It’s easy to fall into a spiral of despair once you take a look at what’s happening around the world. From the climate crisis to gender-based discrimination, there are many issues plaguing the world at the moment.
But if there’s a small sliver of sunshine in these dark times, it’s the fact that we have a generation of young and bright minds who are ready to take on the world one issue at a time. It’s also incredibly gratifying to see that the movement to improve our future is being led by young women across the world.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we decided to round up some of the brightest Indian girls who are spearheading change for the future…
Ridhima Pandey
Ridhima Pandey is a teenager who is fighting the good (but terribly difficult) fight to raise awareness for climate change. She was one of the 16 children who filed a complaint in the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child to call out inaction against climate change by the countries that have been refusing to revise their policies.
Samaira Mehta
Samaira Mehta is an Indian-American coder who is the inventor and CEO of two boardgames, CoderBunnyz and Codermindz, that introduce kids to concepts like coding, computer programming, and artificial intelligence at a very young age. The teenager is also behind the ‘Yes, One Billion Kids Can Code’ initiative which wants to engage a billion kids and give them access to tools that can help them learn techniques like coding by 2030. She has also been a vocal advocate to reduce the gender gap in STEM fields.
Aranya Johar
This young Indian poet began talking about serious issues like deep-rooted misogyny when she was just 12 years old. Over the past few years, Johar has used her social media to address issues like gender equality, mental health, and body positivity.
Navya Nanda
As a star kid (Navya Nanda is the granddaughter of Amitabh Bachchan), the young activist knows she wields an inordinate amount of power and influence. She uses this to fuel her activism in the gender equality space and promote her start-up Aara. The company works towards creating scientifically-backed health products for women and spreading awareness about women’s health issues that are usually considered taboo around the country.
Licypriya Kangujam
One of the youngest climate change activists around the world, Licypriya Kangujam (or Licy, as she is called fondly) has been campaigning to make India a more environmentally conscious place since 2018. The young girl has been working hard to highlight the climate crisis issue with campaigns like her continued effort to make climate change literacy mandatory in schools around the country. In 2019, she was invited to address world leaders at a UN Climate Change Conference in Spain.
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