It is rightly said that “there is no limit to what women can achieve” and nothing defines this better than UK-based Women Empowerment Ambassador and Author, Ritu Sharma.
Coming from a well-resourced yet conservative family from Amritsar, Ritu created an identity for herself ever since childhood by being a bright student. However, as she grew up, she realized that walking in the shoes of a girl child in this society was not a cake walk!
In an exclusive interview with this truly inspiring woman, we explore more about her journey as a phenomenal woman, her key achievements, and a lot more.
Shed some light on your childhood days?
I was born in Amritsar and grew up in a very well resourced, yet conservative family. I was educated to the highest of standards and was a university topper as well as the best actress for the year 1998 in youth festivals. I understood at a very young age how our society treated its girls differently. No matter how intelligent or capable a female child was, she must be kept and treated as a second-class citizen.
What motivated you to move to the United Kingdom?
I moved to the UK with my ex-husband as it was his dream and started a new life here. Just to find out in a decade or so that the curse of being a woman continues, no matter which corner of the world you are in. Also, I found out that this treatment of women was not exclusive to Indian or Asian cultures but was practised everywhere, even in the West.
Tell us about the key challenges that you had to face for all this while? How did you overcome the same?
Having experienced gender-biased treatment as a child and young adult, mild sexual harassment (which is not considered anything serious in India), domestic abuse, Manipulation and coercive control, divorce, being a single parent and even homelessness, when I finally rediscovered myself through self-development and sheer resilience, I decided to share my learnings with those in need and spread awareness.
So, I wrote my book ‘Rich Man’s Poor Daughter’ which was published in 2017, established and run my not-for-profit organisation Kaushalya UK to help women, established my speaking, training and leadership consultation business and recently got out my first anthology ‘The New Woman’. I have also co-authored 3 international anthologies so far and am working on my next anthology.
On the way, I have been featured in numerous magazines, newspapers, radio/tv/podcast interviews and have won multiple awards of international status and have been recognized as an outstanding professional trainer and speaker.
Your parting words?
There is a lot more that needs to be done, and I’ll keep going!
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