YASHODA AI: Digital Rights on Paper, Barriers in Practice

YASHODA AI is designed to address the growing gap between technological advancement and digital literacy among women. As digital platforms become central to education, finance, and communication, women in many regions face increasing exposure to online risks such as scams, impersonation attacks, and AI-generated misinformation.

In many communities, limited digital literacy and lack of awareness about AI technologies leave women particularly vulnerable to these threats. Fraudulent messages, manipulated media, and voice-cloning scams can exploit trust and cause financial or reputational harm. At the same time, many women lack the knowledge or confidence to report such incidents or seek legal support.

The YASHODA AI programme focuses on building digital resilience through education. The initiative delivers training sessions for women, community leaders, and frontline workers such as Anganwadi workers and self-help group members. These sessions teach participants how AI systems work, how digital threats are created, and how to recognize suspicious activity.

The programme uses AI-powered tools to demonstrate real-world scenarios such as deepfake videos, scam messages, and voice impersonation. By showing participants how these technologies operate, the training helps women develop practical skills for identifying risks in everyday digital interactions.

Community mentorship is another key component of the initiative. Women trained through the programme become “AI Sakhi” mentors who help spread digital awareness within their communities. This peer-learning model strengthens trust and ensures that knowledge is shared in culturally relevant ways.

The programme has reached thousands of women across multiple cities and community settings. Participants report increased confidence in identifying digital risks, protecting personal information, and using online platforms safely.

YASHODA AI demonstrates how AI literacy programmes can empower women to navigate digital environments with confidence. By combining technical education with community engagement, the initiative helps ensure that women are not only users of digital technology but informed participants in the AI-driven digital economy.

For additional context and detailed documentation of this use case, please refer to pages 24-28 in the attached Casebook.