Milaan - Girl Icon

Chhavi is an energetic and outgoing girl old who is eager to speak and practice her English. Although her family has been supportive of her education, her grandmother has fought her in attending school. Chhavi is eager to learn how to use technology and dreams of becoming a female pilot. Chhavi fights within her community to get separate toilets built for girls so that they feel comfortable going to school, even while menstruating.

Gazala's nimble feet have led her to find joy in dancing, and her flexible attitude has led her to become a star actor among her friends. Passionate about maintaining cleanliness, the 8th grader has noticed with distaste the trend of taking girls out of school to participate in household chores instead of boys. Nurturing of other girls in her community, the 14-year-old hopes to stand as an example of gender equality and continue to break barriers for girls in society.

Sabhya is a ever-smiling girl who is determined to be an government official one day. Her eager interest in pursuing her dream career has led her to be selected out of 3,000 applicants as a Girl Icon Fellow in the hopes of creating social change in her community. Although she comes from an impoverished background, she has decided nothing can stop her in her enthusiasm to work for the community as an IAS officer in Uttar Pradesh, India. She plans to serve the nation some day.

Priya has long been a shining star in her community nestled deep in Sitapur District of the state of Uttar Pradesh. Growing up in rural India, Priya has taken advantage of every opportunity in her school. From acting in plays to practicing the locally prized art of Rangoli. Priya transferred from the government school which provided a bare education when Swarachna School first came to her community. Even being in her small community, she has faced problems with her parents allowing her to leave the house. She dreams of leaving the village and becoming a doctor.

Aisha’s sheer determination to be educated made her the first girl, not just in her family but in her village, to go to school. An extraordinary feat considering that until the age of 10, she had never been allowed to go to school. Told by her father she could only attend school if she mobilized other girls, Aisha managed to convince 5 other girls to come to school with her. Despite never having been to school before, with hard work and dedication, she did well in academics and also participated in nukkad-nataks and drama, going on to become the President of the Child Cabinet. While visiting her family, during a break from school, she convinced 20 other girls from her community to enroll in school. All of them have now completed their class 8.

Sakshi has dreamed from age 9 of being a police officer after learning about India’s first female policewoman. Despite her parents support, she was unable to continue her education in the village due to financial constraints and her parents made the decision to send her to a government residential school for girls. Joining the school in class 6th, she topped her class. She has never looked back since. Performing well in academics, she also participates in every single school function doing street plays, dances, speeches, and has won multiple awards for her performances, going as far as being appreciated by the District Magistrate who is the highest ranking administrative officer in a district. She is also passionate about girls’ education and organizes events to stop gender discrimination.