2 women entrepreneurs help build a school for self-defence

At 19 years, when most girls in her village were married off and starting families, Mana Mandlekar decided that she needed to learn Karate. Growing up in rural Alampur, Madhya Pradesh, where girls stop education at 8th grade, Mandlekar fought instead to complete her schooling. “The higher secondary school was 12 kilometres from my village. On my way there, I was always teased by boys. I used to be constantly scared for my safety,” Mandlekar, now 24, says.

It was while at college in Timarni, Madhya Pradesh, that she decided to start learning selfdefence. With more than eight hours of daily practice, she not only mastered Karate, but now is an inspiration to girls in her village and surrounding areas. She is also the most highly-educated girl from her village, having completed a college degree in Arts.

Mandlekar has ever since been running self-defence classes in six districts of Madhya Pradesh and has over 500 students. But she doesn’t consider this her success. “I want to build a dedicated school for girls and teach them to fight their way up in life,” she says.


To take this dream forward, Mandlekar has been running pillar to post to raise funds. During a TED Talk in February, she bumped into two Bengaluru entrepreneurs, Roshini Kumar, 25, and Tanmayi Reddy, 25. The duo, who run Open House (OH), an events startup, have been also supporting causes through fundraisers. “Through OH, our aim is to make positive change in the world,” says Kumar.

Listening to Mandlekar’s challenges and her courage to fight against patriarchy, the duo decided to take up her cause. “We realised how privileged our upbringing in cities are. There are still girls who don’t have the right to complete their education, are married off at a young age and face repeated sexual abuse,” Kumar says.

To help raise funds for the school, the duo will be holding an event this weekend (July 8) at alternative coworking space The Bohemian House. “The profits will go towards building the school,” Kumar adds.

Says Shubha Chacko, executive director, Solidarity Foundation, “OH supported us in our endeavor to host a performance by Jogappas (a traditional transgender community from North Karnataka) in Bengaluru. It’s remarkable, that though they are a small startup, they are choosing to support causes close to their heart.”