Mayatai Sorte Born in a small village in Maharashtra to a lower caste family, Mayatai Sorte was surrounded by poverty and the taboos of untouchability from the beginning. During her childhood her father got married for the second time and as a result both Maya and her mother suffered. Maya, herself got married at a…
Sindhutai Sapkal Married at the young age of 9 years to a 30-year-old man, Sindhutai Sapkal’s life has been anything but comfortable. A victim of domestic violence, Sindhutai had a difficult marriage and gave birth to three sons by the time she turned 20. Her husband left her when she was nine months pregnant with…
Chandralekha Chandralekha hails from a place where the birth of a girl is celebrated, but for all wrong reasons. In older times, girls in her village Nat Purwa (near Lucknow), were raised to be prostitutes and often, both the father and brothers fulfilled the role of pimps. Caught in this age-old tradition, Chandralekha was only…
Reva Dandage Many students in India succumb to suicides because of a rigid and competitive educational system, every year. Reva Dandage was a bright young girl with a promising life ahead until she failed to pass her Grade 12 final exams. While this failure made her question her capabilities, she never imagined that this would…
Jyotsna Sitling Jyotsna Sitling belongs to the `Lepcha’ tribal community of Kalimpong, West Bengal. Growing up, she loved plants and chose to study botany at the Darjeeling Government College. With a strong passion for ecological conservation, Jyotsna decided that forestry was her vocation. Soon after, she became the first Indian woman forester to join the…
Jayashree Rajpurohit 30-year-old Jayashree Rajpurohit hails from a Brahmin family from Umedpur village in Jalore district, Rajasthan. Brahim women in this area often follow the restrictive tradition of wearing a veil and rarely venture out of their homes. Jayshree studied until 10th grade and married soon after. She soon had two lovely kids and lived…
Ramilaben Govindbhai Patel Ramilaben Govindbhai Patel, a 43-year-old woman from Pentarura village in Sabarkantha district, Gujarat. Ramila never had an opportunity to go to college. Yet, she earns enough money annually to be at par with some corporate CEOs. Ramilaben’s source of livelihood is her dairy farm. On an average, Ramilaben’s dairy farm churns out…
Sulekha Ali Sulekha Ali, a young Muslim woman, was compelled by tragic circumstances to lead a life of misery. In 2002, communal riots broke out in Gujarat that forced Sulekha to abandon her home and live in a refugee camp. This was a time of immense physical and emotional pain. During her stay in the…
Kanku Bai Kanku Bai grew up in a family of six, consisting of three boys and three girls in the Nichla Talab village in Kherwara, Rajasthan. As a young girl, Kanku faced gender discrimination where she and her sisters had to herd cattle and her brothers went to school. She also assisted as a mid-wife…
Vijaya Pastala Vijaya Pastala is the founder & CEO of Under The Mango Tree (UTMT), a social enterprise that brings a variety of agricultural products to the market to support rural livelihoods. While helping in relief work after a devastating earthquake in Latur, Maharashtra, Vijaya noticed that a lot of trade between farmers & buyers…
