'I Wanted to do Something Different'
Dignity Dialogue|August 2017

Gujarat-based lawyer Aasha K. Thakar was recently honoured with an award for her contribution to society. In this interview coordinated by Nina Christie of Dignity Foundation, she throws light on how her choice of profession has helped less privileged women get justice

Nina Christie
'I Wanted to do Something Different'

Awards are not just a way to honour a person and bring him or her into the limelight. They also signify the fact that the work for which you have been awarded has done much to make this world a better place to live in. This is something Ahmedabad-based Aasha K. Thakar, an advocate, mediator and social worker by profession, will agree to. Aasha was recently presented the ‘Outstanding Business Performance Award’ – ‘Garima 2016-17’ by the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GCCI) in the presence of such luminaries as Dr. Nirmala Wadhwani, Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Government of Gujarat and Bipin Patel, president of GCCI, among many others. “The award is being presented to Aasha Thakar for her immense contribution to the welfare of society,” it was announced. In this interview, Aasha elaborates about her personal life and the inspiration behind her work:

Could you tell us something about yourself?

I was born to Kirtibhai Thakar, a government officer with the Revenue Department, and Mahalaxmi Thakar, a home-maker, and completed my higher education from Ahmedabad. Actually my childhood days were spent in Saurashtra but later, since there was no college that offered studies in law, I shifted to Ahmedabad. The desire to contribute something to society was within me right from the start and I remember that when I was in school I would visit a nearby hospital and read aloud to patients in the hope of keeping them engaged and cheerful. Some of them would prefer the newspapers while others would want readings from religious texts.

What made you take up law?

This story is from the August 2017 edition of Dignity Dialogue.

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This story is from the August 2017 edition of Dignity Dialogue.

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