Keeping in view the low literacy level amongst the backward sections of the minorities, Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) and Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India launched The Minority Cyber Gram Yojana. The program aims at facilitating villages with minority population and is now in its pilot stage. Chandauli with 95 percent minority population is…
Sunita Aralikar Sunita Aralikar, a 56-year-old woman is a well-known social activist for female infanticide and an author today. Hailing from a remote village in the Latur hamlet of Maharashtra, where girl children are often looked upon as burdens, Sunita has overcome many life-threatening obstacles in her life’s journey. Sunita was barely 16 days old…
Fulmatai Dayaram Belsare Fulmatai Dayaram Belsare is the first woman sarpanch representing the Jambhli grampanchayat of Jamunnala village of Maharashtra. A member of Korku tribe, she is a true representation of a woman’s ability to make a difference to the society by spinning the wheels of change! Fulmatai started her life as a destitute laborer…
Noorjahan Diwan Noorjahan Diwan, today a social activist, is a determined young Muslim woman. Not long ago, she was scared to board a bus or to walk home from the bus stop alone. Married at a young age, Noorjahan soon had three children. With a resolve to complete her education after marriage, she joined Mahila…
Sharda Bhati 37-year-old Sharda Bhati is a relentless crusader for the rights of the ‘devadasi’ women in Ahmedabad’s Wadia village. Sharda grew up in a supportive low-income family, completing her high school in Rajasthan and marrying soon after. She decided to volunteer with the NGO- Vicharti Jaati Samuday Samarthan Manch (VJSSM) in her spare time.…
Preeti Kapadia Preeti Kapadia, is a 35-year-old woman, who grew up in an average middle class household in rural Gujarat. Her parents were supportive of her education and she graduated from college with distinction. Soon after, she married and settled down in Morthan Village in Olpad Taluka, Gujarat with her husband and in-laws. Morthan was…
Neeru Rathod Neeru Rathod, a video correspondent for Video Volunteers, works relentlessly to highlight the social issues of marginal communities in Gujarat. She developed a passion and expertise in video journalism, despite coming from a disadvantaged community with limited resources at her disposal. Neeru Rathod is the eighth child in a family of eleven girls,…
Rekha Chaudhari Rekha is an enthusiastic & dedicated 39-year-old Adivasi (tribal) woman from the Chaudhai community in Vgedchhi. While growing up, she experienced the constant discrimination faced by tribals. Adivasis, often perceived to be involved in crimes keep migrating from one place to another. Rekha Chaudhari realized that tribal children are usually the worst affected…
Manjula Pradeep Manjula Pradeep was the second daughter born to an orthodox Dalit family in Vadodara. As her father expected a son, her birth was not welcome in the family. Her father blamed her mother for Manjula’s birth and abused both of them physically and mentally since her birth. Outside her home, Manjula was treated…
Geeta Mohan Puria Geeta Mohanpuria was once a shy village girl, who would think twice to even step out from her house. Today she is hard-nosed fearless woman who chases news stories on her motorbike. This transformation did not happen in a day and her story says it all. Geeta comes from a poor family…
