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Washington and Lee University student Anshika Patel ’26 has received a Davis Projects for Peace grant for her work with Wings of Women, a community-driven initiative she founded in May 2024 that empowers underprivileged women in rural India by providing affordable menstrual hygiene products and supporting them to become financially independent. Patel is a math major with minors in data science and education policy. She moved to the U.S. from India in 2019 as a youth ambassador through the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program; she lived in Washington state and attended Lake Stevens High School.

“I am incredibly passionate about gender equity and education, especially for underserved communities,” Patel said. “This passion was shaped by my own journey growing up in rural India, where access to quality education transformed my life.”

Projects for Peace is a global program that partners with educational institutions to identify and support young peacebuilders. Each year, the program grants $1.25 million to student leaders who are developing innovative, community-centered and scalable responses to the world’s most pressing issues. This year’s cohort is made up of 134 projects nominated by 94 partner institutions, and the projects will take place in 62 countries and 16 U.S. states.

“The Davis Projects for Peace grant brings global recognition to the fact that women’s dignity and autonomy are essential to peace,” said Patel, who will use the grant to expand Wings of Women (WoW) from her hometown of Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, to the neighboring Pawara Village during the summer of 2025. “For the women in my community in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, peace is more than the absence of conflict; it is having the right and courage to talk openly about menstruation, having access to gynecologists and hygiene products, achieving financial independence and ensuring protection against domestic violence.”

At the core of WoW’s mission is the belief that a peaceful society can only exist if its members are supported in meeting their basic needs. A survey conducted by Patel’s volunteer team in Jaunpur revealed that 14% of women were unaware of sanitary pads, and many lacked access to proper menstrual hygiene products; combined with the prevalence of domestic violence and limited educational opportunities, women risk becoming trapped in a cycle of suffering. WoW aims to break the cycle not only by providing menstrual hygiene products to women, but offering opportunities for women to lead the manufacturing and distribution of the products, providing livelihoods and promoting financial independence.

Since its inception last spring, the WoW initiative has established a cloth pad and sewing center in Jaunpur, trained and employed local women to produce and distribute reusable cloth pads and designed cost-effective, hygienic pads with locally sourced materials. WoW currently has 30 trainees from rural communities who are learning to sew and make cloth pads and traditional Indian dresses. The products are sold in the local market, with the proceeds covering trainer salaries and the sourcing of raw materials. Each trainee benefits from free training and receives a certificate upon completion. The program participants also serve as ambassadors, helping dispel stigmas and misconceptions around menstruation.

“The initiative’s self-sustaining model ensures that women lead the manufacturing distribution process, fostering financial independence and building community trust,” Patel said. “We can now plan to expand into neighboring regions, further spreading awareness and empowering more women. It gives me hope that grassroots ideas like WoW can bring systemic change, one village at a time.”

Patel has long been a passionate educator and advocate. Beyond her work with WoW, she is involved with several youth- and community-focused initiatives at W&L and in the broader community. Through the Campus Kitchen at W&L’s #HungerFighters program, she studied food insecurity and volunteered for weekly food deliveries to children, and her participation in W&L’s LEAD program has helped her build leadership skills. She interned at the Rockbridge Regional Library, where she supported tutors and contributed to expanding local educational access, and taught at Lexington’s Yellow Brick Road Early Learning Center and Central Elementary School.

Patel has also worked as a summer school instructor at Harvard University, taught global citizenship classes to middle schoolers in Italy during Spring Term 2023 and is a Girl Rising student ambassador, leading community initiatives to raise awareness about barriers to girls’ education. She founded Teaching Outstanding Youth, which helps to bridge the rural-urban education gap in India, and TRY, a grassroots educational movement that empowers underprivileged children in India through technology, storytelling and community partnerships.

On campus, Patel is a member of the South Asian Student Association, was inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honor society in April 2025 and received the Decade Award at W&L’s 2025 Leadership Excellence Awards ceremony. She has been involved as a library research assistant and a summer research scholar and has worked with W&L’s Office of University Development and Office of Alumni Engagement.

Patel is grateful for the support of her family and friends, as well as her professors and mentors at W&L, including Jillian Murphy, assistant director of international education and study abroad coordinator, who helped her refine her grant proposal and encouraged her throughout the process.

“Anshika’s empathy and entrepreneurial spirit will better the everyday lives of women in Uttar Pradesh, fulfilling the key Davis Projects for Peace mission of promoting peace in unique and useful ways,” said Dallas Tatman, assistant director of fellowships and visiting instructor of anthropology. “We look forward to seeing how big this initiative can grow.”