Shadhika

As a woman in India, I often hear how lucky I am to enjoy the utmost liberty and independence – especially when I am challenging my society’s accepted gender norms. This seemingly benign remark hides a powerful system of gender inequality. Women in India and around the world can attest to the patriarchy’s power to   

Remember the days where you once walked across a stage and graduated from college, feeling both accomplished and terrified?  Spending time imagining the possibilities and opportunities that await your arrival, in the midst of long nights writing resumes and cover letters that are unique to each position. Those thoughts, feelings and time building applications are   

Tell us about yourself?My name is Rupi*. I’m a member of Baale Mane. I have been here for the past 7 years. What do you feel about Baale Mane?I feel very happy and safe. I’m getting education so I’m thankful to them. Tell us about your family.I lost my parents when I was a kid.   

Our Experience Creating Rangoli Vaishu shares, “At Baale Mane, we create this Rangoli every day without miss and this is our way to welcome the guest to our home. We use colors, dry flour, and flower petals from the garden to design the Rangoli. We play with colors, and we have fun too. At the   

It all started with a simple request for a video to explain Shadhika’s work and impact.  That request led us to reflect on and clarify what matters to us as an organization, why we do this work, and what impact we are looking to have on this world. Drawing from our foundation and history, the   

It has been a long journey of 10 years with Vacha. This resource center, Vacha, has given me so many learning experiences that have enriched myself and my life both personal and social. As a student I have learned many things like English, Photography, the computer and Journalism. My confidence improved while learning these study   

This is my first time walking down a lane, which is a small, three-foot-wide alley in which 5000 people reside. We were walking to the toilets, which was passionately talked about during a meeting with girls who are trying to make change in their basti (slum). Walking towards the toilets I notice piles of trash   

The excitement soared as forty young women filled the conference room at the YMCA of Mumbai, ready to embark on the four-day Shadhika Leaders for Change Summit. The schedule was packed, the facilitators were prepared, and the heat was rising in the city of Mumbai. As the young women nervously sat and waited to begin,   

“Team Panj!!” we all shout, giving each other a high five. We’ve just divided into our groups for Shadhika’s “Mobile & Mighty Challenge”, a treasure hunt to reach nine landmarks in Mumbai over the course of four days. The first team to take a group “selfie” in front of each landmark and upload it to   

“I want to stand on my own two feet and become something in my life.” This motivational phrase was common among the 2019-2020 Shadhika college scholarship applications. As 30 inspiring young women are awarded college scholarships for 2019-2020, communities throughout India are feeling the impact that being educated has on a young woman. These scholars   

“I’m looking for someone, someone like me,” Parvati* chants as she slowly turns around. She stands in the middle of the circle. Her question is part of an “energizer” – short games that are played in India to engage conference participants and keep the energy up in the room. This particular energizer is a form   

“There’s a low hum in the room. At first, I look around, slightly annoyed, thinking someone is having a side conversation during the speaker’s presentation. Then I realize the sound is coming from a facilitator who is simultaneously translating the current lecture from Hindi to Bengali for two of the participants. When you are hosting   

I still struggle with the concept of feeling like an equal in this world. I reflect on my own childhood and the inherent expectations of what a girl should or shouldn’t do. I was a rebel, constantly trying to do everything the boys did, just to prove the point of “anything you can do, I   

Reconference in Kathmandu was an event not be missed this year. #recon2019 was organized by CREA, a feminist human rights organization based in New Delhi, and included 500 participants from 50 countries. #recon2019 aimed to rethink, reimagine, and reshape conversations around feminism, sexuality, disability, abortion, and other related topics. The conference was not only stimulating   

I’m often asked how Shadhika selects our grantee-partners so I wanted to share the steps we take. We go through an extensive due diligence process that generally takes six months to complete. Because Shadhika seeks to develop long-term partnerships with those we support, we believe that taking adequate time upfront is absolutely critical and what   

We’re all starting to think this was a bad idea. Our guide has set up a bicycle tour of old Bangalore and there are fourteen of us all on bikes waiting to cross the street. With no stop lights or stop signs, the traffic is full chaos and crossing the street is a skill in   

“Wait two minutes, the picture will come. Magic,” our guide tells the mother. I hand over the Polaroid picture, the image barely beginning to show. I started carrying a Polaroid camera with me on site visits about a year ago. As I was asking to take their photos for Shadhika, I realized that few of   

The bus stops and we get out. We walk down the narrow, winding dirt lanes carefully as the path is uneven and the ground wet from people washing their dishes and clothes. This community of over 3,000 sits right next to a garbage heap and most of the residents who live here work as ‘rag   

Parvati’s* mother comes to the door of the tiny apartment to welcome us. Though the space isn’t much bigger than my bathroom at home, Parvati, a Shadhika Scholarship student, lives here with her mother and her three brothers. In this small space, everything has its place, everything has its purpose. We carefully find ours, as   

The pungent smell of spice fills the air as a young woman named Resha* sets lunch on a large table. Since I am a visitor, Resha takes time to explain the Indian dishes she has prepared; there are spicy mixed vegetables, fried eggplant, lentils and rice. Several STOP staff members join us and we enjoy