Poonam Kumari Sharma, Muzaffarpur

Born in Pachmba, Bihar, Poonam like many other girls in her village, she struggled to get educated. Even though her mother supported her, there was no school in her area and the girls were not allowed to leave the village to study.

She was educated at home and started her 10th grade in a school, where she was the first girl to receive admission. Her sister and many others were able to join school after that. Beyond the poor infrastructure of the government schools in Mushahari, Bochahan, Bandra, Gaighat, Kurhani and Aurai blocks, the children also face gender and caste discrimination. When students perceive that they are being discriminated against, it adversely affects their self-image, self-confidence and reflects in academic achievement, motivation levels, and increases the risk of their dropping out. Parents and guardians don’t see any point in educating their children, especially the girls because of the prevailing norms of early marriage and gender norms.

Poonam has worked as a Development professional from 1994 with organizations like SSA, MS, TISS and Samhita to improve quality of education and women’s access to basic services.

She has worked with Jyothi Mahila Samakhya from 2006- 2016 and has demonstrated effectively that education can be an effective tool for women’s empowerment. She is now recognized for her contribution in enabling women to make informed choices in areas like education, employment and health (especially reproductive health), providing information, knowledge and skills for economic independence, enhancing access to legal literacy and information.

She is a member of the local Nari Adalat (gender-sensitive, informal Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) platform) and works with Adolescent girls and boys to raise awareness about Gender Discrimination. Poonam has been mentoring some of our RWEs like Vibha, Indira and Asha, supporting them in their various endeavors. As an Anchor, she will continue to lead by example and plans to extend her reach and work with trailblazers.