From the child repeatedly refused admission in schools that claimed her presence would ‘spoil the reputation of the institute,’ as she was a daughter of a sex worker, to securing admission in the prestigious United Nations University for Peace for a Masters in Gender Studies and Peacebuilding in Costa Rica – Sandhya Nair has come a long way. But her struggle has not yet ended because she still needs funds to pay for this course. August 15 is the last day for her to pay the fees (she has collected over 50 per cent of the sum) and she hopes people will help her by contributing to get her to move a step closer to her dreams this Independence Day.

“I want to learn about implementation of policies there before changing policies here, as we need to be seen as humans first. There is a policy that allows citizens to use medical services but the doctors refuse to treat us just because of who we are, even if it is for STDs which is a public health concern. I want to implement the safety measures taken in brothels of Amsterdam to Kamathipura. Also, we children of sex workers should be allowed jobs such as nurses in clinics—reservation for us is a long way off,” she said.