Apu’s World

Phew, it really has been quite some days since I managed to spend time here. In my defence, I have been busy with a new project that’s been in the wings for some time now (really, in the wings for so long that at times, I’ve despaired of ever getting it off ground). Finally, it does look as if we’ll be able to launch soon, so I can now talk about it here.

So, what is this New Project?

The New Project is a new website/magazine/community for Indian women.

Wait a minute, don’t we have some of those already?

Sure, but I do think there is space for more quality original content  - and without raining on anyone else’s parade, I’d like to say that at times, I feel as if the content specifically targeted at women is overwhelmingly about beauty, weight loss or celebrity gossip. Surely we are interested in more than these?

One thing which has amazed me for, for instance, is that, given how more and more women are entering the paid workplace, why is there so little focus on that?

So, one of the objectives of this new website is that a good part of the content is geared to working women. Now, by working women, I don’t necessarily mean someone who has a 9 to 6 job in a shiny office. Working women could be full-time workers, part-time workers, work-from-home moms, the self-employed, retired workers or - it could even be someone who is right now on a break, but would like to keep in touch, or, someone who’s never worked outside the home but wants to start. And who is to say homemakers don’t want to discuss many of these things too? (Not to mention that most women’s magazines in India also have a significant percentage of male readers).

The idea is to have interesting and intelligent content for women - feature articles on current topics, profiles of women who’ve done interesting things, a Q&A session with industry experts plus I’ve got some really cool bloggers who’ll be writing on the site. Other sections such as a forum and newsletter should follow soon, though the plan is to start small and grow with our readers.

It’s not a solely feminist website, in the sense that the content is not structured around activism and what we usually call ‘women’s issues’, but on the other hand, while it is going to be a commercial website, I do visualize it as a women-friendly space with two important values : to be supportive of women and their choices, and to talk to women as intelligent users.

Getting the site development through has been a huge challenge, considering that I don’t have a technology background myself; while things can always improve, it looks like we’ll be ready to go with Version 1.0 in a day or two, and I’ll announce the url here then.

I’m looking forward to support and encouragement from you folks, my dear blog readers - and of course, feel free to offer suggestions once you’ve had a look at the site. I hope to continue blogging here (and regularly), although I may use some posts at both locations.

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apu Women & Feminism