Empowering 200 Girl Leaders in India

Milaan’s Girl Icon Program works with adolescent girls from low-income communities to build leadership, confidence, and the ability to question deeply rooted social norms. Through life-skills training, mentorship, and community action, girls are supported to speak up for their rights, return to education, and lead change within their families and villages. This project is currently empowering 200 adolescent girls to take collective action and shape more equitable futures.

Across communities, the impact of this work is visible not only in the girls themselves but also in the people who begin to listen to them. 

A Father’s Choice: Standing by His Daughter’s Education

In a small village of Northern India, Vijay grew up believing that education was meant only for boys. Financially constrained and working irregular jobs, he was expected to follow tradition. But when his daughter, Sheetal, a Girl Icon showed a strong desire to learn, he made a different choice.

Despite criticism from relatives and neighbors, Vijay enrolled his daughter in school and supported her education, working extra hours to meet expenses. Over time, his daughter not only continued her studies but also began mentoring other girls. Slowly, even community elders who once criticised his decision began to acknowledge the value of educating girls.

At a district-level interaction with the Milaan team, Vijay shared that his greatest pride now comes from his daughter’s achievements. His story highlights how a parent’s belief can strengthen a girl’s journey and influence an entire community.

Manasi: Starting a Conversation on Girls’ Education 

Manasi is a teenage girl from a rural village in Uttar Pradesh, where girls leaving school early is often accepted without question. Before joining the Girl Icon Program, she rarely spoke in public and struggled to imagine how she could challenge this reality. Through leadership and life-skills sessions, she began to see her own voice as valuable.

When it came time to lead her Social Action Project, Manasi chose to address school dropouts among girls, a topic many avoided. With encouragement from her family, especially her father, she began inviting neighbors to attend a community meeting. Within fifteen days, more than 110 community members gathered, many of them fathers. During the discussion, one parent shared that he now wanted his daughter to return to school.

Once hesitant to speak, Manasi now leads conversations with confidence and supports other girls who are finding their voices. Her journey reflects how small, local actions can begin to shift long-held beliefs.

Together, these stories show what happens when girls are equipped with skills and confidence, and when families and communities choose to stand beside them. 

(Constituent Names have been altered to protect privacy.)

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Milaan - Be the Change’s Girl Icon Program is a powerful life skills and leadership initiative that empowers adolescent girls to challenge deeply rooted practices like child marriage and take control of their futures. The program equips girls with critical knowledge and tools to make informed decisions about their education, marriage, and reproductive health, enabling them to stand up against harmful traditions and assert their right to choose their own path.

We are proud to spotlight our Girl Icons, who have shown extraordinary courage in resisting child marriage and advocating for the rights of other girls. A few have gone from being at risk of early marriage to becoming leaders in their villages and thereby educating families, engaging community elders, and sparking conversations that were once taboo. Their advocacy is not just personal; it is a movement that is challenging centuries-old practices and reshaping futures.

Sanju: Starting the Conversation at Home

In Pyarepur, Sanju (name changed to protect personal identity) decided to take on something most people around her never spoke about: periods. She knew that before she could talk to the world, she had to start at home.

On Menstrual Hygiene Day, she sat down with her mother and asked the questions that had been on her mind for years. Why can’t girls touch pickles? Why are they kept out of kitchens or temples during their periods? Instead of brushing these questions aside, Sanju explained where such practices came from and how they had turned into myths that only made women feel ashamed. Her mother paused, thought about it, and finally said she would change her thinking. For Sanju, that small moment felt huge, it was the first crack in a wall that had stood for generations.

Encouraged, she gathered girls, women, and elders in her community. Along with her fellow Girl Icons, she created a space where people felt safe enough to talk. She explained menstrual hygiene simply and clearly, reminding everyone that periods are natural, not impure. For many women, it was the first time they spoke openly about their own experiences. For the younger girls, it was a relief to learn without fear, and to see someone like them leading the conversation.

Sanju didn’t just organise a session. She changed how people thought, one conversation at a time. Her story shows what happens when girls are given knowledge and the confidence to use it, they become leaders who shift entire communities.

Sanju’s journey reminds us that sometimes the boldest change starts quietly, at home, with a girl brave enough to ask, “Why?”

Priyanka: Empowering Adolescents and Leading Change 

In Ramgarh, young girls often grow up believing their voices do not matter. Education is interrupted, conversations about health are silenced, and traditions outweigh aspirations. Against this backdrop, Priyanka chose a different path.

Her journey began in 2021 when she joined the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK or State Youth Health Forum) as a Saathiya (Buddy). The program opened her eyes to the issues affecting adolescents, including nutrition, mental health, reproductive health, and gender-based violence. It also gave her the skills to act by facilitating dialogue, listening deeply, and creating safe spaces where young people could share openly.

At first, community members dismissed her. Many asked, “What can this young girl teach us?” Priyanka persisted, and gradually resistance turned into curiosity and then into trust.

Her first breakthrough came when she convinced several school dropouts to return to their studies. By listening to their fears, respecting their struggles, and building their confidence, she gained the trust of families. This experience showed her the power of peer education to drive change.

In 2024, Priyanka was selected as a Girl Icon. The program strengthened her confidence, communication, and leadership skills, transforming her from a health educator into a changemaker. She applied this learning by forming a Sathi Leader Group in her village.

The group quickly became a safe space for adolescent girls. For the first time, they spoke openly about menstruation, body changes, relationships, mental health, and consent. Parents and even the local Anganwadi worker began to join, creating rare intergenerational conversations on sensitive issues.

The impact was visible. Girls who once remained silent began leading discussions. Parents who once restricted their daughters began to encourage them. Boys too became more aware and respectful. Small shifts, such as one girl speaking up, one child returning to school, or one parent listening, began to change the social fabric of Ramgarh.

Priyanka’s dual role as a Saathiya advancing government health initiatives and as a Girl Icon fostering grassroots leadership has placed her at the heart of transformation in her community.

Today, she dreams of pursuing higher studies in public health or social work and of one day leading her own organization for rural youth. For her, social work is not just a role but an identity.

Her story proves a simple truth: when a girl is educated and empowered, the entire community begins to transform.