A three-month-long fellowship program seeks to create a space for Dalit women and queer writers

Recognising the pressing need for an inclusive media which creates a space for Dalit women and Dalit queer writers, The Blue Club has brought forth a three-month fellowship program which seeks to support and amplify the emerging voices of the community. Even as feminist movements and Dalit media outlets have been highlighting the concerns of the marginalised for long, there has been a tendency to ignore Dalit feminism and queer writers in mainstream media. To bridge this gap, which has led to the production of much non-intersectional content, the media organisation will be launching on 13 September, the intensive writing initiative, The Blue Club Media Fellowship For Writers 2020-21. Through the course of the fellowship, Dalit women and queer journalists and writers will be mentored regularly, earn a stipend and work on myriad topics ranging from caste, gender and sexuality to environment, health, art and culture. Elaborating on the tipping point which led The Blue Club to start this initiative, founder and director Priyadharsini Palaniswamy says that the result of the systemic oppression of caste and gender minorities in our country is such that Dalit women or Dalit queer writers “do not have the time or opportunity to write while their livelihood is at stake.” “And if at all they do write, they are not able to find the right place to publish their content. Hence, our organisation came up with the idea for a fellowship that not only trains Dalit Women+Dalit Queer writers but also offers them a stipend along with publication opportunities through a three-month intensive online workshop and lecture series.”

The Blue Club is launching it’s one if a kind fellowship for the first time tomorrow - 13th September. Keep watching this space….. #letsgrabthemic #TBC #theblueclub #fellowship #fellowshipforwriters Posted by The Blue Club on  Friday, 11 September 2020

Those with minimal publication experience are encouraged to send in applications, with an aim to provide a platform for all who are looking for a sisterhood of writers, whose voices been muffled by caste-gender majorities. A key takeaway from the program asserts Palaniswamy would be the participants’ “ability to feel that they have been given the agency to raise their voices” and “talk about the grassroot issues they face in their everyday life.” The Blue Club is an organisation set up by Palaniswamy to give a platform to the marginalised, particularly women and children, to tell their story and share their experiences. The applications for its fellowship program will be open from 13 to 15 September. To know more about the fellowship and the application guidelines, track The Blue Club’s Facebook page.