Ruchira Gupta, Activist and Founder of Apne Aap Women Worldwide

Born in a Socialist family and brought up with Gandhian values, Ruchira Gupta grew up with politicians, intellectuals, and freedom fighters frequenting her home. Starting off her career as a journalist, Ruchira quickly saw that the dominance of patriarchy in the industry gave little heed to stories about women, especially after her own brutal experience at the demolition of Babri Masjid. Attempting to change the way women's stories were told, Ruchira quit her job as a journalist and travelled through Nepal on a journey that changed her life. Seeing young girls and women being trafficked into brothels in Bombay, Delhi, and Kolkata, she made a documentary called 'Selling of Innocents,' that won her an Emmy Award. Since then, she has dedicated her life to victims and survivors of human trafficking through her foundation, Apne Aap Women's Worldwide, which works towards arming women through education and skills to fight for their basic rights as human beings. Produced by Urmi Chatterjee, Interview by Athira Nair