Mumbai teenager leaves red-light district for US degree

MUMBAI // A young woman who grew up in Mumbai's red-light district facing poverty and sexual abuse has overcome the odds to win a scholarship to study in New York.

Shweta Katti, 18, left for America last week to study at the liberal arts Bard College, where she hopes to read psychology. Afterwards she wants to return to India and help other young women in her community.

"It's my childhood dream. I didn't think it would finally happen," she said before leaving Mumbai, where she grew up in a brothel.

Ms Katti's determination won her a place this year in Newsweek's list of 25 "Young Women To Watch" aged under-25, alongside Pakistani schoolgirl and activist Malala Yousufzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban.

It is a long way from Ms Katti's early childhood experiences of abuse and harassment in Mumbai's notorious Kamathipura neighbourhood.

"You would see everyday someone beating up a woman, the police coming unexpectedly at any time, and women selling their bodies - they were not happy," Ms Katti said.

"Men would ask to sleep with me, it was so embarrassing, but I had to face it. My father abused me, many people abused me, but my mum was with me always saying: 'You are the best, you can do anything'."

The teenager, who describes herself as "a tough-skinned girl", said she faced discrimination "from all sides" at school because of her poor background and low caste status.

She credits her mother, a factory worker, as her "inspiration" and says the local charity Kranti - meaning "revolution" in Hindi - also played a vital role in helping her achieve her dreams.

The group's aim is to empower girls from Mumbai's red-light areas "to become agents of social change", and a small group of them live at Kranti's north Mumbai apartment, where Ms Katti moved two years ago.

Here she was able to work on her English language skills and experience therapy, which sparked her interest in psychology.

"I really think it can change somebody. I started thinking openly and respecting my background and myself," she said.

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Mia Man’s tips for fermentation

- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut

- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.

- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.

- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.