Our fellow Tamil mani, hails from a small village in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu,

where women's education is neglected and being the eldest among 3 daughters life is even more challenging for her.

Like all other girls, it was expected of Mani to leave her natal home after marriage, but her desire was to change the age-old patriarchal traditions. So even after marriage she stood firmly against all sorts of taunts directed towards her and her family and she decided to stay with her father.

She credits all the obstacles she faced for making her bolder and braver. She faced many personal setbacks yet pushed herself more and more to overcome them and showcased her resilience whenever required.

She says “for this I was compelled to behave like a man many times”.

She strongly believes that she is enough and can do anything a son can.

Mani inspired many other women in her village to stay with their parents even after marriage and provide primary care to aging parents.

Mani joined the Indira Fellowship with the desire to bring equality among men and women especially among sons and daughters. She believes that women should be given the same educational and employment opportunities as men.

It should be inculcated in daughters that they are as strong as sons. A daughter’s dreams and wishes are as important as that of a son.

Women's safety is a concern in her

village which is why she could not pursue her education and discontinued it midway.

Marriage is believed to be the only safety net and guarantee for stability for a woman, there's no other option left for women.

She also was very disturbed by incidents of child sexual abuse like the case of Asifa. She believes Indira Fellowship is the platform which can give voice to her motivations to strive towards a safer environment for the girl child.

Another important issue that is close to Mani, is the plight of the tribals, especially the backwardness of tribal women; hence she wants to provide them opportunities of education.