Angellica Aribam

Angellica Aribam (born 22 January 1992) is an Indian political activist working on issues of gender, race, and the democratization of politics. She is the founder of Femme First Foundation, a non-govt organization working to promote women's political leadership in India . Aribam was also a National General Secretary of the National Students' Union of India, the students' wing of the Indian National Congress.

Aribam is an inaugural VVEngage Fellow for women political leaders at Vital Voices, an American NGO founded by Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright.

Early life Angellica Aribam was born in Imphal west, Manipur, India. She is the youngest of three siblings, born to Aribam M Sharma and (Late) Thoibi Devi. She moved to New Delhi at age 12 to complete her schooling. During her sabbatical from political life in 2017–2018, Aribam was a MOFCOM scholar and completed her Masters’ in Public Policy from Peking University. Her master's degree thesis was focused on the public perception of stringent rape laws with respect to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013.

Political journey Aribam joined National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the students’ wing of the Indian National Congress, in July 2012.

In the run-up to the 16th Lok Sabha elections, Aribam co-anchored the consultations, formulation, and drafting processes of the Student Manifesto for the Indian National Congress.

In March 2016, Aribam was promoted to National General Secretary of the NSUI. Aribam represented the Indian National Congress on various national and international media platforms.

Activism

Anti-racism Aribam is an anti-racism activist. She joined politics after the violence against North-east students in July 2012. She called out BJP for referring to North-eastern Indians as "immigrants", leading to the party issuing a clarification. In an interview, Aribam sheds light on the responsibility that comes with representing a minority community, "when an individual from a minority community commits a mistake, then it is viewed as the mistake of the whole community and puts a lot more pressure on the representative to perform better as a leader". She filed a complaint with the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police. In light of the rising racial crimes due to COVID-19, her petition urging the prime minister of India to condemn racism received widespread support, following which the prime minister issued a statement.

Internet freedom and net neutrality Aribam has been fighting for a free and open internet. She is a proponent of the principles of Net Neutrality.

Women’s rights Aribam is an intersectional feminist who believes in fourth-wave feminism. In September 2016, Aribam wrote an article highlighting the alleged sexism and misogyny that was prevalent in the women's hostel of Banaras Hindu University (BHU). This was the first popular article to expose the extent of gender discrimination in the BHU. Following this, protests intensified in the campus, as the BHU activists received support from across the country.

Aribam has been working to increase representation of women in politics. In an interview, she highlights the need for more marginalized communities at the decision-making table.

Different time zone for the north-east In May 2017, Aribam started a petition requesting the Central government to notify a separate time zone for the North-east region. While India stretches 3,000 kilometers, it officially has only a single time zone.

Gender representation and Femme First Foundation

Aribam has been a vocal advocate of increased representation for women in politics. She has, through her writings and various talks, advocated the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill and the need for greater representation for women. She has also opined that gender quotas need to be supplemented with capacity building and more incentives for the women in the political organizations. Angellica Aribam negotiating a deal with Prime Minister Beatriz Merino in a simulation exercise. Aribam is the Founder and Director of Femme First Foundation (FFF). During the programme, she received mentorship from former prime ministers Beatriz Merino of Peru, Jenny Shipley of New Zealand, and Kim Campbell of Canada. Professors of Harvard Kennedy School, amongst others, trained Aribam during the fellowship.

Vogue India Beauty Feature For its 2020 anniversary issue, Vogue India featured 7 women from North-East India in its beauty edit. Aribam shared her beauty rituals and secret. She said, "In my experience, the one ‘beauty tool’ that you can never go wrong with is self-confidence. So wear it always".

ACYPL-US State Department Exchange Delegate Aribam was selected as a delegate for the American Council of Young Political Leaders Exchange Program in collaboration with the United States government's State Department. In January–February 2020, she observed election rallies of two presidential candidates including that of Joe Biden, observed a caucus in Iowa, and was introduced in the Iowa Senate.

Top 10 Successful Indians Under 30 In 2018, Aribam was featured by Eastern Eye, a British newspaper, as amongst the top 10 successful Indians under 30.

Women from the Northeast SheThePeopleTv included Aribam in a list of seven women which the north-eastern region of India is proud of.