What does self-care mean for those who are fighting systems of oppression and discrimination that are set up against them? On this episode, Thenmozhi Soundararajan, founder and executive director of Equality Labs, a Dalit civil rights organisation, talks about how systems of oppression affect well-being, what healing looks like for individuals and communities, and why failure is an opportunity to build power.

Thenmozhi Soundararajan is a transmedia artist and activist. She is the founder and executive director of Equality Labs, a Dalit civil rights organisation dedicated to ending caste apartheid, gender-based violence, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and religious intolerance. Her work has been crucial in making many institutions and universities in America re-evaluate their discrimination policies and include caste as a protected category. Thenmozhi is also the force behind #DalitWomenFight, a community-led digital project to amplify the voices of Dalit women fighting for justice, and the co-founder of Dalit History Month. In her upcoming book The Trauma of Caste, Thenmozhi explores the trauma of Brahmanical social structures for caste-oppressed communities, and what healing and well-being can look like.

This episode is part of a special series, in partnership with The Wellbeing Project, where we look at the intersection of failure and well-being.

Read more:

Read more failure stories on Failure Files.
Dip into Centred Self, a series exploring the important but often overlooked connection between inner well-being and effective social change.
Check out some ideas and tools from Fail Forward to help your organisation take risks, learn, adapt, and fail intelligently.
Understand why the social sector must recognise and talk about failure.
Learn why talking about failure is crucial for growth.
Explore Alliance Magazine’s issue on learning from failure and how it can contribute to better philanthropy.

Want to share your failure story? Learn more about what we’re looking for h ere, and share your pitch/story on writetous@idronline.org

The Failure Files podcast is produced by India Development Review (IDR), an online journal focused on the development sector. IDR publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons, and insights, written by and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. To learn more, visit www.idronline.org

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