Ananya Pinnamaneni Is Revolutionizing Women’s Rights on HER Terms

When we talk about feminism and gender equality today, Ananya Pinnamaneni is a name you'll want to remember. At a young age, Ananya was struck by the weight of systemic gender inequality she saw around her, especially during her travels in India. But instead of just thinking about it, she took action. She's the brain behind "Gender ShEquality”, a nonprofit aimed at empowering young minds with feminist education.

From writing a children's book, Feminism 101: A Guide to Gender Equality, on gender equality to giving a TedX talk at her school to help dispel myths about feminism, Ananya is not just talking the talk but walking the walk, y'all. She's rallied students from around the world to her cause, making strides in arenas like women in STEM and education reform. And all this while navigating the challenges posed by a global pandemic. So, of course, we couldn't help but catch up with her before she takes the stage as a DoSomething Generation Future winner at our upcoming Futures Ball.

DoSomething: What initially lit your civic spark as a young activist?

Ananya: I trace my commitment to feminism back to when I was seven-years-old. On vacation with my family in India, I saw a billboard that read “Save the Girl” with a picture of a baby girl on it. I didn’t understand why this message was necessary, so I asked my mom. She told me that some families in India practiced female infanticide because they considered raising a girl to be a burden, both financially and mentally. None of it made much sense to me, but I knew instinctively that this was unfair. There were girls just like me who were being killed as babies, without the opportunity to live out their lives, for no reason other than being a girl. At that age, I didn’t have the capability to act on my passion, but seven years later, increasingly aware of the effects of sexism, I decided to take action.

DoSomething: The Futures Ball will be a momentous night of honoring and celebrating the impact young people have made over the past 30 years and beyond - and you will now be a part of that as a winner. Is there a young person who inspired you to do something to impact the issues you were most passionate about?

Ananya: I would definitely consider the young person who inspired me the most to be Malala (Yousafzai). Whenever I have faced backlash because of my work, whether it be from strangers on the Internet or people close to me who just disagree with my views, I think of Malala. She took a bullet to her head for her cause, and the backlash I’m facing is so minor compared to that, so I need to push through if I want to make an impact.

DoSomething: How have you seen young people impacted by the work that Gender SHEquality is doing to bring lessons of gender equality into the classroom?

Ananya: Although I haven’t been able to teach students directly through Gender ShEquality’s mini-lesson program, I have received testimonials from the teachers who use our mini-lessons about how their students were impacted. Many teachers have told me that all of their students, both boys and girls, were excited about these lessons every other week, which is heartwarming for me to hear because getting youth of all genders excited about the feminist cause is a key part of my vision. I have also heard directly from various people who read my book, both youth and their parents, and they have told me that reading my book showed them a new perspective on the idea of feminism.

DoSomething: How do you hope young people take these lessons into their own lives and what ways can young people become more involved in efforts to promote gender equity in their community and beyond?

Ananya: The most important message that I’m trying to spread to youth is that feminism needs to stop being stigmatized because that is the only way to get more people to start supporting the cause. As these students are understanding what feminism is truly about and why it is necessary, I want them to carry these lessons forward by dispelling misconceptions about feminism that other people around them may have.

On top of that, I hope that these youth see the value in getting more involved with the feminist cause from the lessons, and if they do, then there are so many avenues for them to do so. For example, my organization has fundraised for underprivileged girls in India, we have conducted snack collection drives for local women’s shelters, we’ve organized and participated in lobbying events for women’s health bills, and so much more. These are all examples of things that anyone can organize in their own community or they can join in on efforts put together by other groups, such as Gender ShEquality.

DoSomething: As a Generation Future Award winner, you shared your vision for a more just, equitable world - you talked about your non-profit Gender SHEquality dedicated to educating youth about feminism and empowering the next generation to fight for gender equality. What does that future look like five years from now?

Ananya: Five years from now, I see myself still running my nonprofit, but I hope that it will be expanded to a much larger scale. Currently, we just create mini-lessons and send them to the teachers, who then present the lessons to their students. However, my original vision was always to be able to go into the schools myself to present the lessons and have this same opportunity for other members of my organization as well. As the credibility and size of my nonprofit grows, I want to continue pursuing this opportunity.

I also have a lot that I want to do in the future beyond my organization. For example, I want to bring the children’s book that I wrote about feminism into libraries and even bookstores because it is currently only available for purchase on Amazon. I plan to carry my vision into my career as well. As an aspiring physician, I will be doing a lot of research throughout my college and medical school years, and I want to center that research around women’s health issues since these issues are so under-researched. I also want to get more involved in advocating for reforms within the healthcare system to alleviate the systemic oppression of women that so many aspects of healthcare hold.

DoSomething: Seeing what you’ve achieved now to build awareness around gender equality issues for women, what would you tell 13-year-old Ananya and other young activists who are starting their journey?

Ananya: I would say my biggest piece of advice is to not get discouraged. When I was getting started with my advocacy, there just seemed to be so many reasons to quit and only one reason to keep going. But, that one reason that pushed me forward was my vision for the future, and that was ultimately the most important. When I published my book and was advertising it on social media, I faced so much backlash from people who just fundamentally hated the idea of feminism. I saw similar comments when my TEDx talk about feminism was posted as well, but instead of being discouraged by this, I used it as motivation to continue my advocacy.

These people saying these things about me and my work just showed that misconceptions about feminism are very prevalent, and need to be addressed. Starting my organization had its own share of roadblocks. I struggled to recruit people who were as passionate about the cause as me and get people to participate in our events. Contacting schools about our mini-lesson program was a nightmare of its own, and it just seemed like nothing I was doing was working out. However, I just kept reminding myself of why I even started doing this in the first place, and having that strong motivation and passion is what helped me get through all those difficulties.

DoSomething: What's next for Ananya Pinnamaneni? What are you working on that gives you hope and is keeping your civic spark alive?

Ananya: Right now, my main focus has been expanding my organization’s mini-lesson program, particularly to countries outside of the United States. Some of the members of my organization from other countries are helping to translate the lessons so that we can reach audiences who don’t speak English as well.

Beyond this program, we’re also working in collaboration with another student-run nonprofit to create videos about self-defense for girls and women that we plan to share through social media.

There's a whole generation ready to tear down the barriers of gender inequality, and Ananya Pinnamaneni is a force leading the charge. From her early beginnings, questioning societal norms in India, to her impactful work with "Gender ShEquality," Ananya is helping to rewrite the script. With a laser-focused mission and eyes set on the future, she plans to leverage resources for even greater impact—from educational mini-lessons and workshops to empowering networking events. Her dedication is clear, and her message is strong: gender equality isn't just a women's issue; it's a human issue.