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Letters from the Editor in Chief
vogue.inI sleep well at night. It's the morning news that brings the nightmares. I wake up to reports of gender inequality in various forms—from brutal crimes against women on the street to statistics of skewed ratios in the boardroom.
As a woman, as a mother, and as the editor of a fashion magazine largely produced by women for women, I can no longer turn the pages and heave a sigh. Women's issues in India can no longer be relegated to lengthy debates. It warrants action. And it warrants action from each one of us.
Propelled by this thought, about five months ago, we started off with a simple mission: to use our seventh anniversary issue as a platform to respond to the state of women in our country today. The idea was to raise awareness with features and fashion editorials that draw focus to powerful, emancipated women. But this seed of an idea germinated to glorious proportions as we spoke to potential collaborators. From actors, musicians and filmmakers to doctors, lawyers and human rights activists—everybody came on board in whatever way they could to help us make noise and raise money as part of our social awareness initiative, Vogue Empower. We've also partnered with GiveIndia, a not-for-profit organisation with a strong focus on women's issues.
While violence against women was the trigger, Vogue Empower dials back to core issues like education, economic independence, freedom of choice... the whole shebang. We believe true empowerment goes beyond physical trappings. It is a state of mind. A lens with which you view the world. An empowered woman is the mistress of her universe.
It's hard to call out to specific stories because each one is so incredible. In '50 ideas to empower you' we have icons like Christiane Amanpour, Margaret Atwood, Taslima Nasreen, Sheryl Sandberg and Kiran Bedi sharing their recipes for empowerment—there are 45 more! In fashion features, local and international designers raise a toast to the women in their lives. As a stunning photo story, 'Notes to my son', features 11 portraits of mothers and sons. Greatly inspired by Susan Sarandon's spirited message when she visited India last year, we were very clear that women's empowerment should include men. If you're a man and don't know how you can get involved, read Aakar Patel's open letter composed for this express purpose. (You can even cut it out and stick it on your fridge, as he advises.)
I must add that in the course of this mammoth exercise, the Vogue India team has emerged truly empowered. We are all active pledge makers. The process of getting our lead collaborators on board—Sudha Murty, Karan Johar and Aamir Khan were some of the first—has been charged. At the outset, we've produced several public service announcements directed by the country's brightest filmmakers and raised crores for charity. The idea is to set the ball rolling with each of our pledge makers: it is now their turn to weave a part of the empowerment fabric. 'Vogue sees red', our 62-page cover gallery featuring over 150 people, is the most ambitious project I've undertaken in my entire career. It is also Vogue India's biggest exercise to date.
Because being a woman should mean dreamier mornings.
Give while you get
As if you needed another reason to shop! At The Vogue Fest, close to 100 stalls curated by Vogue will showcase the best of fashion and lifestyle. Ten per cent of all proceeds go to women's charities under GiveIndia.
Be there: October 3-5, Palladium Hotel, Mumbai.
This article will appear in the forthcoming issue of Vogue India, on stands October 4, 2014. For exclusive behind-the-scenes videos and much more, visit our dedicated website at VogueEmpower.in, launching in the first week of October.
Image: Farrokh Chothia/Vogue
