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Kousalya Periasamy is the founder of the Positive Women Network, a support organization for women living with HIV.
Kousalya was just a teenager when she found out that she was HIV positive. Barely a few weeks into her marriage, Kousalya was shocked to find out that her husband was infected – and that he had concealed this fact from her.
Although devastated, Kousalya was determined that other young women should not face the same fate as her. In 1998, she gathered like-minded women and started the Positive Women Network (PWN), which strives to spread awareness about HIV.
Over the years, PWN has helped thousands of helpless women who are forced to face the stigma of HIV every day. Kousalya, publicly announced that she was HIV positive and doesn’t hesitate to share her story widely. She believes in positive living and is working towards ending the discrimination against HIV positive Indian women.
Why we find her inspiring:
– For refusing to let her illness break her and instead converting her misfortune into positive action.
– For reaching out and improving the lives of women who would otherwise be shunned by society.
Further reading:
– Ashoka. org
– IBN Live
*Photo source: business.outlookindia.com.
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Being a writer, Nivedita Louis recognises the struggles of a first-time woman writer and helps many articulate their voice with development, content edits as a publisher.
“I usually write during night”, says author Nivedita Louis during our conversation. Chuckling she continues,” It’s easier then to focus solely on writing. Nivedita Louis is a writer, with varied interests and one of the founders of Her Stories, a feminist publishing house, based in Chennai.
In a candid conversation she shared her journey from small-town Tamil Nadu to becoming a history buff, an award-winning author and now a publisher.
Nivedita was born and raised in a small town in Tamil Nadu. It was for schooling that she first arrived in Chennai. Then known as Madras, she recalls being awed by the city. Her love-story with the city, its people and thus began which continues till date. She credits her perseverance and passion to make a difference to her days as a vocational student among the elite sections of Madras.
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