FOUNDER
AARYSHREE FOUNDATION
Born Rekha Tambe in Mumbai in the 1970’s, Dhammacharini Shraddha Jyoti does not speak much about her childhood and past. When asked she expresses immense gratitude to her family friends and and society for the love, support and opportunities she has been given in a place and time where none of these could be taken for granted by a woman. Nonetheless, being born into, growing up in, and still personally struggling endlessly in a society and culture which does not yet support females, nor does it treat them with kindness or respect, she was drawn to working for the betterment of the condition of women at an early age.
In her early teens her personal experiences drew her to Buddhism, choosing a life of understanding the nature of true compassion and deepening wisdom practices.
Through her practice she found her life calling- A passion and tireless drive to work with and empower women in India. She has worked as a social worker since the age of 19. She spent 22 years training with and working in and around Mumbai for Karuna Trust, a UK based foundation that works throughout India “helping thousands suffering from caste and other discrimination to take their rightful place in society.”
With solid experience under her belt and a clearer grasp of the dynamics that perpetuate the condition of women as second class citizens and sometimes sub-human members of society, she is now getting her Masters in Social work and has finally brought into existence her dream: Aaryshree’s Foundation, a vehicle she intends to help change the status and condition of women in India bringing them towards a life of physical safety and security, equality and empowerment.
Founder's Personal Statement
In my years of work with other NGOs, I observed that women have a secondary status in society in India. There is no importance given to their existence. They are afforded no respect and they develop no self-respect.
Many Institutions have come into existence to help women in India and this is important, but as time goes on in this field, more specific and newer questions arise. My particular observation and attention have been drawn to the problems facing girls in early adolescence and women moving into their 40’s, which is for many women in India are commonly considered the start of old age.
Girls in adolescence in India, like anywhere, are acutely aware of changes taking place within them but in many places in India, they are not given an understanding of what the change is biologically or what it signifies for them practically. There is no recourse in this period of a girl’s life physically nor mentally/emotionally either for her or her family. Girls are not provided with the necessary means for personal hygiene and self-care, nor are they in any way equipped to deal with the personal and societal ramifications of this change in a way that affords them any security. This results in young girls starting their lives in a state of anxiety and instability.
The girl’s parents, being uneducated, also lack the means to provide any useful support and security for the girls. Fearing for their child’s safety in society at this time, and in a state of ignorance and panic, the parents stop the child from any growth and development opportunities. Opportunities that would in the long term bring about change for her and the situation of women in India. Lacking in means both financially and developmentally to protect and care for their child at this time, the parents organize early marriage to relieve themselves of parental responsibility of the female child. At this point, in the best of situations (ie, that do not involve the horrors of dowry, bride burning, or physical abuse at the hands of spouse or in-laws) at the very least, the girl ends up losing all further opportunity for self-development and growth as an individual.
Society imposes on her the responsibility for caring for her newborn children when she should be completing her development as an adult. Thus she gets trapped in a family life that demands she cares for and guides her children when she does not have the education or maturity required to do so even for herself. So the cycle repeats.
When these same women cross forty they face a new set of physical and mental health issues resulting from their condition and once again they have nowhere and no one to turn to for support and advice. Nor have they any inner resources developed to guide themselves through.
I have been drawn specifically to help female populations in India in these two very sensitive, formative, decisive stages of their lives. Puberty and Menopause. To provide help, understanding, and guidance through these two stages in a way to help women recognize and cultivate their strengths, their unique qualities, to recover the parts of themselves they have lost, and to develop to their full potential as individuals. Not only to break the cycle of suffering for women but because I believe that when a woman is allowed to develop to her full potential she is a truly helpful contributor to her family, society, and country.
It has been my experience to witness over and over that when a woman collapses, it has a direct and adverse effect on her family, society, and the world around her.
And so it is, to repay Society for the opportunities I have been given that I started Aaryshree’s Foundation to help women in the periods of their lives that I feel are the most sensitive for them but also the most fertile, crucial, and formative periods for instigating change.
