Angellica Aribam

Picture of Angellica Aribam

 The world of politics is a brutal one, a world that has been dominated by men since its creation.  But, with every field, women have been working hard to break through with new policies, strengths, and ideas. One such woman is Indian political activist Angellica Aribam. Aribam is a woman of strength, determination, intelligence, and perseverance. These qualities are shown in all of her accomplishments thus far, like being the founder of Femme First Foundation, a non-governmental group working to get more women into Indian politics. This, along with many of her other accomplishments, have helped women warriors find their place in politics, and making the brutal world of politics a little more bearable. 

Aribam was born in Imphal, India in 1992. It was clear her drive to succeed came to her early, as she completed her schooling at age twelve. She went on to complete her bachelor's degree in biochemistry with honors at the University of Delhi, moving to eventually get her master's degree in public policy. This is especially astounding, as India has the lowest literacy rates in Asia at the time, and is still a huge milestone for women's rights in India. This may have been what influenced Aribam to get into politics, however, she also cites that the reason she went into politics is as follows: "One afternoon, I was coming back from school in the Delhi summer, a young man on the street started to grope me. I was numb, but in that moment, I realized the extent of discrimination people from my community were facing, especially the women who are often labeled as 'easy' due to their ethnic features". Her work in the field of education through politics is nothing but impressive, being the youngest person to become the National Secretary of the National Student's Union of India (NSUI) in 2012, and becoming the sole speaker north-east region of India on several occasions. 

Aribam's biggest accomplishment is most likely the Femme First Foundation, a non-governmental, non-profit organization that Aribam created to promote female politicians in India. The Femme First Foundation notes that India is in desperate need of female politicians, reporting that India ranks 142 out of 193 when it comes to representation of women in politics, and one of the reasons for that is because of the still very low literacy rate and education rate of women in India, which becomes yet another barrier for women. The Femme First Foundation also points out that with more women in politics, social issues will be prioritized, and see having more women in politics as a way to fix many of the problems currently plaguing women, like equal pay and reproductive rights. The Femme First Foundation works with Harvard University and Emily's List, the largest American resource for women in politics to educate about India's lack of representation internationally and to work with others about this issue.

Femme First Foundation's logo

Despite the pandemic, Aribam continues her mission, going to social media to discuss how the Coronavirus affects politics, and the racism that is being fed by the pandemic. The work she has done, and continues to do, is and will be of great influence to India's politics, continuing to further for the education of women, the representation for women in politics, and women's rights in India as a whole. She is making the way for other warrior women to take her place once she is done, creating a space where women can become just like her. Educated, brave, strong, and determined in the face of conflict and discrimination in politics. With Aribam's ideas at the forefront, young fresh ideas will be brought to India, and, eventually, to the world.

Works Cited:

“Angellica Aribam, Indian Political Activist.” Women in Foreign Policy | #Wifp, www.womeninforeignpolicy.org/advocacy-ngos/2019/11/10/angellica-aribam. Accessed 15 Feb. 2021.

Aribam, Angellica. “Women Leadership | Femme First Foundation | New Delhi.” FemmeFirstFoundation, 2020, www.femmefirst.org/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2021.

Bureau, US Census. “Women’s Education in India.” The United States Census Bureau, Oct. 1998, www.census.gov/library/publications/1998/demo/wid98-1.html#:~:text=The%20Indian%20government%20has%20expressed.

Shah, Binjal. “The Manipuri Girl with a Voice and a Vision: NSUI Secretary Angellica Aribam - SheThePeople TV.” She the People: Women’s Channel, 7 July 2015, www.shethepeople.tv/top-videos/the-manipuri-girl-with-a-voice-and-a-vision-nsui-secretary-angellica-aribam/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2021.

Pictures:

Femme First Foundation. “The Femme First Foundation’s Main Logo on Their Website,” Femme First Foundation, 2020. Accessed 14 Feb. 2021.

Unknown. “Picture of Angellica Aribam,” Wikipedia, 2019. Accessed 14 Feb. 2021.