, anecdotes, and more around these themes.
Commemorating the political history of International Women’s Day, we begin by celebrating women’s stories - for Gender is Political. We do not need icons to celebrate women’s achievements and contributions; we believe that every woman’s story matters.
From a tea garden worker to a vendor, a politician or a school teacher, every woman continues to perform ‘extraordinary’ feats in going about their ‘ordinary’ lives; silently witnessing, participating and storing experiences that contribute to the way we see the world. It is through these lenses of the mundane and ordinary, that we want to re-imagine history, foregrounding the voices of our ‘ordinary’ women and others whose voices remain unheard and lost.
We encourage you to come forward with submissions of stories of your mothers, aunts, grandmothers and any other woman who for years have silently existed as the forgotten member in family histories. Most importantly, you define what strength means. Whether it is in quiet endurance or bold defiance, in daily routines or grand gestures, we believe in finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Any and every information matters- so we ask you to come be part of this movement- as we collectively build this much needed repository of knowledge in the Hills.
How This Works-
You get to be the curators of your personal stories. We provide the platform to feature these stories and preserve it in the Archive
We work with you to further document, preserve and unravel the history of these personal stories- building larger, collective public memory .
We will provide the platform and curate safe spaces for public sharing and knowledge sharing sessions.
We will work diligently, mindfully and collectively to nurture and facilitate a safe, equal and inclusive community.
The team - • Dr. Dipti Tamang, Assistant Professor, General Govt. Degree College, Pedong.
• Pratishtha Chhetri, Independent documentary filmmaker and photographer.
• Pema Gyalchen, Assistant Professor, Sikkim Manipal University.
• Prashanti Biswakarma, Undergraduate Student, Anthropology and intern at the Confluence Collective.
The Confluence Collective is a non-profit organization that needs your support. We rely on each one of you - our patrons and friends to help our organization sustain our work of archiving and documenting histories. Your contribution to the TCC Photo Archive will not only help preserve the stories of the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalayas but also ensure that the Collective remains a vital space for cultural dialogue, creative expression, and public engagement. Support us - https://www.theconfluencecollective.com/supportus
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