Industrial Economist (IE): What challenges did you face as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field?
Aarthie Ramaswamy (AR): It was quite easy for me because I had equal opportunities in my house regardless of gender. One major thing I faced and that needs to be addressed is the travel commute. Even today, I feel that as a major constraint for a lot of girls. Communication was also one of the hurdles we faced back then and parents were worried about sending their girl child alone. I was lucky to have my mother travel with me.
IE: Can you share a moment where you realised chess had empowered a girl beyond the board?
AR: One of our students, Vaishali, recently addressed a gathering of 10,000 people with remarkable confidence. It was a striking contrast to the shy child who once hid behind her mother. I believe her growth stems from competing in numerous chess tournaments. My advice to young girls is to follow their passion, step beyond comfort zone and never let fear or societal pressure to hold back.
IE: What is women empowerment to you?
A R: I n m y v i e w , w o m e n empowerment is the freedom to do what you think is right and enjoy doing that. I think girls now have an upper edge because their parents have become open to their children’s career choices at least to some extent. Now, there are more facilities provided for girls to shine in various fields and girls are also aware of their rights.
IE: What role does your academy play in empowering women?
AR: My co-founder, Ramesh and I believe in overall development and empowering the community as a whole, regardless of gender. As a part of community empowerment, we have plans to run programmes in rural schools, teaching chess to children in government schools to enhance their intelligence and thinking skills and keeping them occupied with something useful to prevent them from engaging in anti-social activities. We also teach chess in prisons in collaboration with Indian Oil in girls’ juvenile homes, to give them a sense of belonging and potentially a career path as chess teachers.
IE: Can you elaborate on what you do in juvenile homes?
AR: This is a social project with Indian Oil. We have taught chess in prisons in Coimbatore, Madurai and Chennai. We have also worked in a girls’ juvenile home for two years. Infact our trainer observed that many were talented but lack opportunities. In the future, we aim to provide them opportunities to become chess teachers for kindergartens, offering them a social status.