Shireen Chouhan

Youth Leader,
Project Pravaah

Shireen Chouhan is a youth advocate in the areas of mental health, gender equality, refugee rights and food insecurity. For her, she believes that true change on these issues can only come should intergenerational collective action be taken. This requires the key stakeholder groups to put aside their differences and unite towards a higher purpose. 

Since she was three years old, she has gone to a boarding school, which has given her empathy, independence, and self-reliance. Her everyday interactions with people from different cultures gave her the ability to view things from multiple perspectives. Considering she never had a father figure and her aunts had a big influence on who they are now, her favorite childhood memory is calling their aunts "mom."

Shireen recently completed her 11th-grade year, scoring a 39/42 on her midterm and a 40/42 on her final 11th IB board test. Project Pravaah, an initiative to address period poverty and advance sustainable menstrual hygiene practices in rural India, is one of her leadership responsibilities. Other extracurricular activities she is involved with are Head Girl (boarding house), Kartavya (working for children with special needs), GirlUp Saahitya, wellness ambassador, and Parvaah (a student-led NGO for impoverished and economically disadvantaged rural people). 

Looking ahead, her main motivation for enrolling in a reputable college is to study sociology in depth to understand the dynamics of interpersonal relationships, societal structures, and cultural occurrences. She wants to use her sociological career as a platform to advance equality, social justice, and community well-being. To address urgent social challenges such as poverty, prejudice, and inequality, she hopes to research, shape public policy, and advocate for change. This will help create a society that is more inclusive and equitable.