Political Shakti, a non-partisan NGO fighting for gender equality in politics, was awarded a gold and two silver at the Cannes Lions for its campaign to increase women’s representation in the Bihar elections 2020.
Shakti’s ‘Selfless Selfie’ campaign had female Mukhiyas (elected heads of Panchayats) taking selfies holding placards asking political parties to give 50 per cent of party tickets to women candidates. The selfie had turned it into a nomination resume, even as Shakti volunteers roped in 140 NGOs to reach out to 45,000 villages and to mobilise female party workers to use WhatsApp to send their “Nominate-me-selfies” to their local party leaders.
The Shakti volunteers also made a 80-second film to propagate the dire need to have women elected to the state legislatures. The film was made in collaboration with FCB Ulka and Basta Films through crowdsourcing of funds.
Soon, the issue of women’s representation grew into a national issue, thanks to the campaign. As a result, the number of women candidates across political parties went up, and the number of elected women in the legislatives too went up by 25 per cent. It had a ripple effect, too. When rolled out in Bengal, the ruling party gave an unprecedented 45 per cent of its tickets to women. The campaign has turned into a movement, with women leaders challenging the political power structures to move towards a true democracy.
Said Tara Krishnaswamy, co-founder of Political Shakti, “The awards are a global testimony to Shakti’s volunteer creativity. The Political Shakti’s Bihar campaign was held during the times of Covid, when holding rallies or street campaigns was ruled out. However, a quintessentially selfish and narcissistic tool like a selfie was turned into a public campaign instrument.”
