This article has been sponsored by MG Motor India.
Kavita Devi was born in Kunjan Purwa, a remote village in Uttar Pradesh, to a dalit farmer family. Married off at the age of 12, she received no formal education, but always had the drive to complete her education and make a difference.
The path she wanted to carve for herself was illuminated by an NGO that came to her village to open a centre for girls’ education. “Everyone was against it — my in-laws, the locals in our community, and even my own parents,” she recalls, adding, “I fought with everyone to achieve what I wanted.”
For six months after finishing her education, Kavita began working with Mahila Dakiya, a newsletter run by the same centre. This was her first stint as a reporter. “The newsletter was printed in Bundeli, and while it came out only once a month, everyone would wait for it with bated breath,” Kavita says. However, the newsletter was eventually shut, leaving her and several others in the…