I’ve been asked the same question a lot of times but in different forms:

Q. Why are you building Girl in Tech?

Q. Why are you building a community specifically for girls?

Q. Why are you giving so much time to girls in tech?

My friends sometimes mocked me for this. Why are you building a community for girls? You can do a lot more.

I’ve answered the same questions many times. So today, I thought I'd write this article covering the answer in a lot more detail, with some backstory and my vision, too, that made me start this community on 27 June 2024.

So let’s start from the very beginning. I come from a middle-class family. My mother is an English teacher and is the only earning source in my family. She raised me and my sister (her name is Khushi. She is 2 years younger than me) with all she could give us. Although for a long time, we couldn’t afford costly things, expensive clothes didn’t went to big schools (we studied in the school where my mother used to teach, that’s an ICSC school), and never went on any trips. But yet she gave us a lot of things that she could despite having faced a lot of hardships and hasn’t let us realize or feel this. She did fulfill all our wishes. She used to teach in school from morning till afternoon, then just after that take tuitions from afternoon to evening, prepare dinner for us. Then used to tell us bedtime stories in the night until we fell asleep. This is the time when I was young maybe in 3rd or 4th standard.

She’s been teaching for more than 25 years. Long before I was born. and is still teaching. But now she has discontinued taking tuitions after she got into depression, yes I’ve seen my mother in depression and that was the most horrible thing for me and I’m glad that now she’s okay, yet I hope that no one has to see this thing. Here I’ll tell you everything that would be more than enough for you to know the reason for I started this community. This would be a longer one. So read if you want to know the root cause for me to start this community.

So things went by. We all live in a house with my grandparents in a single room. I had seen a lot of fights in my house. Sometimes between my grandmother and grandfather. And more between my mother and father. When I was young I couldn’t do anything. Me and my sister just went to a corner and wept as we didn’t know at that time what was happening. But you know these small fights over petty things were common in many Indian households.

I’ve seen tears in my mother’s eyes a lot of times. And I am helpless as I can’t do anything. That is the driving force that makes me want to become something so that I can earn a good amount of money and provide the life to my mother that she truly deserves. Basically, give her everything in the world. All the happiness that she couldn’t get.

This is the beginning which has impacted my brain a lot, subconsciously. Even though I’m doing a BTech degree, that’s also on my mother. She never let our studies and education be sacrificed. She spent a lot on that. Whenever I wanted to attend any event, wanted to buy anything, wanted to go on a trip with my friend. My mummy was there to support me and she’s the one who gave me money for it. That’s why I feel guilty for not being able to become at least that much financially independent so that I can support my expenses. But I’ll become this year (manifesting).

Now, I’ve come into college. In college, I interacted with a lot of people. I’m blessed that in my first year only I’m able to explore a lot of things. That’s why I’m able to build this community. Because I’ve spent my 1.5 years building and contributing to various communities. I attended a lot of events and organized a lot as well. Of course, I couldn’t attend offline more because I live in Ambala city and here no such events are ever organised Either I have to go to Delhi or sometimes Chandigarh. So I’ve decided if not offline, I’ll go online. I’ve made a great online presence. Attended a lot of meetings 200+ and many sessions 100+.

It was that time when I got to know about SIH (Smart India Hackathon). The rule of SIH is that we should have a girl in our team. And to my astonishment. I was not able to find any from my classmates who knew coding ( even though I didn’t know much, still I knew the things and I was learning). This thing struck me. Yes, my college is not a fancy big college or an IIT, NIT, IIIT, or BIT. Mine is just a tier 3 private college in Chandigarh, India.

As time passed, and I usually talked to my female classmates, they often shared their dreams, aspirations, and helplessness with me. Dreams of doing big things, aspirations to thrive, and helplessness as they don’t get permission to attend events and Hackathons. I can relate to it as even my sister is not allowed to go to a birthday party of her friend alone or not allowed to watch a movie. In many parts of India, girls are not getting enough respect, they have to face partiality in many things whether in education, job, or home. They are being told that after college they will be married, and they are not safe anywhere which makes me feel disappointed with the society. Leave night time, even at they time they feel unsafe. They had to face a lot of struggles and most importantly they cant make their voice loud and be heard. I’ve seen some incidents with my eyes and they made me hate this society and the respect for girls and women increased a lot in my eyes. That’s why I wanted to make this community a safe space for them and on a longer run, we will be doing something that can change this society and will contribute to making this society and this world a safe space for all the girls. But as we are just in the growing stage, so more focus on making the foundation strong and start with providing them the opportunities.

Now coming back w hen I share opportunities with my classmates that are only for them, like Wtm ambassador, We Scholar, or Step internship, they tell me, “They are not even aware of it.” This makes me sad, as these valuable and amazing opportunities are only for them.

At first, I used to get jealous of why we don’t have such opportunities but with time I got to know why. Now my mindset has become to help my female classmates or the girls of my college to know about the opportunities that exist for them. I’ve thought to start a dedicated club for girls but as I’m a boy so I thought that wouldn’t be of much value & impact. So I thought that I should find a girl who could lead the club and I could support her. But I couldn’t find that passionate girl who also can lead a club. Plus there was also a problem. We can’t open a club this easily. I know about the WTM ambassador program and I know that if even 1 girl from our college becomes WTM ambassador then we can open a WTM club. So I planned to organize an online session on WTM ambassadors in the hope that a lot of girls would join it and at least 1 would get selected.

To my astonishment, only 5 girls came. I still remember their names: Reshika, Aashi, Tanisha, Arpita, and Ayana. I took the session for 1 hour. Told them everything about WTM ambassador program and encouraged them to apply. On their request, I made a WhatsApp group to guide them further with the application process. And named it randomly as Girls in Tech. With time the group evolved. I added all my female classmates into the groups and the girls whom I know. And started sharing about opportunities in it. Till Diwali (31 Oct) we have around 70 to 75 members. Then I thought to make the group available for everyone so I launched a Google form as an application to join the group and circulated the form as much as possible. That’s the story of Girls in Tech beginning. Till now 3 jan 2025, the community has become 1k+ girls strong from 22 states of India + 2 from Pakistan + 1 from America + 1 from Africa.

Basically, I have made this community for Indian girls and would shape it accordingly but it’s open to join by anyone from any part of the world.

For 2025, I have planned so many big things to do for this community. That includes providing a lot of value to them and turning their wish into reality.

This is just the beginning, I want to make this community to help as many girls as possible so that they get better opportunities, and better futures, can thrive, and can support their future family and their kids with much more pride. My mother used to tell me, that she didn’t get to know the opportunities at the time when she passed 12th, so she chose the teaching line although she had done medical in her 12th.

So I don’t want to let it happen in any other family and this way I will be fulfilling my dream to help all the future mothers, my mother, my sister, my classmates, my friends, and all the respected girls in this world.

I hope this will clear all your doubts regarding why I chose to build this community specifically for girls only and why I’m putting a lot of effort into making it. There are many communities for women and girls but I didn’t find any specifically for Indian girls solving this problem plus I’m passionate about it, so let’s make it happen.

After making this community, I’ve received a lot of messages regarding this community which motivates me more to nurture it so that it can reach to all the girls of India. Have a look at some of them:

There are a lot more. Thanks to all for supporting this cause. At first I was alone but now we are more than 60. Along with me there are more than 55 girl volunteers who are supporting and contributing in building this community. So now, its a shared cause & vision, not mine alone.

Here, are some testimonials from the girls on our testimonial collecting form:

I learnt so many things from you. Happy to attend your sessions. [by Tarfi Ansari]

I joined this group about 10 to 12 days ago, I am pleased to say that being a part of this community is really incredible. I get to know about lot of opportunitues, and also getting insights and helps from others, which is really a best part. I would love to encourage other girls for being a part of this community. [by Sakshi Parasshar]

I’ve been a member of this amazing girls in tech community for some time now, and it’s already helped me a lot. The support and inspiration from other women in tech keep me motivated to learn and grow. I feel more confident in my skills and am excited to be part of such a positive group. I can’t wait to learn more and connect with everyone. I would definitely recommend this community to other girls who are looking for support and inspiration in tech [by Aparna Aggarwal]

Girls in Tech is an incredible initiative that empowers girls to advance their careers by providing valuable technical knowledge. It’s especially beneficial for female students looking to grow in the tech field. I’m proud to be part of this inspiring community and highly recommend it to all girls. Let’s grow and inspire each other! [by PREMI SREE PRIYA T S]

The constant support and resources provided by the Girls in Tech community, available at any time of the day, are truly commendable. The mentors are exceptionally supportive, addressing all doubts and offering top-quality resources across both technical and non-technical domains. Their approachable and friendly nature fosters open communication, making it easy for members to interact and seek guidance. The community is highly active, with members supporting and uplifting one another, creating an excellent environment for networking. I highly recommend joining the Girls in Tech community for anyone seeking growth, collaboration, and valuable opportunities. [Khushi Mittal]

I am happy to join this community as this community is such an incredible opportunity for the girls who have a lot of potential to do many things but don’t get any starting point. This community gives such opportunities to me also and I am glad to join it as a volunteer. [by Gungun Goel]

Thanks to you all for your valuable testimonials and for being a part of our supportive community :)

If you are a girl and are not a part of our WhatsApp community, then join us by applying here: https://forms.gle/MHzXaqfBvYDFS7r59

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Manik

Manik