Freedom Still Has Half a Wing

Every year, on 15th August, our skies fill with flags and our voices rise in unison for “azaadi.”  Yet, somewhere deep down, we know; the truest test of a nation’s freedom lies not in its speeches or parades, but in the lives of its women.

Because what is freedom when a girl is told that her education is less important than her brother's? What is independence when a bride is measured only by the dowry she brings? What is liberty when women still silence themselves at home, at work, and in society just to be accepted?

The truth is harsh: our daughters, sisters, and mothers are still shackled. The chains are no longer colonial, they are cultural. The walls are no longer foreign, they are built inside our homes.

India cannot call itself free until its women are free. A bird cannot fly with one wing.

But here lies the glimmer of change.

At Sarvam Foundation, we see this every day. Our Shaktis are the daughters of auto drivers, vegetable vendors, daily wage workers, girls who, by society’s standards, should have been married by 16, invisible by 18, forgotten by 20. But instead, they are dancing on stage with pride, teaching in schools, interning at Marriott Hotels, earning degrees, and most importantly breaking the silence in their own homes.

They are learning classical arts, yoga, computers, English, and with every class, they are also learning something no textbook ever taught them  that they have a voice, and it matters.

Eleven of our Shaktis are interning as teachers at The Heritage School in Delhi. Eleven more are training at Marriott Hotels while pursuing their degrees. More than 395 girls across three Indian states are standing tall against the narrative that once bound them.

Every yoga session, every dance practice, every computer class is not just skill-building; it is resistance. It is saying to the world: “We refuse to be caged.”

This is not charity. This is justice.

Because the measure of a nation’s progress is not in its GDP or tallest buildings. It is in the dignity of its daughters. It is in the freedom of its women to dream, to choose, to exist fully.

At Sarvam Shakti, we are not just teaching girls. We are unlearning centuries of silence.We are not just building skills. We are rebuilding futures.We are not just shaping individuals. We are shaping the very definition of freedom in this country.

So the question is not whether India is independent.

The question is: when will its women be?

Until then, our work continues. And every time a girl raises her hand in class, steps onto a stage, or signs her first salary slip, we know freedom is inching closer.

Because true independence will not be the day we celebrate, but the day when no girl in India has to fight for her own.

We are Sarvam Shakti.

We are breaking barriers.

And we believe: the future is free, when she is free.

Written By- Anusha Verma