Shownotes:

Reams have been written recently about SDGs, climate change, just transition…… what does it mean in practice? India's National Action Plan on Climate Change emphasises the need for inclusive and sustainable development to ensure it does not fail millions on the margins or without a voice.

It would not be presumptuous to say that most people in world are aware of India’s demographic dividend. At 21% or 253 million, India is also home to the largest adolescent population in the world of which 120 million are girls. For a just transition and for India to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend by unlocking the potential of its youth, it is crucial that they are empowered with knowledge and skills to combat social and economic exclusion.

A majority of India’s adolescent girls are on the margins and face numerous challenges including lack of access to education, domestic work, early marriage and pregnancy and financial dependency. There are a myriad of government initiatives and schemes aimed at keeping this group in education in urban and rural area, but long lasting change will be impossible without addressing the deep rooted cultural norms, expectations and stereotypes.

This is where organisations like VOICE4Girls, step in, they create safe spaces for girls to have critical conversations around their physical and mental health; recognising, preventing and reporting violence and a space where they can dream. This social enterprise led by Anusha Bharadwaj, has impacted over 3,00,000 girls and boys through their work across 12 different Indian states.

In the 125th episode of The 🐘in the Room podcast we spoke about Anusha’s childhood, how it influenced her to step into the social sector, her ambition for Voice4Girls, breaking the cycle of exclusion, deprivation for young girls and boys, the challenges of being a founder. We also spoke about 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾

👉🏾 SoCh for social change an initiative aimed at building leadership capabilities of young social changemakers,

👉🏾 Social entrepreneurship as a powerful force for transforming communities and nations, being hubs of innovation

👉🏾 Context, feminism and feminist leadership

👉🏾 Failures, highlights and role models girls and boys can identify with

And much more in this freewheeling and inspiring conversation.

Head to the podcast to know more about the incredible work being done by Ashoka Fellow, Anusha Bharadwaj and Voice4Girls 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾

Episode Transcript:

Sudha: Good morning, Anusha. Wonderful to have you on the Elephant in the Room podcast today.

Anusha: Hi Sudha, lovely to be here.

Sudha: Let's get started with a quick introduction. Tell us a bit about your childhood, your education, what sort of influences did you have? I'm curious to understand how and why you decided to work in the social sector.

Anusha: Every time somebody asks me this question, some new parts about my family emerges and today what really came up is that I grew up in a South Indian family where education was super important Sudha. In fact, both my great grandfathers were very well educated, one was a medical officer, the other was a maths professor. And I've heard that, even during those times, this is still very British ruled India both my grandmothers, my maternal and my paternal grandmother, both are high school graduates.