Jinsha Basheer: The woman biker fighting for social causes
This Kerala woman rides a Royal Enfield. So what, women have been bike riding since ages, you'd argue? But she does it for a cause. She rides around, creating video-blogs ('vlogs'), asking for donations to the needy, and sharing problems faced by the people. No wonder she was accorded the Best Social Media Blogger Award 2018 in April. Let's know more about Jinsha Basheer.
A visit to a petrol pump changed her life
The Alappuzha girl worked as a software engineer earlier but a visit to a petrol pump changed the course of her life. There she noticed the staff tampering with the fuel quantity being filled in the vehicles and thought of doing something. She confronted them, but they asked her not to make a fuss as even the public was aware of such activities.
Her maiden video garnered some 7,200 likes
Determined to do something, she recorded the whole thing and posted it on Facebook. The video dated October 1, 2017 garnered some 7,200 likes. That was the start of her vlogging journey. Her subsequent videos got her 1L followers in a month. She has also started a YouTube channel, through which she makes roughly Rs. 70,000 per month. But money wasn't her motivation.
'No religion dictates a woman should keep her mouth shut'
Jinsha wanted to speak up, and break the ceiling by showing the society that "no religion dictates a woman should keep her mouth shut just because men feel that they only have the right to speak up," says the fierce lady. Her efforts have paid off. She has managed to help the families of Shaan Shahul, Ayesha and Muneer, among many others.
Families of Shaan and Ayesha are forever indebted to her
Shaan lost his life in the Gulf, just 25 days after he left to work there. His family was shattered. Jinsha recorded the family's plight and released it online. Saudi-based Al Khaseem NRI Group noticed it and promptly donated Rs. 11L to Shaan's family. She also helped collect Rs. 30L to save one-year-old Ayesha (pictured), who was in need of a bone marrow transplant.
Despite her good deeds, she gets abused and receives threats
Despite her good intentions, Jinsha has faced a lot of opposition till date. Some even went to the extent of abusing her and threatening her to stop. She shared the negative reviews are mostly from people from her community, but she refuses to succumb to the pressure. "I do not blindly accept things that a community imposes on its people," she said.
Mother, sisters not supportive; husband, in-laws, father are
Not just strangers, even her mother Parisha and sisters were against this initiative. They were hurt by what Jinsha had to face, but her father, Aryattupadeetathil Basheer, an ex-soldier, and her techie-husband Faisal stood undeterred by her side. Faisal's parents Kasimkutty and Salma Beevi supported her too. "Faisal says, 'Do what you think is right. You've my solid support'," and she's doing exactly that.
She refuses to join NGOs for a reason
2.8L followers on social media prove that Jinsha's voice is heard. Naturally, NGOs and trusts have approached her, but she turned them down. "I strongly feel some of these organizations take a percentage of the benefits that should go to the person who is in need of it," she points out. "I make sure that every penny directly reaches the person," she adds.
No publicity, religion, politics please: Jinsha's clear stance
She also doesn't need publicity, so she steers clear of politics and religion. "I might get many likes and my followers would also increase in an instant but for me ethics comes first," she opines. Notably, all her videos are in Malayalam, her native tongue.
