Artee Kumari Munda

Artee K. Munda is a self-described “tribal girl” who comes from a village in Jharkhand state where child marriage, trafficking and domestic violence is seemingly in every house. No stranger to the issues, Atree, herself, has worked as a child laborer on road projects. She is not only the first-generation female learner in her family, but also the first girl to complete grade 12 and graduate in her village. All of her friends and cousins got married by the time they were 16 years old.

Artee credits her success to meeting the team Aahan Foundation for Social Change, where she currently works as its regional cofounder. She enjoys painting and found a platform within Aahan to fulfill her dreams, and say it is the reason why she was afforded the opportunity to pursue her education and ultimately graduate. During the course of her education, she was selected for the Udaan program of Aahan and then took Madhubani painting classes in Delhi which led to an opportunity to do exhibitions in corporate sectors.

Currently, Artee is also teaching Madhubani painting to other girls. She also goes to schools to teach painting because there are no arts subjects in government schools. Working for the girls of the village has become a part of her life. She also trains the girls who are trafficking survivors and/or grade-school dropouts with awareness programs tailored to suit their needs. Artee has trained 500 girls from one panchayat after becoming a part of the Aahan Foundation for Social Change.

After the WomenLead India Fellowship, she plans to become apart of Aahan’s grassroots team where she will conduct awareness workshops across Jharkhand.