The KaaliTales Project is an initiative by 9 students of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, to break gender-based stereotypes and promote feminist thinking among children. The idea behind the project is fairly simple: to recognise the power of stories to shape the way children think. The people behind KaaliTales aim to create an alternative to the traditional fairytale, which is often premised on weak heroines dependent on their Prince Charming rescuing them. The name ‘KaaliTales’ itself is an attempt to replace the Eurocentric ‘fairy’ and reconceptualize stories.
To involve children of all age groups, these alternative stories are sourced from older children through a competition conducted in schools across India. The best entries shall be promoted and published. Currently in its third edition, the competition saw enthusiastic participation in 2013, with 130 entries from 8 schools. As of November 2016, the second edition has seen 133 entries from 16 schools in the first phase. However, to make the project sustainable and to be able to scale it up, KaaliTales need finances to take care of logistics, prize money and publicity. KaaliTales are hopeful of voluntary contributions/sponsorships so that they can reach out to a greater audience.
The link to the crowdfunding page can be found at https://www.ketto.org/fundraiser/kaalitalesproject
For previously published stories, further details and updates, you can refer to: https://kaalitales.wordpress.com/ and facebook page: https://web.facebook.com/kaalitales?_rdr
