Our fellow Asra Parveen from Delhi Najafgarh

is a teacher, homemaker and a political aspirant. After finishing her Bachelor's and Master's in Jamia Millia Islamia. Asra had a desire to be economically independent. She is the eldest among 6 siblings she wanted to provide for her family. However her decision was looked down upon by her parents who did not believe in having working daughters. Infact the extended relatives taunted her parents for the same.

She had to convince her parents who only agreed on one condition that she must work as a teacher, as it is the most suitable profession for a woman.

As a working woman too, Asra faced many strict rules within her family. Her timings and whereabouts were closely monitored. "Even though my parents weren't as strict, they were influenced by our relatives".

However, she soon got married and embraced motherhood.

She was very concerned about the unhygienic conditions, spread of disease, lack of public amenities, delay in public works and service, spread of drug abuse among youth in her locality. inspired her to take a few steps for betterment of her community.

She said "the pollution is so bad that my own daughter fell sick a lot, delays in projecte cause so much traffic and pollution in the area, no one wants to do anything about it and the public remain inactive against the same".

She recalls that her uncle was an ex cabinet minister in Uttar Pradesh state government. "We used to campaign for him, but joining active politics wasn't really my first choice for an ideal profession"

But after looking at the existing political scenario and a mission to bring about a change made her join the Indira Fellowship. She was encouraged by her husband and in-laws to participate in active politics.

She wants to work for the development and betterment of her locality. She says "public projects like construction of roads are often delayed for months and it causes a lot of inconvenience to the public, however when elections are near the same tasks are done within a few days".

Through her Shakti clubs she found out that there is a lack of awareness among the public about their rights as well as policies of the government.

She wants to use this platform for creating a general awareness among people who are struck by poverty and hunger.

However many members outside her immediate family questioned her choice and pressured her not to work for the fellowship as she is now a mother. But her husband helped her continue it, he even helped her with many tasks and provided moral support for the same.

She credits her family, especially her sisters, for helping her raise her daughter when she works full time for the fellowship. She is able to focus on her political ambitions.

She seeks to continue her journey in electoral politics, she feels the fellowship helped her gain self confidence and break her earlier reservations. It helped her create new contacts and come across many new people through door to door. She also learnt about her new skills like that is her capacity to negotiate and convince people and create her own community.