When climber and advocate Anjali Mehta reached a high-altitude summit in South America, she discovered a lesson she says changed her life: real strength doesn’t come from enduring pain alone — it comes from community, shared struggle, and collective care. That realization became the heartbeat of a movement she calls “The Power of We.”
Breaking the Silence
Mehta shares her own experience with gender-based violence — an issue she says remains deeply under-acknowledged in South Asian communities both in the U.S. and globally. She writes that while traditional cultural values often emphasize resilience and self-reliance, those values can also silence people who need support.
Research and community advocates estimate that nearly 1 in 2 South Asians in the United States experiences some form of gender-based violence in their lifetime — yet many survivors stay silent out of shame, stigma, or fear of ostracization.
Mountains as Metaphor and Movement
What began for Mehta as a personal challenge — scaling the world’s highest mountains — evolved into something larger: a platform for survivors’ stories, advocacy, and community-driven change. Her initiative, Survivors to Summits, connects physical summits with societal ones — using extreme climbs to spotlight campaigns on vulnerability, safety, healing, and collective responsibility.
She argues that true transformation — whether overcoming personal trauma or shifting community norms — happens not in isolation but through a “power of we” approach rooted in shared care, belief, and action.
Reimagining Collective Care
South Asian communities already understand interconnectedness in many aspects of life — from family celebrations to shared responsibilities — yet when it comes to confronting gender-based violence, that same sense of community can sometimes protect reputations rather than people. Mehta calls for realigning cultural values so that collective support becomes part of healing rather than silence.
Her vision centers on listening to survivors, believing their stories, and mobilizing entire communities to respond with compassion and resources. It’s an invitation to shift cultural narratives and build systems where safety and healing are shared responsibilities — not burdens borne alone.
