Shushma Bhadu A school dropout at an early age, 32-year-old Shushma Bhadu belongs to the Bishnoi community from the Dhani Miyan Khan village in Haryana. Following centuries-old tradition, women in her community wore a veil to show respect towards their elders. Shushma found this ‘Purdah’ practice restrictive and wanted to break free from this outdated…
Geetanjali Babbar A graduate in journalism and a post-graduate in development communications, Geetanjali Babbar declined various high-paying job offers to set up a centre for improving the lives of the sex workers of GB Road, the red light area of Delhi. As a student, Geetanjali was involved with National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) where she…
Sunita Chaudhary Sunita Chaudhary grew up in an orthodox village in Bahadurpur in Uttar Pradesh, where the purdah system is prevalent. Confined to their homes, girls from these villages still do not have access to formal education. Sunita learnt only basic reading and counting, and spent her days on household chores. She was married at…
Rani Begum Hailing from Chaturbhuj Sthan in Muzaffarpur; Rani Begum – now an ex courtesan, was exploited since the age of 12. This small town in north Bihar has been a long established red light area and is home to more than 1,000 sex workers. Rani Begum could not stand the maltreatment of her ‘sisters’…
Dr. Falguni Navetiya Daughter to a prominent businessman in Calcutta and a Gujarati by birth – Falguni, faced great opposition from her family when she decided to marry Arun. Arun – a cancer patient since he was 10 years old had been subject to many relapses and various other ailments. She refused to succumb to…
Archana Rajender Hegde Archana Hegde’s village in the rural Uttara Kannada district is a major trading centre for areca nuts. Many villagers live in abject poverty, working as daily wage labourers in the nut farms for the six-month production cycle. In the off-season, it is common for the men to migrate to cities in search…
Archanatai Jatkar Archanatai Jatkar had many goals in mind to accomplish when she stood for the Gram Panchayat election in 2005. From the outset, amongst her priorities were the development of her village, quality education for children and better livelihood prospects for women. Elected as a female sarpanch of Pokhari in Yavatmal district (Maharashtra), she…
Rashida Bee A victim of the Bhopal gas tragedy – Rashida Bee’s world changed drastically on the unfortunate night in December 1984. A leakage of more than 27 tons of industrial poisonous gas led to the death of 8000 residents and a dark future for the coming generations in the city.Married at the young age…
Dr P. Bhanumati Dr P. Bhanumati, a Zoology professor from Thrissur, Kerala, grew up with three mentally challenged siblings. One tragic day, she lost her brother who was suffering from a throat problem. Bhanumathi felt that due to her brother’s mental illness, his case was treated as a low priority for the doctor and he…
Sonali Mukherjee Sonali Mukherjee was a bright 17-year-old student from Dhanbad, who loved studying and was pursuing her Sociology Honours, until a tragic summer night changed her life forever. Regularly teased and stalked by a disgruntled suitor and his friends in the neighborhood, she decided to take a stand and protest, despite their death threats.…
