Jayashree Patil

Jayashree is a daughter of a sex worker. She was born and grew up in Kamatipura, Mumbai, one of Asia’s largest Red Light Areas. As a young girl living in Kamatipura, she experienced physical and sexual abuse. Jayashree also had almost no access to education or healthcare in her community.
At the age of 13 years sheI came to Kranti, a NGO that transforms girls from the Red Light Area into agents of social change.
Jayashree is now 18, and has recently completed high school. She is an active volunteer and has worked as a facilitator and public speaker for various NGO’s in India as well as the United States. Her topics she speaks on include gender equity, empowerment of adolescent girls, and gender and sex education.
At present, Ayashere is taking a ‘gap year’ before starting college in 2020. She continues to work with adolescent girls in the rural area of Punjab.
Her dream is to empower girls like herself, with the knowledge and leadership skills to solve the social problems Jayashree and women like her faced growing up.