Insia Dariwala always knew her life wasn’t going to be ordinary. But she didn’t know how big an impact she would go on to make on Indian society. Sexually abused when she was 10, she realised while writing her film the Candy Man that her husband was also a survivor. That marked a turning point for Dariwala, who decided the film should have a male protagonist, and now campaigns about the dangers of child sexual abuse she says need to be addressed in a gender neutral space.

Photograph: Courtesy of Insia Dariwala