Breaking barriers, inspiring change: Meet Diksha from She Creates Change

In a world that often measures beauty by external appearances, one young girl named Diksha discovered the true essence of beauty and embarked on a path to empower herself and others. This is the inspiring story of Diksha, a Room to Read Girls’ Education Program student from Nepal who learned to see her own beauty and went on to challenge unjust traditions and strive for gender equality in her community.

Diksha: A story about collaboration

Diksha’s skin was a darker shade than the people in her village. Everyone saw her as different. Kids teased her. Her mother pressured her to use whitening cream. Diksha would look into the mirror and ask herself, “How can I feel so beautiful on the inside, but not see it on the outside?”  

Diksha’s older sister was angered by the discrimination in her family. She took Diksha to a field of flowers. “Look,” she said. “You are just another color in the midst of all these blossoms.” In that moment, Diksha understood that she was beautiful, inside and out.  

One day, Diksha noticed her friend, Sita, was not at school. Sita’s family believed in a tradition that prohibited girls from going to school when they were menstruating, and forced Sita to sleep in the animal shed when she had her period. Diksha knew no girl should ever be made to feel ashamed of her body, so she took her Room to Read life skills notebook and went to visit Sita’s grandmother. It was unusual for a young person to confront an elder, but Diksha knew it was the right thing to do.

Diksha's journey from self-doubt to self-acceptance, from witnessing injustice to taking action with support and collaboration from family and friends, is a testament to the transformative power of developing self-confidence and using it to uplift others. Diksha plans to work for girls’ equality when she is older. Her determination to fight against inequities serves as an inspiration for us all to stand up for what is right and work towards a more inclusive and just society.

Room to Read presents: She Creates Change

Diksha is one of the remarkable changemakers featured in Room to Read's She Creates Change, the first nonprofit-led animated short film to promote gender equality through the stories of young women around the world. The film features the narratives of six courageous young women — Yashika among them — from historically low-income communities in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Vietnam, and profiles how each girl confronts challenges unique to her life, like harassment, food scarcity or early marriage, by advocating for herself and her future.  

Right now, 122 million girls are not in school worldwide, and millions more must overcome cultural bias, discrimination, poverty, and violence simply to go to school.

Room to Read’s gender equality programming has supported more than 3.7 million girls, advancing gender equality in historically low-income communities around the globe. We need your help to promote equal access to education for more girls around the world.