In the village of Orap in Buxar district, Bihar, 23-year-old Poonam Kumari became the first person in her community to finish school. Not by fate, but through conscious and persistent struggle against patriarchy and control in a community known for child marriage and early marriage of girls.
The constant pressure from her family to drop out of school and get married led to Kumari losing focus in academics and failing class 10 in 2018. Soon after, she began assisting her mother in the farm.
Meanwhile, she also joined as a fellow at the local technology centre in her village run by Feminist Approach to Technology, a non-profit that bridges the gender gap in STEM and empowers women and girls from marginalised communities through education, training, and advocacy.
After a year of training at Feminist Approach to Technology, Kumari continued her schooling from where she left off.
Today, thanks to the organisation, Kumari has not only completed her schooling but has also become a community leader at Feminist Approach to Technology, training young girls and women in basic computer skills, gender studies, and negotiation skills, which help them reclaim their place in society and pursue studies and careers of their choice.
Technology as a tool of empowerment
Feminist Approach to Technology was founded in 2007 by Gayatri Buragohain, a passionate advocate of gender equality, who recognised the critical role technology plays in shaping the lives of women.
Buragohain had experienced firsthand the challenges women faced in the technology sector. After completing her education in engineering in Assam, she worked as an electronics engineer in technical support and network administration for a few years. That’s when she realised how male-dominated the technology space was, with few opportunities and platforms for women to grow and learn from.
Feminist Approach to Technology’s Tech Center for Girls serves as a hub for skill-building, creative expression, and exploration.
This led her to conceptualise Feminist Approach to Technology as a space where women and girls, especially those from vulnerable backgrounds in both urban and rural areas, could access technology and use it to improve their lives.
The non-profit was founded on Buragohain’s firm belief that if women are equipped with technological skills, they can break societal barriers, gain independence, and assert their voices in a rapidly evolving world.
Over the years, the has grown to encompass three main verticals:
- Young Women’s Leadership Programme, which equips girls aged 14 to 19 with an understanding of their rights, along with 21st century technology skills
- Girls in STEM Programme, which promotes STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education among girls from disadvantaged backgrounds
- Collectivisation Initiative, which nurtures young leaders in the grassroots to carry forward the organisation’s vision
Feminist Approach to Technology has local tech centres in urban slums and rural areas in and around Pune, Lajpat Nagar in Delhi, Giridih in Jharkhand, Patna, and other parts of Bihar.
“Discriminatory practices that we underwent as women in the community were so normalised and hardwired into our consciousness that we didn’t recognise them as problems until we encountered the team at Feminist Approach to Technology,” says Kumari.
“It was agreeable for girls to be married off as soon as they hit puberty, and never think or dream about school, financial independence or jobs,” she adds.
The training at Feminist Approach to Technology shows women like Kumari how fellow women across the country are accomplishing great things in technology and engineering.
“This knowledge in addition to dialoguing skills helped me convince my family that I was going to finish college,” says Kumari, who now works with the organisation for a stipend and takes home money—”something no one in the village thought a girl was capable of doing.”
At the heart of the NGO’s mission is the belief that technology can be a tool of empowerment when it is made accessible and inclusive.
The team of ten young women who run Feminist Approach to Technology are grassroots community leaders in their neighbourhoods. They envision a world where women and girls are not merely passive consumers of technology but are active creators, innovators, and leaders in the field.
Impact and growth
The NGO initially started with small workshops in New Delhi aimed at demystifying technology and breaking down the barriers that prevent girls from entering the field. At these workshops, girls learnt the basics of computer science, such as Tally, Excel, Power Point, Word, Google Translate and email, which helped them find jobs easily or start their own small enterprises.
Over time, these workshops evolved into long-term programmes that offer girls sustained support, mentorship, and real-world technical skills. The NGO’s work also spread beyond Delhi to Bihar, Pune and Jharkhand.
The organisation’s flagship initiative, the Tech Center for Girls, serves as a hub for skill-building, creative expression, and exploration.
Located in low-income areas, these centres provide a safe and inclusive environment where girls can learn about technology, work on real-world projects, and develop critical thinking skills. From hardware tinkering to photography and filmmaking, the centres encourage girls and women to apply what they learn in the context of their communities’ problems.
The Young Women Leadership Programme focuses on building confidence, leadership, and advocacy skills.
The NGO’s fellows, who take on leadership roles in their communities, advocate for the inclusion of more women in technology and other male-dominated sectors.
Advocacy and policy work
Feminist Approach to Technology also works at a macro level to address the systemic challenges that women face in technology through policy advocacy and campaigns. It collaborates with other organisations to push for greater representation of women in STEM, and engages with educational institutions to create gender-sensitive curriculum that promotes inclusivity from an early age.
Many young women who come through the organisation’s programmes are encouraged to take on leadership roles in their communities, advocating for the inclusion of more women in technology and other male-dominated sectors.
In addition, the organisation has spearheaded several digital literacy campaigns that focus on safe and inclusive internet usage, particularly in underserved communities. It also teaches women skills that are traditionally pursued by men: from repairing small electrical malfunctions at home to building tensegrity structures and school projects on water conservation.
Feminist Approach to Technology also conducts campaigns to raise awareness about the importance of digital safety, digital privacy, and the role of women in a rapidly digitising world.
