True empowerment of women is seen when there is a promotion of their sense of self-worth and their ability to make their own choices. R Sharu Kala, a 22-year-old engineering graduate in Kerala, is an embodiment of that empowerment. Sharu is all set to become the President of the Venkatampatti Panchayat (reserved for women) of the Kadayam Union.

Sharu completed her graduation in 2020 and is now pursuing a master's degree in engineering from Hindustan Institute of Technology, Coimbatore. She is one of the five women who contested for the presidential post of her panchayat, securing 3,336 (52.44%) of the total votes. Three candidates against her lost their deposit. 

She said that bringing her village panchayat to the number one position in India, bringing drinking water facility to the doorstep of every household under the Jal Jeevan Mission Scheme and promoting hygiene among the villagers are on the top of her priority list. "My father, Ravi Subramanian, a farmer, contested in the 2011 local body elections and lost. However, he continued to serve the villagers under our panchayat. He supplied drinking water for free to people when there was water scarcity in our panchayat two years ago. I thought that if I had power, I could have done more for the people during the drought. Since this panchayat was reserved for women this time, I boldly swung into action," she said.

Sharu said that the people of her panchayat voted for her considering her as their daughter and she will serve them as much as she can.