Thirty-year-old Srishti Bakshi has embarked on a 3,800-kilometre journey from Kanyakumari to Srinagar on foot to sensitise citizens about violence against women.
What inspired her to set about on this journey? Bakshi says that it dates back to 2016, when she first read the news of the gang-rape of a mother and daughter in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh.
“Women in this country are not safe even as a family. This incident left me questioning and changed my life completely,” she says.
Bakshi decided it was time to take matters into her own hands. She quickly set to work to help women fight violence by empowering them with financial and digital literacy.
She believes that technology is a long-term solution to all the issues faced by Indian women. Bakshi has tied up with several companies like Google, that help equip her with the required resources and teaching material.
Her network of change-makers, named ‘CrossBow’, aims to harness the power of the internet to help women empower themselves.
The marketing professional, who has worked with companies like Red Bull and Otterbox, is confident that she isn’t alone in her modern-day ‘Dandi march’. The response so far has been “fantastic,” she says.
My aim is to help open a gateway for women to empower themselves one step at a time.Srishti Bakshi, Founder of CrossBow Miles
Walking through the expanse of the country has taken a lot of preparation. “Planning the entire walk was a logistical nightmare,” she says. Bakshi reveals that the walls of her house were covered with large maps of India, crisscrossed with threads running through the various spots she intended to cover.
Bakshi is neither an athlete, nor an activist, but she’s been walking 25 kilometers every 24 hours for over 46 days now. She spent an entire year training for the grueling journey.
I used to wake up at 4 every morning. I worked on my core strength as well as muscle repair and recovery. It was a lot a hard work. But ultimately, what keeps me going is the cause which makes every little effort worth it.Srishti Bakshi, Founder of CrossBow Miles
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)