I want to talk about how I got here, as too often we take things for granted and forget the fights that made them possible. 1/n

Where I am today as a #WomanInSTEM who is enjoying her passion and getting recognized for it, was unthinkable for most women less than half a century ago and continues to be a distant dream for many girls in our country. 2/n

I am the first and until now, the only Ph.D degree holder in my family.

When I was born, my grandmother told my father, “You are very unlucky!” as I was his third daughter. This was a commonly prevailing mindset in the Chennai of 1970’s.

In the Government Hospital where I was born, “visitor fees” were 1.5X for boy babies compared to girl babies . But, lucky for me, my parents are very progressive and did not share this worldview.

Neither my father nor my mother went to college. After finishing high school, my father had to take up a job as his family could not afford to send him to college.

My mother had to fight hard with her parents so that they would let her to at least complete her schooling. College was out of the question for girls in their family.

Perhaps because of such experiences, my parents spared no efforts in making sure that their children are well educated. But this was not financially or socially easy.

In our patriarchal society, it is unthinkable not to save up for your daughters’ weddings (especially when there are three!) but instead send them to good schools and colleges.

There may be several reasons why #WomenInSTEM are underrepresented. But there is only one reason why I am here: my parents set me free; let me choose what I wanted to do in my life; and supported those choices with all that they had.

Every human, regardless of gender, deserves to live the life they want, not one that is imposed upon them by social strictures.