At Equal Community Foundation, we have always believed that relationships rooted in empathy, understanding, and equality can contribute to sustained social change. Through our programmes, we have seen how everyday attitudes, particularly within families, play a powerful role in shaping how young people understand themselves and each other.

The #SahyogKiShuruaat campaign encourages us to pause and reflect on the relationships we hold closest — with our siblings, our friends, our peers. Are these bonds truly supportive, or are they quietly shaped by expectations of control?

Often, the idea of protection is seen as something caring, even noble. And yes, it can come from a good place. But when protection becomes a responsibility placed on one person, usually over another. It can create an imbalance. It can limit how freely someone makes decisions, silence their vulnerability, and suggest that one person should always lead while the other follows.

This campaign asks: what if we built our bonds differently with trust, shared responsibility, and mutual respect at the centre?

Through this campaign, we are not questioning anyone’s intention; rather, we are encouraging a shift in focus.

From protection to partnership.
From control to collaboration.
From limiting to enabling.

When our relationships are built on mutual support, something powerful happens: both individuals get the space to grow, express themselves, and be truly heard. It is about listening without judgment, respecting each other’s choices, and walking alongside one another, not out of a need to protect, but out of a belief that every voice matters.

This is the core of our work with adolescents and youth at Equal Community Foundation. Through our Gender Transformative Approach, we focus on everyday experiences because equality does not begin in grand moments, but in how we show up for each other in our closest relationships. That is where change starts.

#SahyogKiShuruaat is not about pointing fingers or criticising anyone. It is about starting a conversation, one that brings us closer. It reminds us that trust, empathy, and sharing responsibility are what make our relationships stronger, whether at home, with friends, or in the communities we are part of.

Let us take this moment to reflect on the kind of bonds we want to build.

• Are we making space for each other to express freely?
• Are we sharing responsibilities and listening with an open mind?
• Are we standing beside each other as equals?

We invite you to join this ongoing conversation.

Tell us what support means to you. How do you show it in your daily life? What would #SahyogKiShuruaat look like for you?

Read. Share. Learn with us and with one another. Let us begin, together.

#SahyogKiShuruaat #SupportAndGrow #RespectAndEmpathy #RedefineTheBond #EqualRelationships #SharedResponsibility #EverydayEquality #GenderEquality #YouthForChange #MutualSupport #PartnershipNotControl #TrustAndEquality #EmpathyInAction #RelationshipEquality #SocialChangeStartsHere

 

 

Authored by Urasmita Ghosh, Communications Associate, Equal Community Foundation.