Augustina Soreng has dedicated her life to ensuring that tribal women are not only heard but also become leaders capable of shaping policies, claiming justice and transforming their communities.
When Augustina Soreng speaks about leadership, she does not begin with politics or positions of power. She begins with the lived realities of tribal women whose voices have long remained unheard.
For her, leadership is not about occupying a seat at the table. It is about ensuring that women can speak for themselves, influence decisions and live with equality and dignity. Over the past decade, her work has focused on helping tribal and indigenous women confront systemic barriers ranging from human trafficking and witch-hunting to domestic violence and economic exclusion. Today, she also works on Forest Rights, advocating for the rights of tribal communities through grassroots action and policy engagement.
“I felt that I should do something for my tribal community and help them,” she says. “When women speak for themselves and enter decision-making spaces, they can bridge the gaps that have existed for generations.”
Dreams Rooted in Compassion
Augustina Soreng hails from the Simdega district of Jharkhand. During her school years, while studying in Classes 9 and 10, she found herself deeply inspired by books that chronicled the lives of remarkable women. Those stories planted a dream that would eventually shape her life’s work.
Determined to contribute to women’s empowerment, she continued her education through graduation while nurturing the aspiration of creating meaningful social change.
Around the same time, she began working as a part-time teacher at Kasturba Gandhi Residential School in Simdega and also taught girls through tuition classes at the residential school.
Those classrooms introduced her to realities that would profoundly influence her journey.
When Education Revealed Deeper Inequalities
At Kasturba Gandhi Residential School, Augustina Soreng met several tribal girls who had survived human trafficking and had been rescued before being enrolled in school.
Many had remained out of formal education for years. Even after gaining admission, reading and writing remained difficult because of prolonged educational gaps and challenging family circumstances. Many struggled to continue their studies beyond Class 12.
These experiences exposed a wider divide between those who enjoyed educational opportunities and marginalised communities that continued to endure violence, discrimination and exclusion.
“It did not seem that existing efforts were enough to bring them to a state of equality,” she recalls.
After spending two years teaching, she found an opportunity to work on the economic empowerment and social issues affecting tribal women, joining the sector around 2013-14 while continuing her higher education.
Walking Alongside Tribal Women
Her work soon took her beyond classrooms and into villages across Jharkhand.
As she travelled through tribal communities, she encountered the complex realities shaping women’s lives. Witch-hunting, human trafficking, migration and domestic violence were recurring challenges. Despite the efforts of several tribal organisations, she felt many issues remained inadequately addressed.
These experiences strengthened her resolve to work for the social, political and economic empowerment of tribal women.
What troubled her most, she says, was that many people failed to understand these issues through the lived experiences and emotions of tribal and indigenous women themselves.
“I took up social responsibility so that women could become aware, empowered and able to pursue justice,” she says.
Alongside grassroots work, she increasingly focused on research and advocacy, believing that community voices must influence policy-making rather than remain disconnected from it. Today, she continues to work on Forest Rights while advancing the rights of tribal women through community mobilisation, advocacy and grassroots engagement.
Creating Women Leaders, Not Just Beneficiaries
For Augustina Soreng, empowerment goes beyond providing support. It means preparing women to become leaders.
Her long-term vision is to see more women occupy leadership positions across social and political spheres. She believes this begins by nurturing feminist thinking among young girls and youth while creating spaces where women can participate equally in society.
“When leadership is taken up by women themselves, they can voice their concerns, shape policies and ensure that schemes truly respond to the realities of tribal women,” she says.
She believes decision-making spaces need greater representation of women so that policies reflect their lived experiences and enable every woman to live with equality and dignity.
Challenging Patriarchy Through Collective Action
Augustina Soreng believes that prevailing social and political systems continue to prevent many women from fully realising their potential, often restricting them to domestic responsibilities despite their capabilities.
Preparing women, girls and young people to speak up and participate in decision-making therefore remains central to her work.
One of the strongest pillars of this effort has been the support of youth. College students, law students, researchers, lawyers and pro-feminist allies have consistently joined campaigns advocating justice for women.
She sees this growing participation as one of the movement’s greatest achievements because it reflects a wider awakening within society towards gender equality and collective responsibility.
Stories That Continue to Inspire
Several interventions continue to reinforce Augustina Soreng’s belief in grassroots action.
She recalls the rescue of a girl who had been sold for ₹3 lakh in Barmer, Rajasthan. Through coordinated efforts involving schools, police, one-stop centres and government authorities, the survivor was safely brought home.
Across numerous cases of human trafficking and bonded labour, she and her colleagues have supported the rescue of girls and women, reuniting families who had almost given up hope.
Her work has also extended to responding to incidents of witch-hunting in villages. Community members often reach out through local leadership networks, phone calls or digital platforms to seek help. Survivors are encouraged to approach police stations and one-stop centres to file complaints, an important step towards resisting violence and asserting their rights.
“Seeing women come forward to report violence shows that they are becoming ready to stand together against exploitation,” she says.
The Struggle Continues
Working within deeply patriarchal systems has brought persistent challenges.
Augustina Soreng says activists frequently encounter resistance from social organisations, political parties and influential individuals. In cases involving gang rape and other serious crimes, accused persons are sometimes supported by powerful networks that attempt to intimidate survivors and those pursuing justice.
Despite these obstacles, sustained collaboration between young volunteers, legal professionals, progressive allies and public institutions has enabled timely interventions in many cases.
For Augustina Soreng, these experiences demonstrate that lasting change requires persistent grassroots advocacy, institutional sensitivity and collective resilience.
The Lesson That Endures
Looking back, Augustina Soreng measures success not by recognition but by the courage she sees emerging among women who once remained silent.
Whether it is a trafficking survivor returning home, a woman filing a police complaint against violence or a young tribal girl aspiring to become a leader, each represents a step towards a more equal society.
“Our future is to bring as many women as possible into leadership,” she says. “When women speak for themselves, they can shape policies, demand justice and ensure dignity for every woman.”
For her, true transformation begins when marginalised women are no longer treated merely as beneficiaries of change but become the ones leading it.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Lasting social change begins when those most affected by injustice are empowered to shape the solutions themselves. Augustina Soreng’s journey highlights the importance of grassroots leadership, community solidarity, Forest Rights advocacy and policy engagement in advancing the rights of tribal women. By amplifying voices that have historically been marginalised, her work demonstrates that equality is achieved not only through legal protections but also by creating spaces where women can lead, participate and influence decisions that shape their lives.
