NIDHI GOYAL | Katharsis- December 2019 | The Red Door

Nidhi Goyal is part of the UN Women Executive Director’s Civil Society Advisory Group, the advisory board of VOICE, President-elect of the Board of the global feminist organization, AWID, and a member of the core group on persons with disabilities and elderly persons by the National Human Rights Commission.

The second event on December 9, 2019, on ' Disabilities- Different Lives. Different Stories' and brought together people across different kinds of disabilities - hearing, visual, and locomotive. Again, the idea was to bring insight into different perspectives on life that came from lived differences. In which the panellist was: Hardeep Singh, Abhishek Anica, and Nidhi Goyal

Katharsis - #StoriesHeal', a play on the words 'Catharsis' and 'Katha' or story, seeks to bring stories of people across differences and disabilities to a common platform, breaking silos. Katharsis is an attempt to push the boundaries of conversations around mental health. Katharsis is supported by CREA. The event is held every alternative month at Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

Katharsis comes from a conviction that conversations around Mental Health need to be more inclusive, diverse, and respectful of the myriad realities that we inhabit in our heads and lives. An initiative of The Red Door, it takes its inspiration from the struggles of people with disabilities, especially those who have experienced extreme emotional states, and takes cognizance of the UNCRPD motto of 'nothing about us, without us'.

A little about us - The Red Door was set up by Reshma Valliappan and Aparna Sanyal, with an idea to bring forth a different perspective on mental health. Reshma was given a diagnosis of Schizophrenia 2 decades ago and Aparna made a film on her about 9 years ago-'A Drop of Sunshine'. The Red Door is a voluntary effort by them. Aparna Sanyal is a National Award-winning filmmaker with various national and international projects to her name. Reshma Valliapan is an artist-activist for a number of issues related to mental health, disability, sexuality, and human rights.