How Shakti Began

Every organization has a beginning.

Ours began with one little girl.

She was an infant when her father, Dipu Chandra Das, was brutally murdered because he was Hindu in Bangladesh. Overnight, her world changed. The family's sole provider was gone. She was left with a grieving mother, no financial security, and an uncertain future in a country where their faith had already made them vulnerable.

She had done nothing wrong. Her father had done nothing wrong. Their only "crime" was being Hindu.

As I learned more about her story, I couldn't stop thinking about what her future would look like. Would she be able to go to school? Would she be safe? Would her mother be able to provide for her? Or would she become another statistic in a cycle of poverty, violence, and persecution?

Then I realized something even more disturbing.

Her story wasn't unique.

Across Bangladesh and other parts of South Asia, countless Hindu women and girls live with threats that most people never hear about. Many grow up in extreme poverty. Some are forced into marriage while they are still children. Others face harassment, sexual violence, kidnapping, or forced religious conversion because of their faith. Many families live in constant fear, knowing that justice is often out of reach.

Yet despite these realities, their stories rarely make headlines. Their suffering is often overlooked. And while there are many organizations dedicated to supporting women from other faith communities, I struggled to find organizations whose primary mission was helping Hindu women and girls facing these exact challenges.

That realization was impossible to ignore.

I started Shakti because these women deserve someone in their corner.

Shakti exists to support Hindu women and girls whose lives have been shaped by persecution, poverty, discrimination, and violence. We believe every woman deserves safety. Every girl deserves an education. Every family deserves hope. No one should be targeted because of the faith they were born into.

Our goal is not simply to raise awareness. Awareness alone does not change lives.

We want to provide real support: educational opportunities, emergency assistance, financial aid, and resources that help women rebuild their lives and create better futures for themselves and their children. We want to connect people around the world who believe these women should not be forgotten.

The name Shakti means strength, power, and divine feminine energy.

That is exactly what we hope to help restore.

This movement began with one little girl, but it is for every Hindu woman and girl who has ever wondered whether anyone sees her struggle.

We do.

And we believe the world should too.