''Agents of Ishq'' is an Indian website about sexuality, love and desire. It was founded in 2014 by filmmaker, writer and artist
Paromita Vohra
Paromita Vohra is an Indian filmmaker and writer. She is known for her documentaries on subjects such as urban life, pop culture and gender. She has also written the screenplay of the award-winning feature film ''Khamosh Pani''. Her film product ...
, whose aim was to "create a positive and enabling conversation around sex", including different sexual orientations.
The website is run by Parodevi Pictures, an independent media and arts company based in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
.
History
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
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
. With the working methodologies of an arts organization, Agents of Ishq aimed to co-create an inclusive, pleasure-positive,
intersectional
Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of adva ...
perspective on
sexuality
Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
along with the contributors and audiences.
Covered by newspapers like
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
,
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
and
Economic Times, Agents of Ishq has been showcased as one of 10 global sexuality projects of excellence by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
and has collaborated with organisations like Oxfam, Majlis, Population Council, CREA and brands such as Bumble.
Content
''Agents of Ishq'' is intended to provide a
comprehensive sex education
Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is a sex education instruction method based on-curriculum that aims to give students the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and values to make appropriate and healthy choices in their sexual lives. The intention i ...
, using videos, graphics, comics, maps, arts and podcasts. Topics include relationships,
dating
Dating is a stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals engage in an activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the categor ...
, sex, and consent, within the framework of Indian culture. It draws on
popular culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
, including
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
style music videos and ancient erotic art.
The website also contains teaching modules for schools and educators. The site is bilingual, with material in Hindi and English.
Projects
''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.
The same year they made a short film on the issue of
sexual consent
Sexual consent is consent to engage in sexual activity. In many jurisdictions, sexual activity without consent is considered rape or other sexual assault.
Academic discussion of consent
In the late 1980s, academic Lois Pineau argued that society ...
in collaboration with the
lavani
Lavani () is a genre of music popular in Maharashtra, India. Lavani is a combination of traditional song and dance, which particularly performed to the beats of ''Dholki'', a percussion instrument. Lavani is noted for its powerful rhythm. Lavan ...
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
Gaurav Gera (born 23 September 1973) is an Indian comedian and actor who works in Hindi language films and television series. He also worked in Bollywood musical ''Jhumroo''. He is well known for playing the role of Nandu in ''Jassi Jaisi Koi Na ...
. 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.
In 2021, ''Agents of Ishq'', along with
The YP Foundation, organized a 3-day digital conference called Love, Sex and Data (LSD) conference. They have also partnered with
Oxfam India
Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International.
History
Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...
.
Awards
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
{{reflist
External links
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)
(mint Lounge, Aug 2018)
(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)
(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)
Indian educational websites
Sex education in Asia
Multilingual websites
Internet properties established in 2014
Sexuality in India