“Why should I do what society tells me to do? Why should I care for others over myself?” Kanchana, a Sisterhood member for 3 years, questions her position as a woman in India.

Raised in Chennai, Kanchana was born to a maleless family cosisting of her mother, grandmother, and older sister. Despite her family being unable to find much work, she had always dreamt of studying microbiology to one day work in a hospital. Yet withal, she was unprepared for the hardships she would face as a female in this field. During her first year of college, however, she joined the Sisterhood Foundation.

While with the organization, she was able to form leadership, financial management, and organizational skills. She was shown the potential that women can and should have in society. Kanchana said, “I learned to take a step back and see what my needs are.” She began to question conventional practices of getting married, working in the domestic sphere, and having children early on. She also started to challenge the dominance of men in the workforce; she ponders, “why are they paid more than us?” and “why are we asked how we will get married if we work, but they are not?” While speaking about her family, Kanchana tells about an instance in which she had come home late and her mother was angry with her. “Why,” she asks, “would my family be so worried about me? What issues do I face outside and at home?” Through the Sisterhood Foundation and her own experiences, she learned to respond to problems instead of just reacting to them. She realized that women should be able to make choices without being scared. Most importantly, she discovered an unmatached camraderie with the volunteers and other members. With this strong network of peers, she was able to find courage to follow her dreams.

Today, having graduated from the SRM Institute of Medical Science with a BSC and MSC in microbiology, Kanchana works as a lab technician at Sims Hospital. Through the Sisterhood Foundation, she is not bound by society’s expectations of her and continues to pursue what she loves. She’s even encouraged her sister to push through the resistance from her relatives and pursue an MBA in HR.

Kanchana is excited to cultivate her career despite any backlash she may face in the future. In addition, she wants to have a family. She also hopes to open a school one day to teach future generations of the insights she learned from her life. “We [as women] should be able to make our own decisions without anyone compelling us to, and we must share this insight with other girls so that they can achieve this same clarity.”