How a teenager is helping make safer roads for women

For Kridha Gupta, a class 12 student, running has always meant freedom. But when she wanted to work out more seriously, her mother was uncomfortable sending her to a gym where there were few women. Exercising outdoors was not always an option either, as poorly lit spaces became uncomfortable after dark.Kridha began to question why something as simple as exercising independently depended on whether a woman felt safe enough to occupy a space. As she noticed other women making similar calculations, she realised the problem went beyond her own experience. “Access to fitness should not depend on how safe a woman feels occupying a public space,” she says.Instead of trying to change the entire city at once, she started with a smaller idea: bringing women together. That idea became RunX, a women-only running club in Ambala.Making women feel safeRunX began with just five or six women running together. As the group grew to more than 200 members, conversations about fitness also brought up the roads women avoided and what made them uncomfortable. Poor lighting was one of the barriers they identified.Kridha realised that she could not redesign Ambala’s infrastructure or change public policy overnight. But she could create a community where women felt more comfortable exercising together. As participation grew, the group also gained a stronger platform to approach institutions about lighting, patrolling, and other safety concerns.A running route became a way of reading the city. Rather than treating safety as an individual’s responsibility, RunX began drawing attention to the conditions that kept women from using public spaces freely. Kridha Gupta When a running route became a civic issueThrough this initiative, Kridha raised close to ₹8 lakh, which helped support the installation of five streetlights along poorly lit routes in collaboration with Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) across Ambala. The initiative’s advocacy also reached the Ambala Mayor’s office, where proposals for additional lighting and safer public spaces reportedly entered the 2026 civic policy agenda.Getting people involved was one of the hardest parts. Kridha initially assumed that if an idea was meaningful enough, people would automatically join. That did not happen. She had to think about how to communicate what RunX stood for and give people a reason to participate.One way was through the Ambala Martyrs Run, which she organised in collaboration with the Indian Army. The event brought together around 400 runners and raised approximately $1,000 for the families of martyrs. Kridha approached the event with a clear plan: honour soldiers and veterans, support families and help more people discover the running community. The experience taught her that a meaningful cause alone may not be enough to build a movement. “A good idea is not enough; you also have to understand how to bring people into it,” she says.The road is only the beginningRunX also brought Kridha’s work to the attention of local authorities. The Mayor of Ambala nominated her to contribute to the Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associates Programme, through which she worked with the Education Mission in rural Haryana.She conducted workshops across more than 20 government schools, reaching over 7,000 students, on higher education, career options, leadership, and gender equity. The work widened the conversation from whether women could use public spaces safely to whether girls had the support and opportunities to pursue their ambitions.Being a school student also meant learning when to seek help. Kridha could organise a running group and plan activities herself, but larger events, institutional partnerships, permissions, and legal documentation required adult support. Her parents helped her navigate some of these processes.“I do not think asking for help makes a student-led initiative less student-led,” she says. “Part of leadership is recognising when someone else has expertise that you do not yet have.”From athletes to opportunityKridha’s interest in access and opportunity also led her to ask what happens to athletes after their competitive careers end. Through Khel Vikas, she worked towards helping former athletes turn their sporting experience into professional opportunities. The initiative helped certify 40 former national-level athletes as high-school coaches and organised more than 10 skill-building sessions focused on communication and professional readiness.One example that stayed with her was Ravi, an athlete she worked with through the Sportsathon Foundation. He eventually transitioned into a school coaching role in Delhi, allowing him to use the skills he had developed through sport to build a career.For Kridha, this was another way of thinking about empowerment: not simply providing financial assistance, but helping people use the knowledge and experience they already have to build economic independence.Start small, then buildKridha’s advice to other teenagers is to begin with the smallest workable version of an idea. RunX did not start with hundreds of women, streetlights or large events. It started with five or six people.“If you care about something, begin with five people,” she says. “Begin with one street, one classroom or one weekend.” She believes that a small community that actually functions is far more valuable than a big idea that never leaves a document.Making roads safer for women requires better infrastructure, responsive institutions, and changes in attitudes — work that no school student can accomplish alone. Kridha says she has also come to see the importance of involving men and boys in conversations about gender equity.Kridha’s work does not mean that one teenager can solve women’s safety or the challenges athletes face on her own. It shows how a concern can become a starting point for action when someone is willing to pursue it. You do not always need to begin with a big solution. Sometimes, the first step is noticing what others have learnt to ignore — and asking why it has to stay that way.