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…
t-size: 15px; background-color: #ee2425; padding: 5px; width: 600px; text-align: justify;”> Krishna Poonia On 11th Oct 2010, Krishna Poonia became the first Indian woman athlete to win a gold medal in track and field events at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, achieving this feat in the discus throw discipline. Born in the conservative Jat community of Agroha…
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…
