#WikiHerStory: Rupika’s journey to bring her mother language to the world
A series showcasing the women behind Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects.
Rupika Sharma’s journey as a Wikimedia volunteer began in 2014, when a classmate told her that anyone could edit Wikipedia. When she went home, Rupika started writing an article for the Punjabi language edition of Wikipedia about Karva Chauth, an Indian festival that celebrates the love and longevity of married couples. From there, she expanded her topics to write about everything from linguistics to Indian cuisines and women’s biographies on Wikipedia.
“It felt like I had entered a new world where there was a chance to connect with a community of open-minded people who worked together for a cause, for a mission,” Rupika said.
That mission includes making the world’s knowledge accessible to and representative of all the world’s people. While there are over 125 million native Punjabi speakers, the language is vastly underrepresented on the internet. Rupika is helping to change this by raising awareness about Punjabi Wikipedia and increasing the amount of content that exists in Punjabi.
“I work with fellow free knowledge activists to create educational and informational resources, and, at the same time, elevate our mother tongue in the world,” said Rupika.
She has mentored others, led Wikipedia workshops, and even developed a short animated movie to raise awareness about Wikipedia. In the animation, animals go on a school trip and learn about the history of heritage monuments of Lahore, Punjab. It’s called A Trip To Lahore, and you can view it on Wikimedia Commons, the online repository of free-use images, sounds, and other media. Thanks to the work of dedicated volunteers like Rupika, Punjabi Wikipedia has gone from humble beginnings with about 3000 articles in 2009 to more than 32,500 articles today.
In 2018, Rupika became the first Wikimedian-in-Residence from India working with GLAM institutions (an abbreviation for “galleries, libraries, archives, and museums”). Now, she is the project manager of the Heritage GLAM Project, which encourages collaborations with cultural institutions in North India to help digitize archives, document history, upload images of art and sculptures, and much more. Rupika also founded and coordinated the Wiki Loves Folklore project, an international photography contest for documenting global folk culture on Wikimedia Commons. This year, the contest garnered participation from 120 countries and over 18,770 images of folk culture.
We spoke to Rupika as part of our new #WikiHerStory initiative, launched this month for Women’s History Month. #WikiHerStory seeks to raise awareness of and generate solutions for closing the gender gap on Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects. It also aims to showcase the inspiring people — such as Rupika — and projects working toward gender equity on the platforms.
Here are some highlights from our conversation with Rupika:*
Q: Can you share a favorite memory from your time as a volunteer?
One of my favorite memories as a volunteer was attending an annual Wikimedia conference, and the feeling of meeting my tribe. It was surprising to meet people from across the world who felt and wished for similar things as me. The feeling of being part of a global community was very vivid and left a strong impression on me.
I also came to understand other roles in which Wikimedians could participate beyond editing articles. I started working on partnerships and GLAM projects after learning new things from the conference. It truly changed my life as a volunteer in the Wikimedia community.
Q: What has made you stay involved in the Wikimedia movement?
My desire to strengthen the open movement in India and the world, and to uplift the Punjabi language and local knowledge on the internet so it can continue to survive.
To ensure that the language continues to live on, it is essential we document our works, culture, and knowledge in our language online. Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects have been a great source for recording and sharing this information.
Along with the passion for my mother tongue, I am drawn to the strong sense of belonging in a community of like-minded individuals who are volunteering as free knowledge and open movement activists.
Q: What is your greatest hope for the future of the Wikimedia movement?
My hope is that we continue progressing towards the path of knowledge equity by prioritizing inclusion and equality, empowerment, and open access across the globe, including in emerging regions.
Q: What does gender equity on the Wikimedia projects mean to you?
Gender equity on the Wikimedia projects has many layers: from the creation of content on Wikipedia and editor demographics, to shifting the balance of power with more women and members of the queer community in leadership and decision-making roles. It also means that marginalized groups are able to openly and progressively coordinate different programs and initiatives in patriarchal societies with a safer and more welcoming environment.
Q: What advice would you give women who are interested in getting involved in Wikimedia projects?
The first time I felt deeply inspired by a gender-centric project was with Wiki Loves Women, founded by Florence Devouard and Isla Haddow-Flood. It is a beautiful project in which leaders from different countries and of different languages collaborate to add and improve quality information about African women on Wikipedia. It seemed like a powerful and harmonious initiative, and I dreamed of starting a similar program that bands together different communities for bridging gender equity to Wikimedia projects and the internet at large.
So, in 2019, with the support of fellow Wikimedians Nattes à chat and Sumita Roy Dutta, I founded Wiki Loves Women India, in which 12 Indic communities collaborated to work on women-centric topics, such as gender and female biographies. In 2020, we have expanded this project to different countries and language communities of South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
I hope this journey can be an inspiration for women living in different cultures and regions of the world. Dare to dream, for your dreams become your possibilities!
Q: In five words or less, how would you describe your experience as a Wikimedia volunteer?
Journey of a lifetime
*This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
We invite you to learn more about Wikipedia’s gender gap and help us close the divide by joining #WikiHerStory today. You can sign up here for email updates about Wikimedia’s ongoing gender equity efforts.
