When Tajmira wore the leadership hat

Tajmira has been a part of Rupantaran since 2012. She started her journey from Udaan center when she was 13 to get remedial coaching from us. When she joined the Udaan center gradually she started building amazing leadership skills. In the meantime, twice she raised her voice against her marriage at home and also stood against other child marriages in the village. Her voice against gender based violence in everyday life helped Rupantaran identify her as a youth leader and we inducted her through various leadership training. The leadership training had mentoring on advocacy, documentation, strategies to raise youth voice, poster designing and more. At the end of the training Tajmira planned something for community development.

Tajmira and 6 of her friends chose a complete new village to work with where no intervention has been done by any NGOs. They started their initial outreach through postering in that community approaching young girls to come forward for the sessions. After a few months of mentoring and facilitation from Rupantaran, Tajmira and the group started designing their own sessions and posters for discussions. When the comics posters were stuck in the community walls, the villagers got excited and few community members provided the group with a space to conduct their sessions. Amra Sei Meye started their community work with 22 girls in a remote village and has been creating awareness around through gender based discrimination, dowry, child marriage and other social menace. Tajmira evolved as a leader through the Dreamer’s Café programme and she wants to stand as medium to help other girls and women have a voice in the society and live a better life with basic human rights.