Daily Archives: May 4, 2021

10TV is partnering with Nationwide Children's Hospital for an in-depth look at the new free resources the On Our Sleeves movement has started offering.

Stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic have changed childrens lives forever, disrupted routines, and in some cases kept them separated from friends and family for long periods of time. This is on top of data showing one in five children lived with a mental condition before the Coronavirus took hold of the world. 10TV is partnering with Nationwide Childrens Hospital for an in-depth look at the new free resources the On Our Sleeves movement has started offering to parents and educators to help them help kids navigate their own mental health.

On Our Sleeves, has released on Monday a collection of resources called How to Foster a Childs Emotional Development. This contains information about sharing feelings, boosting mental wellness and self-care.

According to Parker Huston, Ph.D., clinical director, On Our Sleeves and pediatric psychologist, Nationwide Childrens Hospital, children have a better opportunity for social-emotional wellbeing if they learn mental health skills early in life.

Waiting until a problem presents itself is too long, Dr. Huston said.

The Emotional Empowerment guide will help adults help kids learn how to: identify emotions, recognize emotions, understand emotions in others, express emotions appropriately, and regulate strong emotions.

This is the ability for a child to know words that describe different emotions and distinguish between them.

This is the ability for a child to identify an emotion and pick them out in real-time experiences.

Express Emotions Appropriately

This is the ability for a child to be able to feel comfortable communicate their own emotions, and not avoid them.

Understand Emotions in Others

This is the ability for a child to recognize how others are feeling, or to develop empathy, and use this to help strengthen personal relationships.

This is the ability for a child to learn how to calmly react and control their own actions and behaviors during times when they experience strong emotions.

This How To guide on kids emotional empowerment is free to anyone who wants to use it. It contains explanations of the five steps to emotional empowerment for kids, and offers tips for adults, games, book suggestions and even activities for adults and kids to do together.

We wanted to make it really approachable and something that literally anybody can do with the kids in their lives, Dr. Huston said.

Empowering Emotions is from the On Our Sleeves Alliance, which was founded by Big Lots, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and other sponsors. It will provide free mental health curriculum to over 100,000 teachers nationwide while helping to meet the goal of reaching over one million classrooms by World Mental Health Day on October 10, 2021. Mental Health Discussion Guides will also be distributed at Boys and Girls clubs across the country.

See the article here:

On Our Sleeves: Navigating Kids' Mental Health - 10TV

Founded in January 2020, Wellbeing Radio has been going from strength to strength by bringing listeners everything from positive psychology to mindful parenting.

The station also hosts an array of shows covering Zen practices, mindfulness, ageing gracefully, personal empowerment and nutrition.

With over six million plays dedicated to bringing fresh, unedited wisdom thought and opinions whilst offering nourishing, positive and heart-centered content to listeners.

The station began with a small vision and over time this vision has grown into a collective of international experts creating conversations for positive change.

Wellbeing Radios founder, Scott Hutchinson-McDades journey began after struggling with depression while living and working in the US and the Philippines managing large multinational teams, before going on to work for the NHS, giving him a unique perspective on how people can overcome adversity.

Scott has a unique approach that draws on a fusion of ancient practices from different cultures and belief systems to form a systematic approach to emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing.

Presenters at the station are bringing fresh new perspectives for business owners also on topics such as social media strategy and digital wellbeing, publishing, leadership mindset, business coaching, and magical marketing and alchemy in publicity.

Wellbeing Radio aims to share inclusive, relevant and positive content to help lift the spirits around the globe. With shows offering insight into wellness in every facet listeners will find topics that resonate and inspire.

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

View original post here:

Kirkcaldy radio station that highlights positive change set to relaunch - Fife Today

HARRISBURG, Pa., May 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Patient Safety Authority (PSA) has released its 2020 annual report, offering accounts of ingenuity, tenacity, and teamwork amid COVID-19 and key insights to improve patient safety in Pennsylvania and beyond.

Stories of patient involvement, collaboration, creativity, and empowerment from eight hospitals across the Commonwealth are highlighted. They include Allegheny Valley Hospital, Einstein Endoscopy CenterBlue Bell, Forbes HospitalAllegheny Health Network, Pennsylvania Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, UPMC Lock Haven, and UPMC Magee Women's Hospital.

The report also showcases winners of the annual I AM Patient Safety awards who rose to the occasion in 2020 with achievements in patient safety. They hail from Allegheny Health Network Ambulatory Surgery Center Division, Einstein Medical Center Montgomery, Lehigh Valley Physicians Group LHVN ExpressCAREFogelsville, Moravian Manor Communities, Pennsylvania Hospital, Temple University Hospital, UPMC Carlisle, Veterans Administration Pittsburgh Health System, UPMC St. Margaret, WellSpan Health. Fox Chase Cancer Center at Temple University Hospital won the Executive Director's Choice Award for achieving the unachievable by preventing falls for an entire year.

"Like everyone else, much of the PSA's efforts in 2020 focused on COVID-19. Our staff worked around-the-clock supporting "at-risk" facilities in their darkest hours to secure personal protective equipment (PPE); stay apprised of the most current, ever-evolving research; and develop facility-specific plans to protect patients and residents," said Patient Safety Authority executive director, Regina Hoffman.

"But the real focus this year is on healthcare facilities. We share their accounts as a reminder that what they do each day matters, and they have met the COVID-19 challenge with bravery and sacrifice."

The annual report also highlights patients' important role in scientific publishing. In 2020, Patient Safety, the PSA's quarterly, peer-reviewed journal of scientific research and patient commentaries, was read by more than 45,000 people across every state in the United States and in 164 countries. It won three awards for publication excellence.

Along with its annual report, the PSA released figures from its database, PA-PSRS. Event reporting remained robust, despite an unparalleled pause in elective care for several months, which may reflect improvements in patient safety culture across Pennsylvania.

The PSA is an independent state agency that collects and analyzes patient safety data to improve safety outcomes and help prevent patient harm. http://patientsafety.pa.gov/

SOURCE Patient Safety Authority

http://patientsafety.pa.gov/

Continue reading here:

Patient Safety Authority Releases Actionable Insights and Stories of Triumph for Pennsylvania Health Systems - PRNewswire

Nothing captures the importance of educating women better than the old African proverb - If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation. Unfortunately, even though theres general consensus on the immense benefits of educating and empowering women, implementing women education and empowerment projects are often stymied by antiquated social customs and the medieval belief that a womans role is restricted to housekeeping, bearing children and bringing them up. To make matters worse, emancipation of women through education and skill development is perceived as a threat in many male dominated societies and hence discouraged.

The state of women education in J&K isnt very promising. As per the last census held in 2011, while the literacy rate in Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh was 68.74 percent, literacy amongst women was just 58.01 with the high school dropout rate of women being much higher than their male counterparts. What is most disquieting is that on converting these percentages into figures, it emerges that one out of three women in this region cant read or write, which by any standards is unacceptable in the twenty first century! As such, this issue merits greater deliberation.

Even though a National Sample Survey on education held in erstwhile J&K from July 2017 to June 2018 indicates a definite improvement in the overall literacy rate, which stands at 77.3 percent, the female literacy is only 68 percent. Considering the fact that National Sample Survey deems anyone of the age of seven and above who can read and write a simple message in any language with understanding as being literate and percentage of such persons as literacy rate, the data on female literacy in J&K as well as Ladakh reveals a serious deficiency. This sorry state of affairs warrants institutional intervention.

So, J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinhas recent announcement of a scholarship scheme to finance education of meritorious girls from poor families in professional disciplines like medicine, engineering, skill acquisition in Industrial Training Institutes [ITI] and humanities that would contribute to nation-building is indeed a welcome step in empowering the womenfolk of J&K. Launched on International Womens Day, this initiative has been named Super-75 scholarship scheme to mark Azaadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav- India@75 and has many positives. Firstly, this scholarship isnt a largesse being doled out on personal whims and fancies; its based purely on individual merit and as such will serve as an incentive for the deserving who dont have the financial means to achieve their professional ambitions.

However, Super-75 Scholarship isnt the only scheme to bolster women empowerment in J&K. Lt Governor Sinha also announced launch of Tejaswini- a scheme under the Mission Youth programme, which will provide financial assistance ofupto 5 lakhs to girls between in the age group of 18 to 35 years to start their own business. Mission Youth will not only provide 10 per cent of the project cost but will also pay the annual interest of the loan as well as facilitate access of women entrepreneurs to the global market and provide them details about innovative products. In order to enhance the literacy rate in J&K, the Lt Governor also announced exemption of tuition fees from girl students upto 12th standard studying in government schools and a total of 5,89,000 girls would benefit from this free education scheme.

To help girl students residing in remote areas, the establishment has operationalised made 88 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya and an equal number of girls hostels operational. A total of 13 scholarship schemes to support higher education of meritorious girls belonging to financially weak sections of society have also been announced. The government is playing its part to improve literacy rate amongst women in J&K as well as empower them and give wings to their dreams. Now its the turn of parents and girls [both students and entrepreneurs] to ensure that they derive maximum benefit from these schemes. Everyone knows that when it comes to excelling in any sphere of activity, Kashmiri girls are second to none, and many who have brought laurels for both the community and country.

Take for example Sabbah Haji, who has started Haji Public School in a remote village of J&K in order to provide quality education to children, or Nadiya Nighat who stormed into the predominantly male football bastion by becoming Kashmirs first female football coach. Then we have Tajamul Islam who represented India in the Under 8 World Kickboxing Championship and did the country proud by winning a gold medal! Pursuing her dream, law graduate Mehvish Zarger co-founded the Me n U Caf in Srinagar and became the first woman entrepreneur in the eatery business in Kashmir. Roohi Nazki is another entrepreneur who founded Chai Jaai- a popular tea room in Srinagar. The list goes on.

However, a word of caution. The crying need of the hour is to ensure that unscrupulous elements dont sabotage government initiatives concerning education and empowerment of women by making it an arena of conflict just to derive petty political gains or further separatist agenda. It needs to be understood that if this happens, then no one but the local girls of J&K would be the ultimate losers!

Read more here:

New Impetus to Women Education and Empowerment in J&K - Brighter Kashmir

The COVID-19 pandemic has been disproportionately devastating for mothers, and especially mothers of color. According to the National Women's Law Center, 2.3 million women left the workforce in the last year, putting the women's labor force participation rate at 57%the lowest it's been since 1988. That's thirty years of progress for women, erased in a matter of months.

That's why this Mother's Day, more than ever, we need to do more than just thank our moms. We need to advocate for the systemic changes they really need and compensate them for their unseen and unpaid labor.

"A dozen roses are not going to cut it this year," said Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code and the Marshall Plan for Moms. "The pandemic has intensified what was already a national crisis for working moms, and especially for moms of color. Every year on Mother's Day we come together to celebrate our moms, but the truth is, this year, we have to repair the broken structure of motherhood in America. Because what moms really wantwhat they really needis a national reckoning: one that reimagines our culture and rebuilds a system to actually value our work."

Unlike the floral display at the grocery store, this flower shop features bouquets as valuable as the women they're intended for. Their prices spotlight the various ways in which our national policies and COVID relief efforts are failing to adequately support mothers. The highest price tag belongs to the Unpaid Work Bouquet, which is based on new data released last week from Oxfam showing that women around the world lost $800 billion in income as they lost jobs or left the workforce to care for family. Other bouquets highlight long standing issues that directly impact women's finances and their ability to work and have children. The store also features stories from moms across the country who are feeling the real world impact of our broken system.

Bouquets in the Moms Deserve More Flower Store include:

"We need systemic changes to our policies that compensate moms for their work," said Saujani. "If nobody can afford the cost of these bouquets, let's ask ourselves why we are continuing to ask women to pay that price."

The Moms Deserve More Flower Store is supported by well known moms, advocates and organizations including Amy Schumer, Grace Meng, Ai-jen Poo, co-founder and Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Mara Bolis, Associate Director of Women's Economic Empowerment at Oxfam America, National Women's Law Center, Paid Leave for All, PL+US, and Scary Mommy. These advocates agree that the usual Mother's Day gifts are simply not enough to show mothers we truly value them and the enormous amount of work they do every day.

"Child care should be universally accessible and affordable to all families, and child care workers must be able to earn living wages and be treated with dignity and respect, said Ai-jen Poo, co-founder and Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. "For far too long, those in power have devalued caregiving and allowed for women, especially women of color, to be forced out of the workforce and care workers to be underpaid. Parents and care workers are doing the crucial and challenging work of nurturing the potential of future generations. As a nation, if we're to realize our potential, they must be supported by our public policy, our systems and a culture that values care."

"Care needs have spiked during the pandemic, and womenwho are the shock absorbers of societyhave stepped in to fill the gap at the expense of their own of economic and emotional wellbeing," said Mara Bolis, Associate Director of Women's Economic Empowerment at Oxfam America. "Across the world, women in the formal sector lost $800 billion last year due to lost jobs and stepping out of the workforce to care for children, the sick and elderly. This year for Mother's Day, we are asking for an economic recovery plan that works for moms and invests in our nation's care infrastructure so that mothers don't have to continue to serve as society's safety net."

"The lack of quality, affordable childcare for every mom in this country is a national crisis, said Amy Schumer. "When a family can't afford child care, the responsibility to take on the role of caregiver usually falls to the mom. We need to change this broken system now."

"This is a unique Mother's Day message still a celebration of Moms, but with a more focused point of view of the actual cost of motherhood," and Amy Frisch, Managing Director and Head of Client Services at SS+K, the agency that managed the visual identity, website and creative launch of the campaign, said. "It's about time we acknowledged the financial expense associated with motherhood. This project was personal. I'm a mom, and I worked alongside a team of other SS+K moms. Collaborating with Reshma, we knew we could create a campaign that could make an impact in forcing this long overdue conversation."

In January, 50 prominent women ran a full page ad in The New York Times calling on the Biden Administration to create a task force dedicated to implementing a "Marshall Plan for Moms": that is, paying mothers for their unpaid, unseen labor, and passing policies addressing parental leave, affordable childcare, and pay equity. Following the New York Times ad, Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY) introduced the Marshall Plan for Moms (H.Res.121), a transformative piece of legislation to help women return to the workforce, and, for the first time, offer much-needed assistance to mothers who have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Marshall Plan for Moms was then introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). In February, 50 prominent male allies, including Steph Curry, Don Cheadle, Colin Farrell and others signed a letter in the Washington Post calling on Congress to support the "Marshall Plan for Moms."

Visit the Moms Deserve More Flower Store HERE

Find more information on the Marshall Plan for Moms HERE

Please send media inquiries to [emailprotected]

About Marshall Plan for Moms Marshall Plan for Moms is a national movement to center women in our economic recovery and champion public and private sector policies that support all moms. Our goal is to create sweeping cultural change to value women's unseen and unpaid work, and rebuild our broken system to make it possible for women to work and have kids. Together we are galvanizing moms across the country to finish the fight for women's equality once and for all.

SOURCE Marshall Plan For Moms

More here:

Marshall Plan For Moms Launches "Moms Deserve More Flower Store" Highlighting What Moms Really Need This Mother's Day - PRNewswire

By Opinion May 1, 2021

Share this article:

By Latashia Naidoo

The Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with lockdown restrictions, has wreaked havoc on the fitness industry.

But one nutrition and exercise expert is changing all that by fighting back with fitness.

Through innovation and working across multiple platforms to curb the effects of Covid-19 on a persons health, Durban-based fitness guru, Sandesh Moothee Ram, aged 34 has made it his mission to help people cultivate better relationships with food, exercise, and their bodies.

In recent months, the closure of gyms and fitness centres across the country has seen once-active gym goers taking a health hiatus due to a lack of available resources. But with over a decades experience and certifications in the fitness industry, Moothee Rams approach to tackling the Covid-19 pandemic head on is by helping clients through a variety of interventions that dont always include having to go to a gym, all while enhancing their lifestyles in a healthier way.

Moothee Rams journey into the world of fitness started 12 years ago, when he began selling sports supplements from the boot of his car.

Fast forward to today, and hes since helped dozens of people with becoming better versions of themselves through specialised personal training solutions, and the addition of sports supplements through his outlet, Gym Junkie.

According to Moothee Ram: With restricted movements through lockdown and a dramatic decrease in individuals abilities to get to gyms, I decided to establish a number of online platforms to help clients get and stay fit, and to ensure they had the tools necessary to do so at their disposal.

Through his online coaching site, Alpha 365 Online, Moothee Ram curates tailor-made solutions for clients to ensure their long-term sustainable health. But its his newest venture, MisFIT, which looks to be his most rewarding. Focused entirely on women empowerment, the soon-to-be-launched platform caters to women of all ages, shapes and sizes.

The Covid-19 pandemic saw an increase in women abuse and incidences of GBV. I decided to empower women by teaching them how to physically fight back. My goal is to also help women to be more self-confident with their appearance and within, especially in male-dominated environments, Moothee Ram said.

Fitness is a passion of mine and ensuring every individual attains physical excellence and mental strength is what I strive for daily. It is never a day at work for me, and money is a byproduct in my journey to uplift society.

Moothee Ram credits his strong sports upbringing as a child with the success hes attained in his career today. Hes excelled provincially and at national level in both cricket and rugby, and within the competitive bodybuilding arena. I encourage all parents to ensure their kids are involved in sports from a young age as the sports field is a great leveler and humbles everybody. Your work ethic and desire to succeed are the only things that matter, Moothee Ram said.

His future goals include uplifting disadvantaged sportsmen by empowering them with the knowledge of nutrition and exercise and conditioning for their applied sport to further their sporting careers in spite of any financial shortcomings they may have. His advice to would-be entrepreneurs looking to break into the fitness industry is: Provide an irreplaceable service offered from true passion for the betterment of your clients health and wellbeing.

BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE

See the rest here:

Meet this fitness junkie who is using his muscle to fight Covid-19 - IOL

Gorgeous and glowing with an inner calm. That was Dia Mirza as a guest on Ladies Study Groups (LSG) Beyond The Stardust, a virtual session of April 24. The actor and producer who is an UNEP Goodwill Amabassador, United Nations SDGs Advocate, Wildlife Trust of India ambassador and an IFAW global ambassador among the many other hats she wears, spoke of her choices, career, empowerment and her commitment to nature. I found my balance through meditation and the work that I do, she smiled and left us with this lovely message: The world needs more empathy and love and action. Please continue to question all that is unfair and do everything you can to help others and please dont lose faith in humanity. Excerpts from the Hyderabadi beautys chat with LSG president Diya Jaiswal.

Growing-up years...

I think the foundation that each of us gets is in the education system that we are exposed to and also of course our parentage, what they teach us through their own actions and choices. I went to Vidyaranya High School, which directly translates to forest of education. Conversations about human behaviour and practices were constant right through school. We had a rare kind of assembly. We would talk about and debate current affairs and we would be compelled to think about things that we normally didnt think about. Consumerism was one of them and the fact that advertising in a capitalist society was driving consumerism, what kind of an impact that would have on nature and how we as human beings were moving further and further away from nature. Alongside that they taught us how to compost. A lot of our classes happened under trees, a lot like in Santiniketan. The school was inspired by J. Krishnamurti and a lot of the foundation of the school and the attitude of teaching was similar to what Rabindranath Tagore did with Santiniketan and what J. Krishnamurti did with Rishi Valley. Our school did not believe in the concept of competition and putting children in school uniform. There was no examination, grading, ranking in the percentile system till Class VIII. Even when we did start doing tests and preparing for the board examinations, we were still never ranked in class. On sports day, we would all get a laddoo. We were always only competing with ourselves.

It was a very similar environment at home. Both my parents loved nature. I spent many afternoons and evenings with my mother, planting trees, rescuing injured birds and animals, treating them and setting them free, watching her cry over the pain and anguish she would feel over an injured animal or bird that she couldnt save.

We had carpenters at home and they found a baby python. They put it in a thick black box and brought her home to us and my father decided to save it and take care of it and release it into the wild till it was big enough. Fear was also another concept that was never introduced to me as a child.

Being independent...

I was 14-and-a-half or 15 when I saw this really expensive pair of boots which was about Rs 8,500 at that time and I asked for them. My mother said there is absolutely no way she would spend that much money on a pair of shoes. You earn your money and buy them, she said. I was so hurt! (Laughs) I felt in that moment of rage that I was considerate and didnt make unnecessary demands. I said to her you wait and watch, by the time I am 18, Id be making my own money, by the time I am 19, I will be having my own car and by the time I am 20, Ill have my own house. Interestingly the chronology of events unfolded exactly like that. I was 18 when I won Miss India (Asia Pacific 2000) and I won this car. By the time I was 20, I had bought my own house where I still live, in Bombay.

I never consciously thought that I want to model and was planning to pursue a career in law. I was spotted by Roma Gill at Secunderabad Club in Hyderabad. I was reading a book and she came up to me and said they were doing a fashion show... you are a really pretty girl and would you walk for the designer? I think she said I would be paid

Rs 5,000 or 7,000 and I just sat up! (Laughs) That led to other jobs. It was extremely empowering to earn your own money at 15-and-a-half, 16....

I think the challenge really lay in the fact that I was on my own and was not being chaperoned by my parents, had to really find my own voice and rhythm and learn how to navigate egos and all kinds of people. It was terrifying also at many levels, but I did okay. I wanted so much to be independent... I really valued it when I got independent. I started filing my returns when I was 18 and set up my home when I was 18. Simple things like getting a landline connection or a gas connection, these are things that were not easy to do in a new city.

Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein...

This was actually the third film I filmed and was the first one to release. The film was a giant box-office disaster. Again a huge lesson for me. Being put up on a pedestal at such a young age and everything was going my way and things were happening the way I wanted them too. I was earning well, getting to travel and see the world, explore... and suddenly I had to face this enormous rejection... a flop. It made me lose projects overnight, changed peoples attitudes towards me. It was much later I realised that if something is meant to connect with people, it will in its own time.

A fresh lease of life...

A lot of the mainstream work happening at the time was misogynistic and patriarchal. I didnt feel respected on a film set and was determined to do substantive work that would contribute to my growth as an artist. The way I looked didnt help at all. (Laughs) The result of absolute abject frustration was me wanting to set up my own production company. If people are not going to create the opportunities I deserve, I will create them for myself. Thats when I set up Born Free Entertainment and made my first feature film at 26 as a producer (with Love Breakups Zindagi). I really enjoyed the process.

Kaafir (Zee5s web series) came to me at a wonderful time because I think I was so ready to understand the politics of the story, the social and the psychological distress of the character.... It was a life-altering experience for me as an artist. It was deeply gratifying given the substance, the depth, the length and the gravitas of the part. It is a noble story. It gave me a fresh lease of life.

Dia, the advocate...

There is no separating the two (the actress and the advocate). The kind of parts I am choosing now stands for something, share about something, speak of something that is important to me. The work I do outside of cinema has in so many ways contributed to defining my purpose and helping me understand what it is that I possibly want to do and giving me unadulterated joy. A lot of this work is deeply personal and painful and I cant tell you the levels of anxiety we feel because of the magnitude of the issues we are dealing with but the joy of being a part of the solution is unparalleled.

The sustainability journey...

I discovered in the early 2000s that so much of the ill health that the young children and people were suffering from was caused by environmental degradation. What I realised early was that scientists, environmentalists and those who work with wildlife and natural habitat protection werent getting an opportunity to reach mainstream society. I realised that I needed to act on it. What if I could become between a bridge between these incredible people who had the knowledge and science and take that to mainstream society by using my platform and voice.

While doing this work, there were so many big shifts that I had to create in my own life. I am learning to be a better citizen of the planet than ever before. Our choices and actions have an impact on the planet and on all other lives and living beings. We have the power of personal choice and we can make better choices and have the power to compel governments, industries and civil society to do better.

I think something you and I can easily do is to switch to a mostly plant-based diet, refuse all single-use plastics, compost and segregate waste at home and just reduce your levels of consumption and waste. I made a switch from regular cleaners to completely natural cleaners and my personal hygiene items have been completely replaced with totally sustainable and natural products... from regular sanitary napkins to biodegradable sanitary napkins because I didnt know for the entire duration of my life that the sanitary napkins were mostly made of plastic. It is so ironical that something that is supposed to empower women and take care of their health and hygiene is actually causing cervical cancer... and polluting the soil, air and water.

We also need to choose forever fashion (over fast fashion). I look for the story behind the garment and choose textiles and garments that uplift lives, (are) sustainable, natural and have a long, durable lifespan.

Her sustainable wedding...

I think the most sustainable thing about the wedding was the fact there were very few people who travelled. It was a very intimate wedding and 99 per cent of our guests were local and the decor was completely natural with locally-sourced flowers. We did it in our garden at the back of the building where I spend every morning listening to bird songs. Every other element of the decor was reusable and recyclable. The food was also catered with specific instructions. We knew exactly who ate what and the kind of quantities, so we had no waste. We ensured that there is absolutely no plastic at the wedding. You cannot achieve any kind of sustainability without gender equality. Sheila Atta, our priestess, was absolutely divine.

Read the original post:

Dia Mirza on her sustainable way of life and more... - Telegraph India