Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th March
As part of its special programming for International Women’s Day on the 8th of March, France 24’s culture team heads to India to explore the world’s largest democracy and see how women, and women’s rights, are making their mark on the country’s vibrant arts scene. Olivia Salazar-Winspear presents two special editions of the daily culture show Encore!
Female artists making their voices heard in a society where men outweigh women both demographically and politically. India can lay claim to plenty of high profile female artists and activists.
Wednesday 8th March
Paromhita Vohra and Ram Devineni present the comic-book project that is looking to change mentalities when it comes to women’s place in society. “Priya’s Shakti” and “Priya’s Mirror” take real-life stories as their inspiration.
The culture teams also catches up with filmmaker Leena Yadav, whose film “Parched” explores gender politics in the patriarchal setting of an isolated village, and discuss the challenges of pushing a feminist message in mainstream cinema.
Thursday 9th March
For the second part of this special edition, Encore! goes to Mumbai to meet with stand-up comedian Radhika Vaz. She highlights the cultural shift that’s redressing the gender balance slowly but surely in India, and how being “Unladylike” is a form of political resistance.
Encore! also meets with the “Why Loiter” group, who stage cultural interventions in public spaces which can feel hostile for women. One of “Why Loiter’s” members, Priyanka, demonstrates how a simple “Antakshari” -or singing game- in the Mumbai metro brings men and women together in a friendly sing-off.
About France 24, a channel’s holding company France Media Monde
France 24, the international news channel, broadcasts 24/7 to 315 million homes around the world in French, Arabic and English. The three channels have a combined weekly viewership of 50.9 million viewers (measured in 64 of the 180 countries where the channel is broadcast). From its newsroom in Paris, France 24 gives a French perspective on global affairs through a network of 142 correspondent bureaus located in nearly every country. It is available via cable, satellite, DTT, ADSL, on mobile phones, tablets and connected TVs, as well as on YouTube in three languages. Every month, France 24’s digital platforms attract 16.3 million visits, 36.5 million video views (2015 average) and 21.5 million followers on Facebook and Twitter (December 2015).