Here’s a TN teacher who writes short stories and poems on women's issues to bring change

Vennila runs a publication called Akani Veliyedu, and has been writing and publishing for the last 15 years.
Here’s a TN teacher who writes short stories and poems on women's issues to bring change
Here’s a TN teacher who writes short stories and poems on women's issues to bring change
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A Vennila is a 46-year-old writer and publisher who has written several short stories and published over 15 titles on history and feminism. Her publication is called ‘Akani Veliyedu’, and for the past 15 years, Vennila has been trying to highlight the problems that women in India face through the books she publishes.

Her day job though is that of a Maths teacher at a government high school in Tiruvannamalai. When she’s not teaching, she writes poems and short stories on social issues. “My inspiration was my father who was part of Dravidian movement. I have written about the fears and issues that women face today in the society,” she said.  “I have written stories about the sexual abuse that children go through by their relatives and family members,” Vennila added.

In 2011, one of her poem’s brought some much needed change in the school where she teaches. “I wrote a poem about the problems faced by girl children without a toilet during their menstrual period. There were many infrastructural issues in our school. And in 2011, after reading my poem, the collector sanctioned Rs 9 lakhs for toilets in our school,” says Vennila.

Through Akani Veliyedu, Vennila has published 15 books about history and feminism, including an anthology of 54 women writers from 1932 to 2015.  She wants to continue to highlight the problems faced by women in the society and bring a change through it.

Even as she bills the few customers at her stall at the Chennai book fair, she's feeling the pinch of demonetisation. Since there was a book fair in Chennai just six months ago, there aren't many customers this time around, nor does she have too many new titles. But as publishing is her passion, Vennila hopes to continue her work through all odds.

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