The walk to school was never simple. As a child, Padma Kumari travelled nearly two kilometres through forest paths shared with copper trucks and dumpers just to catch a bus. Growing up with a constant sense of insecurity, she says she learned to wear a “mental armor” long before she understood why she felt different.
Today, that same child has built her life’s work around supporting people facing discrimination, promoting gender equality, and creating safer workplaces through the Padma Shakti Foundation.
Growing Up Between Two Worlds
Padma’s father migrated from Uttar Pradesh to Jharkhand to work at the Rakha Copper project. Instead of living in a company colony, the family built their home among the local tribal community. While speaking to The Logical Indian, Padma recalled how this upbringing exposed her to two very different worlds.
At home, life reflected her family’s cultural roots. Outside, she often felt different from those around her. According to Padma, it was this sense of being different, rather than any single aspect of her identity, that made her feel excluded and drew unwanted attention.
Those experiences left her with a constant sense of insecurity and questions about why people treated others differently. She remembers staying alert from an early age and describes carrying a “mental armor” because she never fully felt included or safe while navigating everyday life.
Choosing Social Work Over a Conventional Career
Padma later moved to Varanasi to study Chemistry Honours at Kashi Vidyapeeth. Although she no longer experienced the same sense of standing out because of her background, she says she encountered another challenge in the form of restrictive expectations placed on women.
Her family hoped she would continue with an MSc and pursue a stable profession such as teaching or medicine. Instead, she chose to study for a Master of Social Work in Kashi Vidhyapeeth, Varanasi.
In conversation with The Logical Indian, Padma explained that her childhood experiences had created a deep desire to understand human behaviour and social systems. She also spoke about witnessing the treatment of women in her ancestral village in Ghazipur, where deeply rooted patriarchal norms shaped everyday life. Observing these realities strengthened her resolve to work towards gender equality and social justice.
These changes retain the interview’s substance while avoiding the negative association of any specific community and more accurately reflecting Padma’s explanation that her insecurity arose from feeling different and excluded, not from being surrounded by tribal communities.
Witnessing Pain Within the Family
Visits to her ancestral village exposed Padma to deeply entrenched gender roles. She recalls a joint family structure where men occupied the outer gathering spaces while women remained confined within the house. According to her, women were not even allowed to step outside to fetch water and depended on young boys to bring essential supplies.
Among the most painful memories she carries are the deaths by suicide of three or four sisters-in-law within the extended family.
She believes these tragedies reflected the impact of prolonged mental trauma, abuse, and the absence of any meaningful support system. She also observed that the women themselves were often blamed for being unable to cope, rather than society questioning the conditions they lived in.
Learning Through Professional Experience
Padma began her career with Alternative for India Development before moving to Care International, where she gained exposure to international standards of work. At the same time, she says she experienced office politics, gender discrimination, and sexual harassment.
According to Padma, there were no formal reporting mechanisms such as POSH during that period, and speaking up often worked against those raising concerns. She says the emotional impact initially affected her work, but support from a supervisor later helped rebuild her confidence. Her performance improved significantly, and she went on to lead several projects.
She later spent 11 years with the Family Planning Association of India as a Branch Manager. In 2011, she says she became the first person to begin working with the Transgender community in Jharkhand despite resistance from district authorities who maintained that such a community did not exist there. Her work eventually resulted in a database of more than 2,500 people. She also presented her research in Manila and says it contributed to policy changes at Tata Steel.
Building the Padma Shakti Foundation
By 2019, Padma says balancing professional responsibilities with raising her two children had led to burnout and what she describes as “mother guilt.” She decided to leave her job and begin working independently.
She chose Prevention of Sexual Harassment training as both a source of livelihood and a way to continue supporting individuals and organisations. In 2024, the Padma Shakti Foundation was registered as a Section 8 company.
The organisation focuses on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, organisational capacity building around gender norms, and training on POSH, POCSO, and Diversity and Inclusion.
Continuing Despite Challenges
Padma says establishing her own organisation has brought significant personal challenges. She alleges facing sustained attempts to isolate her socially and professionally, including the spread of damaging rumours and efforts to undermine her credibility. These allegations are her account and are not independently verified.
Despite these experiences, she says she remains focused on her work and her children. She now uses platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook to spread awareness about gender, workplace safety, and social issues.
Reflecting on where she stands today, Padma says her approach is simple. She is taking life “one day at a time.” For her, awareness remains the most powerful tool because, she believes, it helps people recognise harmful situations before it is too late.
The Logical Indian Perspective
Padma Kumari’s journey highlights an important truth about social change: policies and programmes are most effective when they are backed by empathy, awareness, and safe support systems. Through the Padma Shakti Foundation, she has focused on issues ranging from gender sensitisation and workplace safety to sexual and reproductive health, while also working towards greater inclusion of marginalised communities.
Her story reflects how personal experiences can inspire sustained public service and advocacy. While some of the challenges she describes remain her own account and have not been independently verified, her work underscores the need for organisations and communities to foster environments where dignity, equality, and well-being are protected. In a society where many continue to face barriers rooted in gender and social norms, her journey is a reminder that lasting change is built through awareness, dialogue, and consistent community engagement.
What more can workplaces, communities, and institutions do to create safer, more inclusive environments where everyone can thrive?
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