From self-defense to self-confidence: Meet Yashika from She Creates Change

Imagine walking to school every day in the dark hours of the morning, without any streetlights to guide the way. There are no sidewalks or school buses, so walking along rough gravel roads is the only way to get there. Sometimes there are people out on the streets, but they are not always friendly, and your parents often worry so much about your journey that they beg you to stop going to school altogether. This is the story of Yashika, a Room to Read Girls’ Education Program graduate from India who learned to advocate for herself and fight for access to her education.

Yashika: A story about resilience

Yashika's route from home to class was so dangerous that it stood in the way of her education — but she was determined to fight, quite literally, to stay in school. She had learned in a Room to Read life skills class how to advocate for herself and knew there just had to be a safe way to get to school. Instead of giving up, she asked the local leaders for support and they listened.  




One day, Yashika had the opportunity to take a self-defense class for girls. Standing in front of the class was the teacher, a powerful and strong woman. “If she can do it, why not me?” she thought to herself. The next day Yashika signed up.  

People in her town teased Yashika and her family. “Karate is a boy’s sport” they’d say. Her parents pressed her to quit, but she remained calm. “Confidence does not come at once. It is a gradual process. By doing karate I learn to never give up, no matter my challenges.” Before she knew it, she won a tournament! Then another and another.  

I want to help girls like Yashika

Yashika's story illustrates the transformative power of life skills and individualized mentorship in creating waves of change — for adolescent girls like Yashika, their families and their communities. 

Room to Read presents: She Creates Change

Yashika is one of the remarkable changemakers featured in Room to Read's She Creates Change, the first nonprofit-led animated short film to promote gender equality through the stories of young women around the world. The film features the narratives of six courageous young women — Yashika among them — from historically low-income communities in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Vietnam, and profiles how each girl confronts challenges unique to her life, like harassment, food scarcity or early marriage, by advocating for herself and her future.  

Right now, 122 million girls are not in school worldwide, and millions more must overcome cultural bias, discrimination, poverty, and violence simply to go to school. 

Room to Read’s gender equality programming has supported more than 3.7 million girls, advancing gender equality in historically low-income communities around the globe. We need your help to promote equal access to education for more girls around the world.