A staunch feminist

Astha believes in equality for women and calls herself a ‘staunch feminist’.

She shares: “I abide by its principles from the very moment I came to know about it. I am influenced by the speech of Emma Watson in which she shares her experiences and feminism. A lot of people think that the term feminism is derogatory. It is not female domination by any means. Feminism means equality for all. We need to have dialogue more patiently.”

Astha was influenced by her senior Shivani Sood from humanities background, who was also the national topper seven years ago.

She also believes in self-study. “I had the least attendance at school, as I believe in self-study. I took a lot of help from the internet and solved various test series.”

She expressed concern over the state of education in Ludhiana. She said: “I asked a Class V student about the PM of India and he replied Amitabh Bachchan. Students need to be more politically and socially aware. Here people believe in materialism and give second preference to education. There are so many children, who have no access to education. We should use our privilege to help the underprivileged.”

She added: “Teachers need to be open-minded and they should sensitise male students about social issues than warning female students of wearing full clothes.”