2024: First Place, Sissy Farenthold Trailblazers for Justice Undergraduate Writing Prize
Empowering Voices: Education and Reproductive Justice in New Delhi’s GB Road
by Leah Tharakan
Winner, Sissy Farenthold Trailblazers for Justice Undergraduate Writing Prize (2024)
Abstract:
This paper investigates the intersection of reproductive justice and education within the marginalized community of sex workers in New Delhi’s Garstin Bastion (GB) Road. By exploring the dual roles of education as a tool for empowerment and reproductive justice as a framework for addressing systemic inequalities, the study critiques current policies and programs and proposes a more integrated approach. Contrasting the harsh realities faced by the women and children of GB Road with the possibilities offered by educational initiatives, this analysis illuminates how education, when coupled with reproductive justice, can break cycles of exploitation and poverty, offering a pathway to social equity in one of India’s most stigmatized communities.
About the author:
Leah Tharakan is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is double majoring in Government and Economics on the pre-law track. Her primary research interests include criminal justice reform, gender equality, and legal sociology, with a focus on international contexts. Leah is a staff writer for the Texas Undergraduate Law Journal and is currently interning at the Travis County District Attorney’s Office. She plans to further hone her advocacy interests towards her upcoming experience as an Archer Fellow in Washington, D.C.