The She Age 2022: Renu Kapoor’s tale of grit, guts and glory

A chartered accountant by profession, Renu Kapoor uses her voice to create awareness about several social issues that plague our society. The #DignityInDeath project is one of them. Meet this courageous and unstoppable woman who is one of the recipients of The She Age 2022 award, presented by HT City, Hindustan Times and Grandthum.

Relentless is the perfect word to describe social crusader Renu Kapoor. A chartered accountant by profession, she uses her voice to create awareness about several social issues that plague our society. Her long-running digital campaign #DignityInDeath is one such example.

It was a deeply personal experience in 2017 that prompted her to launch this project. After witnessing the deplorable condition of an electric crematorium — when her chauffer passed away — the 64-year-old realised the emotional turmoil that families have to bear when the mortal bodies of their deceased dear ones are treated “like carcasses in a butcher shop”. It took thousands of phone calls and several years, but Kapoor successfully persuaded the government to grant over ₹2 crore for the revamp of the dilapidated morgue at a Mumbai hospital.

She also works towards handholding small-time women entrepreneurs. Many artisans of Indian crafts have also benefited from her work as a part of the NGO Paramparik Karigar. Being environmentally conscious, she is vociferous on issues of waste management. The society really needs good Samaritans like her.