My father migrated from our village in Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai’s Dharavi as a teenage boy. He did odd jobs like being a daily wage labourer, often sleeping on roads and surviving on vada pav. Eventually, he became a hawker selling essential oils. He worked, saved and moved up in life by focusing on his craft for ‘attars’.

Meanwhile, my mother and I lived in the village, where I studied in school, also known as ‘Aanganbadi’ and went to Madarsa for my Quranic education. I looked forward to going to these places as I got free boiled lentils and sweets there. Later, we moved to Bombay to live with my father, and I moved up in life to a school run by the Church.

Desire To Break The Mould

Since childhood, I was being groomed to be a typical wife who could cook and clean. My family had planned on getting me married as soon as I hit puberty. However, I wanted to study further. My school pulled me away from the world I was born in, to a place I was attracted to, where the toilets were clean. I did not have to carry a bucket of water to the local public bathroom every day. I learned a new way of life.

I did not want to accept the default fate that awaited me, and I wanted to design a life where patriarchy, poverty and prejudice had no place. I was ready to leave my modest home and move on to the streets to pursue the life that I wanted, and I had nothing to lose at that point.

But I often asked myself. How do I convince my father to let me study further? In the world that he lived in, girls did not go to school, and in fact, they were secondary citizens with no identity. While I understood where his views came from, I wanted to try and bring him on board with the life I envisioned.

Therefore, I had a heart-to-heart conversation with my father about my future. I asked him to promise me that if anything goes wrong in my life, he will take responsibility for it because if he does not empower me today to learn to solve my problems, you will have to solve them for me.

Career-Defining Stepping Stones

Bit by bit, I moved towards building a career for myself. Since English was not my first language, the starting point was not the same. It was difficult for me to understand what the teachers were teaching. As a result, it affected my grades, and I barely passed. I felt like I was in the wrong place.

Then, one day, I saw a computer in school for the first time. I was in awe of it, and I found it so unique that I gravitated towards it every time I laid my eyes on it. Unfortunately, I was forced to do needlework instead of computers. Despite this, I dreamt of building a career in technology.

I fought and forced my father to borrow money from others and get me enrolled in a local computer class. He scraped every penny to get her computer, walked home, skipped lunches and did freelance work. After that, there was no looking back.

Inspiration For Young Girls

I have gotten the opportunity to work with many tech startups built teams ground up. I did her design consultancy for a few years and tried my hands in entrepreneurship. Some decisions came with their share of calculated risk, but that helped me grow bold and resilient.

One day, Microsoft approached me for a job opportunity, and I went through the standard recruiting process as every other candidate does. Today, I work at Microsoft as a Design Leader, where I lead research & design for their Emerging Markets Team. I am tasked with solving our customer’s unmet and unarticulated needs.

I accepted their offer over others because I resonated with the company’s mission to empower every person, which meant everyone is included. Inclusivity is essential to create a world where we have space for everyone.

My professional journey has been nothing short of incredible. I have met and worked with some wonderful people I never thought possible. I also participated in social initiatives such as ‘Build A Toilet’ and ‘Clean Your Home’ campaigns. The United Nations website has mentioned my contributions to World Toilet Day. Also, I take part in fellowships where I mentor girls from underprivileged backgrounds.

Elevated To A Better Life

Although my journey has just started, and I’m not there yet, we still have our set of challenges that we face. Today I feel humbled and a little overwhelmed that my journey has, in some shape or form, influenced parents in my village and in the slum to believe how important it is that their children acquire skills and have dreams. I feel humbled when people ask me, ‘Our daughter wants to study, what must I do?’ or ‘My daughter says she wants to be like you!’.

In design, we say that we must create a design model in our minds for the users. Real-life is entirely different as we design our lives. In that process, we shape the lives of others around us and influence change in ways we cannot imagine.

My progress is dedicated to all the young girls who tirelessly fight hard to break generational poverty and achieve their dreams. I hope their parents and society can accept and be open that their child can have goals and achieve them too.

If you too have an inspiring story to tell the world, send us your story at mystory@thelogicalindian.com