Riya Paswan: Asking Questions, Demanding Accountability

Kamla Nehru Nagar, Patna, Bihar

"Main ek zimmedar nagrik hoon." “ I am a responsible citizen”

Finding her voice

In 2022, at a government workshop in Bihar (Sashakt Beti, Samriddh Bihar), a young woman stood up and asked a senior IAS officer a simple question: why couldn't the government make sanitary pads affordable?

The officer scolded her instead of answering. But someone in the room was filming. Within days, the clip was everywhere, and the country knew the name of the girl who had asked it: Riya Paswan.

She was 19 - a psychology graduate from a slum settlement in Patna, working as a facilitator with Save the Children. The question hadn't come from nowhere. Months earlier, over tea with a friend from a nearby Musahar settlement, she'd learned the girl skipped sanitary pads because the ₹40 they cost meant giving up a meal for her family. It stayed with Riya. When she got the chance to put the question to someone with the power to answer it, she did.

The recognition that followed

The moment moved something real. It exposed a gap in Bihar's Mukhyamantri Kishori Swasthya Karyakram yojna, which provides ₹300 to adolescent girls in government schools for sanitary napkins - a benefit that wasn't reaching girls consistently. The video spread beyond Bihar, and the National Commission for Women took cognisance, seeking an explanation from the officer.

Soon after, Riya says, the money began reaching girls' bank accounts again. The lesson stuck: question something loudly enough, and it doesn't just disappear into silence.

She's treated that as a method ever since. In 2024, she spent nine months with EVA Foundation on cases of caste violence and discrimination, then attended We, The People Abhiyan's Samvidhan se Samadhan training. It gave her language for what she was already doing - the language of fundamental rights. She bought a copy of the Constitution, began carrying it, and learned Article 32, the right to move the Supreme Court directly when a fundamental right is violated. When police ask who she is now, her answer doesn't change: "I am a responsible citizen."

A citizen who is still asking questions

Riya practices this in both her personal life and her community. A few months after the training, her sister-in-law's brother was killed in what the family described as a caste-based atrocity in Nalanda. When police initially refused to register an FIR, Riya went to the station and insisted it was a right. After persistent follow-up, the FIR was registered. The case is still under investigation, and she keeps following up.

Her questions have also centered on community safety. In 2023, after a girl went missing from her locality, Riya applied to the Ward office, the Mayor, and the District Magistrate for CCTV cameras. She followed up for years; in 2025, she finally got a response asking for site details. The cameras were never installed. Instead, in July 2025, she faced violent threats and a case was filed against her.

None of it has stopped her. Today, without stable employment, her days still revolve around people seeking help. She takes calls from across Bihar about violence, discrimination, and injustice, helping people navigate police stations and institutions - and hopes to pursue a Master's in Social Work.

The above story has been written and published with the explicit consent of the individual involved. All facts presented are based on WTPA's direct interaction with the individual, ensuring accuracy and integrity in our reporting.