Angellica Aribam

Angellica has been working on issues of gender, race, and democratization of politics. Hailing from Manipur, in the ethnically and economically marginalized northeastern region of India, Angellica learned what racism meant when she moved to New Delhi as a young girl. Having faced injustice and discrimination firsthand for years, she was motivated to get involved in politics realizing that politics was the best way to change this status quo. She was the first student from the northeastern region of India to be elected in the Delhi University Executive Committee, India’s prominent student body, in 2012. Subsequently, she was inducted as a National General Secretary of National Students’ Union of India, the students wing of Indian National Congress. She was named one of Forbes India’s “30 Under 30” in 2017.

As a first-generation woman politician, Angellica has lived and experienced the trials and tribulations of being a woman in politics in a deeply patriarchal society. As a way of paying it forward to the women interested in politics, she founded Femme First Foundation recently to amplify gendered leadership in India. It aims to increase the participation of women in politics by supplementing their existing skillsets through trainings and mentorships, and equipping them with new knowledge and perspectives.

She was selected as a Fellow for the first VV Engage Cohort.