Bebaak Collective (meaning ‘Voices of the Fearless’) was founded as an informal association of autonomous grassroots activists in 2013 to advocate for the rights of women marginalized by religion, including Muslim women. They work to raise awareness, campaign against injustice, and raise funds for victims of communal hate and marginalisaiton. Their work is to highlight structural violence against women that emerges from everyday violence around caste, class, religion, and the importance of collective struggles. Some of the issues they have campaigned around includes the abolition of triple talaq, the banning of beef and the issue of vigilante violence around gau rakshaks and raise media awareness. They organise conferences, collective discussions and read and discuss historical and contemporary issues for action.
Why they are the right choice for others:
- Through collective discussion and learning, they raise awareness, independent campaigns to impact the media and judiciary around issues of women’s safety and marginalisation
- Document the rising impact of communalism and its criminalisation of one religion and its effect on Muslim women
- Conduct independent inquiries into issues of salience across a slower and long term time frame to bring these issues to public attention
- Offer support, reading, discussion and a common space of dialogue for women to work in collective ways in India