The idea of the app came from a need for connecting survivors, their allies with ease, Noopur Tiwari said
Young girls and women came together at Delhi's Miranda College on Saturday to wage a battle against patriarchy. Aiding their fight is a new ally - Smashboard, which is "an alternative social media network with special features for people of all genders fighting patriarchy".
This new social networking application empowers women by enabling them to create a community of feminists, who are both global and hyper local, along with professional experts.
Noopur Tiwari, the founder of Smashboard says, "The idea of smashboard came out of a need for connecting survivors and their allies, people who are battling trauma to do certain things with ease. Here you can find experts that you need for your mental health, lawyers, and journalists. The idea on one hand is to keep the agency with the survivors and on the other hand is to create a social media network where we recognise that there is something called patriarchy and that there are tons of people out there doing the labour of fighting patriarchy. This app is to make their messy and risky tasks easier."
The platform aims to go beyond the hashtag movements to connect survivors of violence on digital streets, creating a safe space for them to share their stories, give and seek support. It also has specialized tools for survivors to fight systemic patriarchal violence.
Smashboard is being endorsed by Eve Ensler of The Vagina Monologues fame who launched One Billion Rising 2020, a global campaign to end rape and sexual violence against women, in India this week.
She says," I think that Smashboard is a totally brilliant idea. It is a way for not only building collectivity and community where they can share their stories, experiences, and articles but also it is a way for women to actually gather courage to tell their stories because they know out there women will be supporting them when they come out."
Smashboard hopes more women will come out on the digital streets when the app goes local with Indian languages soon.