Agents of Ishq
 | |
| Founded | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | India |
| Founder(s) | Paromita Vohra |
| URL | https://agentsofishq.com/ |
Agents of Ishq is an Indian website about sexuality, love and desire. It was founded in 2014 by filmmaker, writer and artist Paromita Vohra, whose aim was to "create a positive and enabling conversation around sex", including different sexual orientations.[1][2] The website is run by Parodevi Pictures, an independent media and arts company based in Mumbai.
History[edit]
Agents of Ishq was a gradual outcome of Vohra's learnings build over her own work in documentary filmmaking, her relationship and interactions with feminist organizations like Saheli, Vaccha, Majlis and the urge to create something with its roots in the intuitive idea of feminism. With the working methodologies of an arts organization, Agents of Ishq aimed to co-create an inclusive, pleasure-positive, intersectional perspective on sexuality along with the contributors and audiences.
Covered by newspapers like The Hindu, The Indian Express and Economic Times, Agents of Ishq has been showcased as one of 10 global sexuality projects of excellence by UNESCO and has collaborated with organisations like Oxfam, Majlis, Population Council, CREA and brands such as Bumble.
Content[edit]
Agents of Ishq is intended to provide a comprehensive sex education, using videos, graphics, comics, maps, arts and podcasts. Topics include relationships, dating, sex, and consent, within the framework of Indian culture.[3] It draws on popular culture, including Bollywood style music videos and ancient erotic art.[4] The website also contains teaching modules for schools and educators. The site is bilingual, with material in Hindi and English.[1]
Projects[edit]
Agents of Ishq have produced several short film for their website. In 2016, they created an educational movie called Main Aur Meri Body, in collaboration with the NGO SNEHA in Dharavi, Mumbai.[1] The same year they made a short film on the issue of sexual consent in collaboration with the lavani dance group Sangeet Bari, called The Amorous Adventures of Shakku and Megha in the Valley of Consent. The video also features actor and comedian Gaurav Gera.[5] In March 2020, Agents of Ishq released another film with lavani dancers, Aika To The Baika: Police Complaint Lavani. The theme of the film, which was created in collaboration with the feminist legal centre Majlis, is how gender bias and misogyny can make it difficult for women to report sexual harassment or assaults, as women are often told that they will dishonour their families if they make such reports.[6]
In 2021, Agents of Ishq, along with The YP Foundation, organized a 3-day digital conference called Love, Sex and Data (LSD) conference.[7] They have also partnered with Oxfam India.[8]
Awards[edit]
Agents of Ishq has won 5 Laadli Media and Advertising Awards for Gender Sensitivity (LMMAGS). The LMMAGS is an initiative of the NGO Population First's Project Laadli to recognize efforts in gender sensitive journalism.
The awarded works include Aika to the Baika in the Web (Marathi) category, #SorryThankYouTataByeBye in Web - Feature Category, #GrownUpGirls in Web - Social Media Campaign category and Chitthi Aayi Hai! Ek Zara Choti, Ek Thodi Badi Lesbian Ke Beech, E-Mail Pe Baatein in the Web Blog (Hindi) category.
Agents of ishq has also been nominated for the Cosmopolitan Blogger awards.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Jha, Fiza (2017-10-12). "Checked Out 'Agents of Ishq' Yet? It's Naughty, New-Age Sex Ed". TheQuint. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
- ^ Kahlon, Sukhpreet. "Paromita Vohra talks about 'Agents of Ishq' at Asian Women's Film Festival". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
- ^ "Singing condoms, podcasts and memes: 'Agents of Ishq' is on a mission to make sex ed fun". The News Minute. 2016-09-30. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
- ^ Khare, Srishti (2021-06-10). "10 Instagram Pages To Follow For An Intersectional Take On Gender And Society". Feminism In India. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
- ^ Fernando, Benita (13 March 2016). "A film tackles the politics of consent in sex". mid-day.
- ^ Vohra, Paromita (2020-03-13). "This video shows what police should do when a woman complainant wants to file a case". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
- ^ "Without pleasure politics, there can be no meaningful consent: Paromita Vohra". The Indian Express. 2021-12-27. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
- ^ "Oxfam India says '#SorryThankYouTataByeBye to Patriarchy' in new video song". The Indian Express. 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
External links[edit]
- A film tackles the politics of consent in sex (Sunday Mid-day, Mar 2016)
- Beyond yes and no: watch a new film explaining the nuances of consent when it comes to sex (Scroll.in May, 2016)
- The body is a wonderland (The Indian Express, Feb 2016)
- Singing condoms, podcasts and memes: 'Agents of Ishq' is on a mission to make sex ed fun (The News Minute, Sep 2016)
- Agents of Ishq: Encouraging Conversations on Sex, Sexuality and Everything in Between (Man's World, May 2016)
- The tale of an Agent of Ishq in times of anti-Romeo squads (The Economic Times, May 2017)
- Lounge Loves: 'Love In The Garden Of Consent' (mint Lounge, Aug 2018)
- How 'Agents of Ishq' is helping India talk about sex (Goethe-Institut, Dec 2018)
- #GrownUpGirls: In this series by Agents of Ishq, young girls imagine their adulthood (Scroll Apr, 2019)
- Sex and other pleasures, a chat with Paromita Vohra (Podcast-Interview The Sandip Roy Show, Sep 2019)
- What we don't talk about when we don't talk about love (Transcript of Paromita Vohra's keynote speech at Governing Intimacies Research Meeting, India International Centre, Sept 2019)
- The My Body My Choice campaign is creating a safe space through which abortion can be discussed and understood openly by women in India (Vice India, Nov 2019)
- Replace the term 'virginity' with 'sexual debut': Filmmaker Paromita Vohra (The Week, Dec 2019)
- Without pleasure politics, there can be no meaningful consent: Paromita Vohra (The Indian Express, Oct 2021)
- Multi-media project Agents of Ishq's digital dating dictionary helps decode the latest relationship and dating slang (Mid-day, July 2021)
- Bumble releases a modern-day manifesto for dating in 2022 (Afaqs, Dec 2021)