2020
Puja Yadav
- Age: 23
- | She/her/hers
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Empowerment begins with equal representation, and it is imperative that individuals from marginalized communities have a voice in shaping the programs and policies designed for their benefit.
- Puja Yadav
Bio
Puja Yadav’s work is rooted in gender equality, good health and well-being, and climate action in the context of marginalized communities. She has founded Humans of Medico, a story sharing platform for people in the health and medical field to share their ideas and stories and spark meaningful conversations on healthcare challenges faced by systematically marginalized communities. As a small grant winner from Women Deliver Young Leaders program, she recently worked as a project lead to advocate for the effective representation of marginalized community women’s voices in the local government. She strongly believes that equal opportunity, access to resources, and education is paramount in transforming young girls’ lives.
As the inaugural Chief Strategy and Impact Officer at Shanta Foundation which empowers communities through the transformative power of arts, Puja is focused on leading the foundation’s overall strategy, program design, partnerships, resource development, communication and advocacy.
As an aspiring filmmaker, she is exploring visual storytelling to better understand and communicate ideas and life experiences that shape our world. Puja is also a Starling Collective Fellow by Giving Tuesday, alumna of Moth Personal Storytelling Workshop, in partnership with UN Women and Gograha Film Workshop 2021 Cohort. Puja recently completed her undergraduate in business and management from UWE-Bristol.
What ignited your pursuit for gender equality?
Growing up amid multiple forms of discrimination faced by women in my community with issues such as early child/forced marriage, dowry, and domestic violence while constantly facing pervasive gender discrimination for their rights to education, health and freedom made me realize the need to work in addressing the gender inequality issues that surround us in our day to day life.
Please share your biggest wins as an advocate for gender equality.
Implementing the advocacy project through a small grant from the Women Deliver Young Leaders program which aimed to advocate for the effective representation of marginalized community women's voices in the local government in Nepal. The project included two research publications, "A Policy Review: Women's Representation in Nepal" and "Advocacy Research Paper: Women's Representation in Policy Making in Nepal, A case study on Raksirang Rural Municipality". These publications aimed to address the issues of gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, and deprivation of basic rights to health, education, and income faced by Chepang women and ensure their voices were heard in the policy-making process.
Outside of your gender equality advocacy work, what do you enjoy doing?
I love reading books, writing, and spending time in nature. I also spend a lot of time watching films from across the world, hoping one day I myself make one.
Languages Spoken:
- English (Advanced/Native)
- Maithali (Advanced/Native)
- Nepali (Advanced/Native)
- Hindi (Intermediate)
- Maithali (Advanced/Native)
Speaks On:
- Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights
- Early child and forced marriage and its impact
- Climate Change, Access to Health, and Gender Inequality for women within marginalized communities
Past Awards, Certifications, or Fellowships:
- Rising Star 2019 by WEDU
- Moth Personal Storytelling Workshop 2021 in collaboration with UN Women
- Gograha Film Workshop Cohort 2021
- Starling Collective Fellow 2022 by Giving Tuesday
