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5 Prominent Indian Women Fighting Violence Against Women
According to a poll conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, of women in all the G20 countries, Indian women are the most likely to report harassment when it takes place.
Feminism in India has been on the rise. We bring you five Indian women who have been instrumental in fighting violence against women.
1. Kavita Krishnan
Kavita Krishnan is the Secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association and the editor of Liberation, a publication of the Communist Party of India. She played a key role in the protests following a brutal gang rape of a young girl in Delhi on December 16, 2012. Her views, emphasizing the notion of "freedom without fear," resonated with the public and increased the momentum of the anti-rape movement.
Photo Credit: www.newsmobile.in
2. Indira Jaising
Indira Jaising is a lawyer and founder of Lawyers Collective, an organization supporting human rights — especially women's rights and HIV-related issues for the underprivileged. She was elected as a member to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). She assisted in drafting the 2005 Domestic Violence Act. Jaising was awarded the Padma Shree Award in 2005, and she was the first woman to be appointed as an Additional Solicitor General of India in 2009.
Photo Credit: www.indialegalonline.com
3. Vrinda Grover
Vrinda Grover is a lawyer, human rights advocate and women's rights activist. She has represented victims of domestic and sexual abuse in cases of high public importance such as the Soni Sori rape case. She has contributed to the drafting of laws including the 2013 Criminal Law Amendment to the law against sexual assault. She was listed by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the world.
Photo Credit: www.verveonline.com
4. Meenakshi Arora
Meenakshi Arora is a Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India. She was a member of the Gender Sensitization and Internal Complaints Committee of the Supreme Court, which drafted the regulations leading to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act (2013).
Photo Credit: www.barandbench.com
5. Sampat Pal Devi
Sampat Pal Devi comes from the region of Uttar Pradesh. She brought together women of her village to form Gulabi Gang, an organization devoted to child marriage intervention, support against domestic violence, education of girl children and self-defence training for women. The group, with 20,000 members dressed in pink sarees and carrying bamboo sticks, directly confronts offenders in order to seek justice. Devi is listed in The Guardian's "Top 100 Women: Activists and Campaigners."
Photo Credit: www.gulabigangofficial.in
Main Image Photo Credits (L–R): www.outlookmoments.com, www.dnaindia.com and www.theburningbride.com
Sonia Malik
Author
Sonia writes on current affairs and pop culture. An English graduate from the University of Toronto, she identifies as a global citizen, feminist and nature lover. She will be ready to shake a leg to a peppy Bollywood beat any day.
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