If young girls can see someone like me – from a working-class background and a home where domestic abuse was prevalent – now thriving in a public role, I hope it may inspire them.
Growing up, I never envisioned a career in politics, especially as a working-class female of Indian heritage in a landscape with scarce representation.
The intersectionality of my identity made my presence on Dorset Council seem unlikely. Yet, here I am!
Encouraged by my local MP, Cllr Vikki Slade, and supported by the wonderful people of Dorset, I proudly began representing my ward in May 2024.
I hope to use my position on the council to help as many girls and women as possible, serving as a role model and as a force for practical change.
If young girls can see someone like me – from a working-class background and a home where domestic abuse was prevalent – now thriving in a public role, I hope it may inspire them.
In my work with the Dorset Pineapple Trust, I am reminded that there remains an urgent need to protect and empower vulnerable women and girls in our communities who are too often affected by misogyny, grooming, and domestic abuse.
Each year, on International Women’s Day, as Jess Phillips MP reads the heartbreaking list of women lost to violence, I am left grappling with the stark reality that we have much work to do.
I want my daughter and her generation to feel safe from violence in their homes.
I extend my deepest thanks to the trailblazing women before me, who forged a path to enable women like me to flourish. I hope I can do the same for the next generation of girls.
A version of this case study was first published in the LGA’s first magazine