Introduction:
Defining leadership is a contested domain. In this article, I will refrain from providing a definition of leadership but I will allude to certain qualities and actions of some incredible women leaders that demonstrate the practice of exercising shared agency to influence positive social change. This, to me, lies at the crux of leadership practice. This article is our tribute to five Indian women, whose determination and can-do mindset helped them to look beyond problems and craft bold solutions to tackle them. I will attempt to uncover their leadership stories that offer inspiration and guidance for many other aspiring leaders.
Hasina Kharbhih, Founder and Chair of Board at Impulse NGO Network, Shillong (Meghalaya)
Hasina’s journey is a testament to grit, overcoming obstacles, and standing passionately for a cause close to her heart. Starting in 1987, Hasina started working with local organisations to aid Shillong’s poor and vulnerable groups. Over time, she started connecting with like-minded volunteers and developed rural livelihood initiatives, promoting local women artisans to apply their traditional skills for sustainable livelihoods.
During her deep work with communities, Hasina discovered the harsh reality of human trafficking affecting children in North East India. Her relentless efforts brought this issue to the attention of the government. The credibility of her work helped her build strong partnerships with law enforcement and other departments. She and her team developed the Impulse Model to combat human trafficking, emphasising stakeholder engagement and collaboration. To date, the Impulse NGO Network has responded to over 72,000 trafficking cases (Better India, 2020). With over two decades in the social sector, Hasina is currently a leading figure in the fight against human trafficking in India and Southeast Asia. An Ashoka Fellow, Fulbright Scholar, and Aspen India Leadership Initiative Fellow, Hasina’s story exemplifies the power of resilience and collaboration in creating impactful change.
Revathi Radhakrishnan, Director and Managing Trustee at Vanavil Trust, Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu)
The saying ‘Tragedy brings out the worst in some and the best in others’, fits very well for our next leader, Revathi Radhakrishnan. Following the devastating Asian tsunami of 2004, she founded Vanavil to support children from two nomadic communities, Boom Boom Mattikarars and Narikuravars, in Tamil Nadu. These tribes have a rich legacy of music and art, which unfortunately saw its decline over time.
Left with no option other than begging, Revathi decided to stand up for these children and create an anti-begging institution, Vanavil. In the last 17 years, Vanavil has grown into an organisation focused on child protection, health, nutrition, holistic education, livelihoods, and women’s empowerment. Vanavil supports these communities in upholding their tradition of coming from musical families and being integrated into the mainstream. Many of the community members now work in sectors such as IT, mass media, and education. Drawing inspiration from the children, Revathi believes in taking one day at a time. This philosophy has helped her ensure equality, dignity, and well-being for these nomadic communities. Her work has gained global recognition, earning her the ‘Amazing Indians’ award by Times Now in 2022 and the prestigious Gold Award at the SVP India Fast Pitch 2024.
Sanjina Gupta, Founder and CEO at Rangeen Khidki Foundation, Kolkata (West Bengal)
Experienced in designing and managing health and education programs, Sanjina runs a youth-led feminist organisation, Rangeen Khidki, that addresses the issues of gender, menstrual health and Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). Using a rights-based approach, Rangeen Khidki works with women, adolescents, and young people and has been able to impact over 31,606 lives directly and 1,60,000 lives indirectly (Rangeen Khidki Foundation, n.d.).
It all began eight years back when Sanjina started working with various nonprofit and research-based organisations in rural Bengal, Bihar and Maharashtra and Kolkata and Mumbai. Within five years, she started her own organisation, making significant strides in creating awareness and educational programs in both urban and rural areas of West Bengal and other states. These comprehensive gender and sexuality education programs and holistic menstrual health management initiatives have empowered numerous women and girls to start conversations to destigmatise menstruation, speak and demand openly for their menstrual health and hygiene and make numerous households and communities aware of the same.
Vinita Gursahani, Trustee at We, The People Abhiyan, Gurugram (Haryana)
The Indian Constitution is not just a hard-bound book from the late 1940s. It’s rather a powerful guide for helping everyone live their life powerfully and with full expression. Vinita Gursahani, a social sector leader, has dedicated the last 15 years to passionately building constitutional awareness and empowering citizens to stand up for everything that’s rightfully theirs.
Her organisation, We The People Abhiyan, engages with educationists, activists, civil society, government officials, donors, and citizens to explore and utilise the Indian Constitution for personal and community betterment. Through her work, Vinita constantly engages and facilitates dialogues with educationists, activists and members of civil society and strives towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of reducing inequalities, promoting peace, justice, and strong institutions. She has empowered citizens to leverage constitutional awareness, enhancing education, community empowerment, and women’s leadership. Whether it’s ensuring access to basic rights such as pensions and water, or upholding a basic human right such as the right to religion, Vinita and her team’s efforts have constantly capacitated individuals to stand up for their undeniable human rights and create powerful and long-lasting results.
Shanthi Lakshmanan, Director at Exempserv
Shanthi, a social entrepreneur, is the founder and director of Exempserv, a professional services organisation providing value-added financial reporting, compliance, and allied services to boards, trustees, and senior leadership in the social development sector. Started as an initiative of TATA Trust in 2015, her company Exempserv, works with clients in education, women’s empowerment, research, health, and livelihood across urban and semi-rural areas.
Being an expert in financial, IT, and shared services, Shanthi passionately leverages her knowledge and skills to serve the social sector meaningfully. As a successful social entrepreneur, she excels as a strategist, fundraiser, accountant, auditor, program manager, trainer, mentor, and coach, working in both domestic and multinational environments. With the desire to enhance the impact of social development organisations, and a strong belief in her strengths of execution, and a can-do approach, she constantly supports social purpose organisations to move towards their stated goals more impactfully.
Also Read: The Role of Mentorship in Women’s Leadership Development in the Social Sector
Leadership lessons learnt
The stories of these five remarkable women highlight crucial leadership lessons. Leadership involves addressing complex societal issues. Each of these women stood up and tackled significant challenges, including issues such as human trafficking, poor literacy rates in tribal communities, sexual orientation and gender identity, lack of knowledge about constitutional rights, and access to justice. While we may be aware of the existence of these problems, how many of us actually pause and think deeply about these issues, let alone make it our profession?
Leadership is tough and often lonely, it involves challenging the status quo and facing opponents head-on, and being able to learn from failures. Effective leaders must be constantly aware of the interconnectedness of societal issues at multiple levels. For instance, improving health and sexuality education requires addressing gender and patriarchal equations, and providing accessible healthcare facilities. Without economic independence, young people may find it impossible to live their lives in the way they want to and express themselves without fear. Leaders need to constantly collaborate with diverse stakeholders addressing multiple aspects of a problem if they have to drive meaningful change.
Success is not easy, and leaders will encounter multiple impediments. The value lies in learning from challenges and being resilient. As we honour these five remarkable Indian women, let their contribution serve as a beacon of inspiration.
References:
- Better India (2020). Taking Down Trafficking, Weaving New Lives. Youtube. Retrieved July 19, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ6ofjkkrIw
- Rangeen Khidki Foundation (n.d.). [LinkedIn page]. Retrieved July 19, 2024, from https://www.linkedin.com/company/rangeen-khidki-foundation/about/
