Pragna Patel | |
---|---|
Organization | Southall Black Sisters |
Known for | Feminist activist and campaigner |
Pragna Patel is the Director of Southall Black Sisters a women's rights organisation in London, UK. She was a founding member, chair and Director. [1] [2]
Patel is also a co-founder of Women Against Fundamentalism. [3]
She trained as a lawyer and writes about race, gender and religion. [4]
She has an honorary Doctorate from Keele University for her outstanding contribution to women's rights [5] and a Bob Hepple Equality award [6] alongside Mauro Cabral of GATE. The award is named for Bob Hepple, the former lawyer of Nelson Mandela.
She has said 'It is only through activism that that we can truly honour those who came before us to fight for the rights and freedoms that we currently enjoy and it is only through activism that can we encourage others to feel empowered and to form part of wider social movements that carry the promise of change.' [7]
In 2011 she was named by The Guardian as one of the Top 100 Women Activists and Campaigners. [8]
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Southall Black Sisters (SBS) is a non-profit organisation based in Southall, West London, England. This women's group was established in August 1979 in the aftermath of the death of anti-fascist activist Blair Peach, who had taken part in a demonstration against a National Front rally at Southall Town Hall. In 1980, SBS successfully campaigned against virginity testing in the UK, a policy that was being used to verify the authenticity of Asian marriages by checking the state of women's hymens.
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