This year’s theme for the International Women’s Day was Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step it up for Gender Equality. In line with that, we decided to reflect upon how we as an organisation have helped individuals, societies and communities to move towards gender parity in whatever way — big or small.
Somti Gathiya, a resident of Raipur village in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh, was a facilitator of a SHG supported by a local NGO called Pradan. She was extremely fond of the NGO’s wors and dreamt of handling bigger responsibilities. However, a middle school dropout, Somti deemed herself under-qualified to ever pursue her dream. A…
Fareeda Isaac (47) is a social entrepreneur from Puducherry. As a dynamic social worker, Fareeda began her journey in 2005 when she created a women’s only self-help group (SHG) in Orleanpet region of Puducherry. Soon, she had formed two more SHGs. Once every month, she would organise a meeting with each SHG at her house…
Kiran Kumari lives in Mansoorpur town of Bihar. She is the trainer and coordinator at CIRC Mansoorpur. Kiran (28) and her husband Raghav have been consistently working towards the upliftment of her community. A runaway couple spent their initial years after marriage at the Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan. There, Raghav used his experience of…
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,…
