In the times of the ‘atmanirbhar’ movement across the country, there is nothing better than empowering women and girls by making them realise their true potential. Fuzia, a platform to encourage women through the fusion of cultures and ideas, is a beautiful project and example of Social Activism that empowers, educates, and uplifts women globally. After completing eight successful years, it is now one of the largest global brand for women empowerment and creative talents. The founders Shraddha Varma (31), Riya Sinha (19), and their passionate team have been redefining feminism through is a unique venture and impacting millions of women and girls to bolster their individuality. We speak to the co-founder of Fuzia, Shraddha Varma, and explore Fuzia’s exciting journey so far.
Please tell us something about Fuzia? How did the journey begin?
Fuzia, which began as a small writing club, took its little steps clinging to hope and the vision of women empowerment as women are often underestimated for their potential. In many parts of the world, they are still not allowed to pursue their passion, probably because of various societal, cultural and family restrictions. We came up with a platform to encourage women to express themselves in any form of creative expressions. A community to mutually support and uplift women to be themselves,
thereby empowering them to use their creative voices and nurture them into future women leaders. It is a platform for local organisations and NGOs working towards causes related to education, women empowerment, upliftment of the unprivileged, acid attack victims, rape victims, betterment of the transgender community and a lot more. Their objective is to focus on these issues in-order to unite the community and empower every woman who faces such hurdles through our social activism platform.
Please tell us something about yourself? What is your background and how long have you been working with women and children?
Apart from being the co- founder of Fuzia, I am a trained management professional, an experienced marketer and an ambitious entrepreneur. I am a passionate learner and a creative thinker with strong communication and leadership skills. I had always been a feminist and even as a kid, I never liked being treated like a stereotype girl and played with awesome remote-control cars and roller skates. It always made me question the way we treat our girls since childhood with gender bias and stereotypes, and that lead me to create a change in the way society perceives women. What made it go forward is the independent spirit of women who wanted to reach out to other women, help them evolve, empower their community and stand out for issues of equality and recognition. It has, over the years, built a solid global community that nurtures the creative abilities of the young women- leaders of tomorrow, through the fuzion of culture and ideas. The platform is open to every individual, both men and women who support the cause of women empowerment, feminism, equality and mutual support/upliftment. We believe in “she for he” and “he for she” and also considers the fact that true ‘Empowerment’ is incomplete without men supporting it.
Please tell us how your life changed after you started Fuzia, and what are the best memories with the organization?
Fuzia has completely changed my life. As a child, I always knew I wanted to do something to help empower women and I’m glad I am able to do so.
Over the past 8 years, we have achieved various milestones. We reached 1 million users in a span of a year. We expanded the Fuzia website to an app and launched Fuzia app for our users. We were even awarded by various prestige platforms such as “Iconic Teen Entrepreneur and Innovator” at the Women Economic Forum. Moreover, our biggest achievement has been that
we were able to make our users showcase their talent and bring smiles on their faces, making them financially independent. We were able to help many girls become financially independent and serve clients. We are step by step reaching a global audience and we look forward to continuing our efforts till the time we touch every woman whose talent has gone unnoticed. Currently, we have emerged to become an online networking community with 50,000+ members and 4 million+ followers on social media.
Please tell us something about the recent accolades and achievements of Fuzia women?
From first becoming an online networking community and a talent showcasing platform, it has now evolved to become a full-fledged organization run by women through creative support, mutual learning and unique crafts. Fuzia has been featured by various prestigious platforms, such as Forbes, Inter Press Service, United Nations Bureau, Hindustan Times and many more. Riya Sinha (Founder) has been awarded “Iconic Teen Entrepreneur and Innovator” at Women Economic Forum and has
also been invited to TED Sonoma County, where she shared her story and called out for women to believe in themselves and achieve their dreams. Moreover, Shraddha Varma (Co- Founder) received the “Young leader creating a better world” award in 2018.
How do you plan to grow the organisation? Any challenges that you have been facing in times of Covid-19 pandemic?
As a group of individuals who look forward step by step towards attaining pillars of creative empowerment, community growth, individual strength and artistic magnification, we aspire to establish a space for women where they can be free from their own little cages and express themselves with true liberty.
We haven’t faced any challenges as of now, rather we have worked to build our community more by beginning a separate section on our website, ‘Quarantimes’ and have also published a plethora of content to help people boost up their spirits and gather courage to come out of this, slowly and gradually. We have launched fuzia.org: A fundraiser and a social activities platform, where we collaborate with NGOs to raise funds for their projects, which ultimately helps the unprivileged and for their voices to be heard. For all the readers looking to be a part of Fuzia: do not stop believing in your individuality and the strength that comes along with it. Look forward, step by step and attain your goals through the pillars of true liberty. Be empowered and empower others through your skills. While selecting a business, keep in mind to take up one that you not only love, but have a fair idea about. Research about it well, assess your finances, write your business plan, assess the market and consult with professionals before you embark on your journey. Most importantly, don’t lose hope. Because hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies!
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