Anushree Dash: Pad Woman Of Odisha
Anushree Dash is a TEDx speaker, social reformer, sociopreneur, human rights activist, gender equality advocate, writer, motivational speaker, art connoisseur and she is also the Founder of ADiBha She Vision. Her significant programs like Anandini, Sparsh and Sambhav have been witnessed and praised for their national level presence and community outreach and got her the recognition of being the Pad Woman of Odisha. Her areas of intervention include gender and human rights, mental and reproductive health, disaster relief for migrant laborers and refugees. Recently My City Links caught up with Anushree to know more about her experience as a social worker. Here are the excerpts.
TELL US WHO ANUSHREE DASH IS
I’m from the steel city of Rourkela. I identify myself as a ‘Naari’ and take pride in calling myself a woman. I work towards bringing positive change in the areas of human rights, gender equality advocacy working towards women’s empowerment and equality, child sexual abuse, prevention of child marriages and also providing sexual education. I am working with rural and tribal people of Odisha.
WHAT HURDLES DID YOU FACE WHEN YOU STARTED OFF
I always believe that if your path is more difficult, your calling is higher. So I won’t call the problems as hurdles, but rather they are the factors that motivate me. When I took the decision to involve myself in the social development sector, I got a lot of criticism. Hurdles came from my family, relatives, friends and when I took this decision I was about to leave a high paying job. People started questioning me and thought I was insane. They asked me if it is something that I really wanted to do after achieving so much. So that was the first hurdle. I feel that the life of a woman in general is a struggle for survival and there are a lot of ups and downs, twists and turns and dead ends. But I always believe that coming back stronger from the dead end instead of getting stuck is your achievement.
TELL US ABOUT HOW YOU DECIDED TO BECOME A CHANGE MAKER
I have always had the feeling of doing something that would help people. I have had a very strong connection with my roots. My connection with the rural and tribal people made me realize that it is always important to work for my people and become a face for change and also inspire others who are ready to become a change maker. That was the reason for me to leave the hustle and bustle of the city and my corporate career and I started this social initiative called ADiBha She Vision.
TELL US ABOUT ADiBha She Vision
SHE for SHE!, is the motto of ADiBha She Vision. I started it with a vision to empower women. ADiBha She Vision advocates equal rights, equal opportunities, equal pay and equal respect. We work towards women’s empowerment, their rights and their health issues. Educate, accept and respect, are the pillars on which our programs and sessions are designed upon to create awareness in rural areas, tribal communities and urban slums about MHM (menstrual hygiene management), sex education, gender equality, prevention of child sexual abuse, child marriage, drug addiction etc. Our significant programs like Anandini, Sparsh and Sambhav have been praised for their national level presence and community outreach.
HOW CAN PEOPLE APPROACH YOU FOR HELP
We have a fair presence on social media and we can learn about our work and reach out to us through our website. So whenever anybody is interested to get in touch with us for any issue or they want to sponsor something, especially our programs for underprivileged children, they can always get in touch. We are trying to build a connection with the people and when we get to know about any problem we are ready to help as soon as possible.
TELL US WHY YOU LIKE TO BE CALLED NARI
Change is a journey and dialogue is the only solution to advocate change. With that thought, I started penning down my experiences, stories, rage and many more things for the larger audience through various mediums like books, newspaper columns and blogs and articles. Womanhood and gender equality are the main focus of my writing. At the same time aesthetic living, poetry, Indian architecture, travel, art, passion for life got it’s fair share in my writings and blogs. Writing has always helped me stay rooted and helped to raise my voice.
DO YOU HAVE ANY MESSAGE FOR THE PEOPLE
I believe that it is not the circumstances that are against us, it is always our own negative mindset that is against us .It is always a fight between your heart and your head. You need to take responsibility for your actions and the outcomes. The results of your efforts might be very tiny and you might not be successful in the first attempt but you have to take the responsibility and the ownership of your decisions. One should always focus on their strengths and weaknesses and try to improve. Even if the whole world is against you, believe in yourself and come back stronger to conquer the world.