Reading Time: 4 minutes What does it really mean to “social-distance” in India, a country with more than 1 billion residents? This week, we asked the young women of Shadhika and our partner sites about their experiences social distancing under lockdown. From the Field A typically crowded and energetic place, the community of Bowbazar in Bengal, where our partner   

Reading Time: 5 minutes TW: Violence, abuse, mentions of suicide. These are hard facts about the reality that women, girls, queer youth, and other marginalized groups in India contend with. But our lives are more than statistics and infographics. These lived experiences are dictated by many levels of violence, trauma, and indifference.  The #16DaysOfActivism campaign is an annual commemoration   

Reading Time: 4 minutes This post is part of the Executive Director’s blog series. In this series, our Executive Director will be sharing insights on Shadhika’s mission, our gender justice work, and the impact of our programs in India. Follow our Executive Director on Instagram and Twitter for more! Read more from The Executive Director’s Desk here. When I   

Reading Time: 21 minutes This edition of the When She Leads will celebrate girl leadership at the forefront of climate action in India. The interview is a conversation between Climate Change Initiative Fellow Nitika, the Initiative’s consultant Sayantoni Dutta, and Vanita Ganesh, Shadhika’s Digital Media Coordinator. Nitika is a Shadhika Scholar with a background in journalism and law. She   

Reading Time: 5 minutes “I did not know that I could do something so big. I decided to try something in my village, and it turned out to be a very big program.” Beauti shares her experience with the group of Shadhika Climate Fellows about the initiative in her village to gain access to clean drinking water. “Years ago,   

Reading Time: 6 minutes Trigger warnings: Instances of types of violence, mentions of sexual abuse and rape. In my short time as a communications professional, working on a program for 16 Days of Activism is often a bittersweet experience. It is a reminder of how far we’ve come and, simultaneously, of how far we have left to go. In 2021,   

Reading Time: 8 minutes This interview is part of our When She Leads series. Learn more. Radha is an Independence Coordinator with our Partner Site in Karnataka Baale Mane. Radha was interviewed by Digital Media Coordinator Vanita Ganesh. Could you introduce yourself to Shadhika supporters? I am Radha from Bangalore, currently associated with Baale Mane Trust – Girls’ Home (I don’t want   

Reading Time: 3 minutes People often imagine gender-based violence to be acts of brute force perpetuated against women and girls. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the conditions were ripe for violent abuse targeting women and girls in their homes and their communities. The local lockdown orders pushed people into isolation with their oppressors inside their homes for weeks and months   

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shadhika (@shadhika_india) Towards A Feminist Tech Future Celebrate #DayOfTheGirl and catch-up on the incredible session on the future of women and girls in tech with Vidya Madhavan @viddium, Kelsey Botne @kelseybee3, Kathryn Hall @notakitjustakat, moderated by Tara Risser @taulm23. The #DayoftheGirl was also marked by a Shadhika-led Live session on the future   

Reading Time: 6 minutes This interview is part of our When She Leads: Donor Highlights collection. Learn more. Kavita Biyani is a member of Shadhika’s monthly FundHer Donor Circle. She was interviewed by Development Coordinator Jenna Sweig. If you would like to become a monthly FundHer Donor, you can do so here. Hi Kavita. Can you introduce yourself and tell us   

Reading Time: 7 minutes This interview is part of our When She Leads: Shadhika Alum collection. Learn more. Savita is a Shadhika Alum from our partner site Vacha in Mumbai. She was interviewed by Program Officer Kendra Nicolai. Press play to hear Savita’s introduction. Hi Savita. Can you introduce yourself to our Shadhika readers? My name is Savita from Mumbai. I participated with   

Reading Time: 5 minutes In its second year, “When She Leads” is our annual interview series that celebrates and affirms the leadership, innovation, determination and resilience of the young women of Shadhika, as well as the women leaders at Shadhika’s partner sites across the Indian diaspora. These first-person accounts offer personal insight into the daily experiences of the lives   

Reading Time: 3 minutes Editor’s note: This blog was updated post-publication after the violent insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.  The attempted coup on the U.S. Capitol led by violent mobs last week reminded us that, when people who occupy a privileged position at the top of power pyramids feel like the playing field is being   

Reading Time: 14 minutes This interview is part of our When She Leads: From the Front Lines series. Learn more. Deblina is a District Coordinator in the Murshidabad communities with our partner site Jabala in West Bengal. Deblina was interviewed by Program Officer Kendra Nicolai and Donor & Program Associate Sabah Siddiqui. What has girl leadership looked like during a pandemic up to   

Reading Time: 3 minutes Please join us in welcoming Lakshmi Krishnan, Vanessa Chauhan, and Uma Iyer to the Shadhika Board of Directors. At Shadhika, we know that our most important and inspiring assets are the people who make up our organization. We are thrilled to welcome our new boards members who will expand our leadership with new perspectives and