As a young feminist and grassroots activist, I believe that ‘personal is political’. Since childhood, I’ve been inspired by strong women who have challenged unfair systems. As a grassroots feminist, I’ve worked with youth and women, especially in Mewat, where I saw their potential held back by societal norms. Advocating for feminism meant earning trust, confronting biases, and amplifying marginalized voices. I learned that real change requires addressing issues like caste, religion, and gender together. This aligns with the Feminist Youth Leadership Lab, which creates spaces for ground-level voices to influence decisions. My focus remains on ensuring representation and empowering communities to drive meaningful, lasting change.
I often wonder who truly decides what people need at the ground level—especially those whose voices rarely make it to the decision-making tables. This has motivated me to engage in spaces where recommendations are crafted, agendas are pushed, and decision-making happens. When I first heard about the Feminist Youth Leadership Lab, I envisioned it as a gathering of young leaders from diverse communities, coming together to share their work, their challenges, their ideas for solutions, creating space to bring voices from the ground and, perhaps, navigating process collectively to take a seat in decision-making spaces.
The day I found out that I got selected for the Feminist Leadership Lab program, I felt joy to be in a space that is dedicated to empowering young feminists. Getting selected as a Co-Creator for Feminist Leadership Lab allowed me to be seen, gave me validation for the work I’ve been doing over the decade and reminded me that I am a leader in this sphere.
On the first day, I entered the Lab with mixed emotions—excitement and nervousness. Thirty young people from across India, representing a larger spectrum of gender identities, caste, class, and religious backgrounds. Each one of us was passionate about a unique cause that we were working on; many had already established themselves as leaders. The energy was palpable, almost overwhelming for a lot of us.
However, navigating this space turned out to be more complex than I’d anticipated. Meeting so many people for the first time, trying to build rapport, and getting to know each other wasn’t as seamless as I’d hoped. It became clear that adjusting to the group dynamics would take time.
My personal life experiences have profoundly shaped the way I approach my work. Being a woman from a marginalized community, the first-generation school-goer in my family, and the first woman to reach the bachelor’s level, I have constantly challenged patriarchal norms and societal expectations. These experiences have instilled resilience in me and given me a unique perspective that I bring to any team I am a part of. My journey enables me to provide a grounded and diverse viewpoint, ensuring that the realities of marginalized communities are at the forefront of our work. While working with women I will always be mindful of issues that women and girls face so that they are addressed in my work. Every space has its own culture and social and political background. In my own experience, I try to ensure women get access to power (to speak in a meeting, to build their confidence to be able to make decisions). To improve access of women to various resources (knowledge, govt facilities, documents, legal entitlements). I interact with a lot of women who are very inspiring and motivating. They have been challenged every day. They fight every day for equal rights, equal treatment and equal respect. I will always try to make sure how I communicate with them, what kind of language I am using and also learn from the perspective that they have also shared with me.
Life has taught me resilience and empathy, and I’ve always believed that solutions should emerge from the communities themselves, bringing all voices into focus. So, I entered the Lab with a sense of openness and optimism.
The Lab created an open space for discussions, with ideas spanning everything from gender and politics to all its intersections. But, within a few days, subtle shifts in group dynamics became apparent. Language and class barriers started to surface, and people moved toward those with whom they felt most comfortable. It was a bittersweet realisation—almost satirical. Here we were, young feminists advocating for inclusivity, yet we were struggling to create an inclusive space.
Though unspoken, these barriers subtly shaped our interactions and perpetuated familiar divisions. There was a quiet undercurrent—a kind of unvoiced debate—about who among us was more marginalised, whose voices deserved more space, who needed more visibility. Language, too, became a dividing line, leaving some to feel like spectators rather than participants. Many began to withdraw, either observing quietly, nodding along, or retreating into silence.
Perhaps it’s ironic—a touch of satire, even—that we, the advocates for breaking down social walls, found ourselves inadvertently building invisible ones. But this was also an essential reminder: even spaces dedicated to change require constant, intentional effort to foster genuine inclusivity.
As a young feminist who comes with a different intersectionality of Marginalisation in these feminist spaces, I advocate for the intersectionality of caste, class, religion and gender. Within feminist spaces, upper-caste and upper-class voices often dominate, sidelining the experiences of those facing layered discrimination. I strive to amplify the voices of marginalised and working-class women, who face multiple layers of exclusion.
I’ve often felt the exclusion that exists within these feminist spaces. The purpose of the feminist spaces or movement is to advocate for equality and inclusion and somehow the upper caste and upper-class voices dominate the narrative. Also adding the fact of their access to better resources, education, and networks. This leaves marginalised youth to gain visibility and opportunities. Despite our contributions to these spaces, our unique experience from our lived realities were often sideline. This reminds us of the need for a more conscious effort to make space for all voices within feminism.
To create true equity within the feminist movement, every member—regardless of background, identity, or socioeconomic status—must have equal access to opportunities, recognition, and space to be heard. This takes a deliberate commitment to dismantling biases and ensuring that the voices of the most marginalized are lifted in a meaningful way.
In the end, the Lab became an invaluable learning experience for me, a place for growth, validation, and maybe even a bit of humour. It showed me that inclusivity, even in a room full of passionate leaders, is a journey. We don’t achieve it simply by gathering in the same space; we achieve it by listening, by being mindful, by pushing ourselves to look beyond the surface, beyond ourselves and our comfort zone.
As I reflect on my time there, I carry memories of laughter, unexpected friendships, and subtle lessons learned along the way. This journey was as much about finding our collective voice as it was about strengthening our individual ones. And, as young feminists, I’d say that’s a pretty strong place to begin.
