‘Stories of women often go untold, they have to be shared’
Putting together a two-part anthology that chronicles what it means to be a woman in today's society was a project driven by Samhitha Reddy’s passion to support women’s rights
Samhitha Reddy is a lawyer who is currently pursuing her Masters in Human Rights at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Despite her busy schedule, she found the time to compile a two-part anthology series called Shades of a Woman: Navigating Society as a Woman and Liberation: Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Society.
The series showcase heart-warming and inspiring stories of women and how they have always strived to be better, not only for themselves but also for their families. "The stories of women around me (my mother, grandmother and aunts) often go untold because they didn’t have any platform to share or people to listen. That’s when
I realised that all of us have something to share. I wanted to give a plat- form for women to express themselves. I started working on this project during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. I am an ardent supporter of women's rights and hence, it seemed fitting for me to pursue this project. What started as one anthology has now grown into a two-volume project. I reached out to people from various walks of life across the world and asked them to share their experiences and inspiring stories about women in their lives (or themselves) and that's how the books took shape," says Samhitha.
The lawyer and author shares that she could relate to almost all pieces while editing and compiling the poems and prose. "I could relate to all pieces as an experience that happened to me or as an emotion that I felt. When the books came out, those who read them shared that they could relate to many of the narratives in the books,” she tells us.
The carefully curated collection showcases people from all walks of life: entrepreneurs, Padma Shri awardees, students, activists, homemakers, authors, centennials, professionals sharing their thoughts, feelings and experiences with the world.