Non-fiction, Biography,
I am a documentary film maker, a journalist and author of four non-fiction books as well as a media professional over 3 decades.
- @minnievaid for twitter
- MinnieVaid for Insta
Topic
Author Minnie Vaid on Mental Health Stigma in India and Ways to Cope With it Especially in Pandemic Times at OCLF 2021
On 28th Nov 01.00 pm - 01:40 pm
She started writing in the pandemic about mental health because she felt it was time to come out of the closet and be open about Mental Health and the issues it creates for oneself. Author Minnie Vaid talked about the mental health stigma back a few years and how bad it was to the point people used to have separate rooms for the patient because they didn't want to be seen coming into the psychiatrist's office. She greatly talked about the stigma, problems and things she faced when she decided to take off her mental mask and opened up about mental health and wrote about it. When asked about coping with mental issues, Ms Vaid said that anybody who thinks they're suffering from mental issues or knows that they are, ask for help. Always ask for help. The medicines and the therapy come after that, but the first thing is to ask for help. After that, do something that interests you. She emphasised the issue of people not being comfortable with handling situations where people express themselves emotionally. It'sIt's important to put yourself out there and ask and catch the problem at the start. Following that discussion, she said empathy and kindness goes a long way. It was an interactive session with Ms Vaid, and the audience didn't shy away from asking her questions about mental health, how to ask for help and breaking the stigma. An absolutely amazing session at OCLF 2021! .
Topic
Women empowerment - positive reinforcement of women entering male-dominated professions, Minni Vaid, Kaveree Bamzai, Nandita Om Puri, Harshali Singh Kaul In Conversation with Monica Bhagwagar
On 28th Nov 01.00 pm - 01:40 pm
Men are working, women are working, and women are working more. The proportion of women in bastion like engineering, army and other women were negligible 20 years ago. Now it has increased to around 5% to 6%, which, I think, is not much. There was always a postman but not a postwoman. It's embedded in our minds. For a long time, bus drivers, truck drivers, train drivers were men, and still, they are women who found their place in these sectors but still, it's not satisfactory. The idea is to make the environment more women-friendly to find their way through.