Aakanksha Manjunathaswamy

Aakanksha is an intersectional feminist and first-generation migrant who was born and raised in India. Her personal experiences with domestic violence, sexual abuse as a child, mental illness, being bullied and other inequalities underpin her resolve to create a more just and equitable world. Her background involves extensive grassroots campaigning around the world on issues such as affordable housing, human rights, poverty, urban governance, community education, foreign aid, youth representation in politics, advocating for young people and the youth sector, and street harassment. 

She brings this range of perspectives to her work on street harassment as It’s Not A Compliment’s Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder. She is an active member of a number of committees at various organizations tackling gender-based violence in public spaces and also mentors young activists with a focus on community organizing and transformational leadership.

Aakanksha graduated from Leiden University with a Bachelor of Arts, in International Studies. She did her Master's at New York University as well as the University of Melbourne.

Aakanksha has been awarded the following fellowships: 

• Young Leaders Trust Fellowship by Oaktree (2020)

• Create Change Fellowship by Democracy in Colour (2019)

Aakanksha has been featured in international, national, and local publications such as the telegraph, Huffington post, South Asian Today, KOS magazine, and many others. She has also been on local and national radio stations such as 3CR and RRR. 

Aakanksha is also a finalist for the 7News Young Achiever Awards, specifically for the Saward Dawson Community Service and Social Impact Award. She was also a finalist along with her co-founder for the Frankie Good Stuff Awards in the Community category back in 2020.