Vessels Pursues Women?s Studies in India

As Knox College senior Ellen Vessels went through elementary school, she says she experienced sexism. She concedes that it was nothing life threatening or more than the juvenile playground chant ?Girls can?t do that.? ?But I felt it was profoundly unfair.? Growing up in Overland Park Kansas, this Gender and Women's Studies major and Anthropology and Sociology minor says she learned a sense of justice and a sense of being treated unfairly.

She was immediately drawn to the Gender and Women's Studies classes at Knox, although Vessels admits she was initially planning a career in theatre. So how do you go from theatre to human activism?

?When I looked at colleges, I was looking at theatre and creative writing ? the things where people say, 'Are you going to become a starving artist?' But in coming to Knox, I found every major is taken seriously. And people graduate in things like Gender and Women's Studies and creative writing and are still successful and don?t become starving artists.? That is what Vessels says she found at Knox.

Looking for an out-of-the-box experience inspired by the women?s studies classes and sociology theories of what other people are thinking about, Vessels wanted something beyond the typical ?spread my wings? experience. ?I wanted to make a difference, and at Knox there are so many resources available. There is a whole community that wants to support you in what you want to do.?

She looked into Knox?s study abroad programs, and it wasn?t long before Vessels found her own program at the Bandhavi School for young girls ages 8 to 14 in India.

?It was a program that I went out and found myself and basically got approved by Knox. These girls are at risk of becoming exploited. The school is an amazing place.?

According to Vessels, the young girls are children of Devadasi women. These women are either deserted by their husbands, living with HIV/AIDS or are widowed. In the Devadasi tradition, the young girls are married off at the time of puberty and then dedicate themselves to the man who has ownership over them. They have no legal holding and live in bondage. Poverty, discrimination, and religious tradition keep the girls bound to this practice.

Vessels lived on the Bandhavi campus with the girls and teachers. She says that the school not only offered the girls the opportunity to avoid exploitation but taught them their rights, so they can go back to their communities and speak out about all of the injustice. ?The school is not only essential in that it gives them food, clothing, and shelter and education, but it also gives them a sense of pride and empowerment in themselves, which is why I think I love the school so much.?

Lecturing activists and field trips on issues of globalization, economics, identities and justice, ecology, religion, and culture introduced Vessels to people living in the slums, sex workers, people with HIV/AIDS, fisherman, Tibetan monks, and environmental activists. ?It was really phenomenal as I got to meet people I otherwise would not have been able to meet.?

She says the slogan ?Freedom to Flourish? is a very accurate descriptor of Knox. ?They allow you to become the best version of yourself.?

Her study abroad experience has honed her self-reliance and many other skills that will be useful when Vessels starts her career in the future. Her interests are vast, and she says she sees herself involved in activism. ?I?m interested in a lot of issues. I want to see better access to health for people under served. It is impossible for me to put a monetary value on what I have gained mentally, physically, and spiritually from this experience.?