Sunita Viswanath | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Rutgers University (BA) SNDT Women's University (MA) |
Sunita Viswanath is an Indian-American activist who has worked in women's and human rights organizations. She co-founded the human rights organizations Women for Afghan Women, [1] Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus, and Hindus for Human Rights. [2] [3]
Viswanath was born in Chennai, India. [4] She moved between London and Chennai during her early age, and later moved to the US when she was 19. [5] [6]
Viswanath received a BA in mathematics from Douglass College, Rutgers University and a MA in sociology from SNDT Women's University. [7]
In 2001, Viswanath co-founded the nonprofit humanitarian organization Women for Afghan Women (WAW). [8] In 2002, Viswanath edited the volume of essays, Women for Afghan Women: Shattering Myths and Claiming the Future. [9] Initially founded to support the Afghan community in Queens, WAW expanded in 2005 to support the rights and needs of women in Afghanistan. [8]
In 2011, Viswanath was awarded the Feminist Majority Foundation's Global Women's Rights Award for her work with WAW. [10]
In 2011, Viswanath co-founded Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus to be a progressive Hindu movement aligned with social justice commitments to anti-casteism and anti-racism. [13] One of Sadhana's projects, Project Prithvi, aims to protect the environment by cleaning up a beach in Jamaica Bay, Queens. [6] In 2015, she was honored as a White House "Champion of Change" for her work with Sadhana. [14] [15]
In 2019, Viswanath co-founded Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), a US-based advocacy organization that aims to promote religious pluralism in North America and South Asia. [16] In 2021, Viswanath wrote a piece with Raju Rajagopal in favor of the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference in the face of criticism. [17] In May 2021, Viswanath was a named defendant in a defamation case filed by the Hindu American Foundation, which was dismissed in 2022. [18] [19]
In 2020, Viswanath was named a Religious Life Adviser at Columbia University. [20] Despite a petition claiming she was "anti-Hindu" and asking her to be removed, the university continued to support Viswanath in her role. [21]
In 2020, Viswanath was appointed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to serve on the Faith-Based Sector Advisory Council to advise on the city's COVID-19 response, [22] and in 2021 she was part of Mayor-elect Eric Adams' transition committee. [23]
In 2021, Viswanath was named by the Center for American Progress as one of 21 faith leaders to watch. [24]
Viswanath serves on the advisory boards of UnFreeze Afghanistan and Population Media Center. [25] [26] In March 2022, Viswanath traveled to Afghanistan as part of a Women's Delegation for Peace and Education, which included Ruth Messinger, Medea Benjamin, Rev. Chloe Breyer, Daisy Khan and Masuda Sultan, to advocate for women's rights and to deliver humanitarian aid. [27] [28] [11]
In August 2022, Viswanath and Masuda Sultan co-founded Abaad: Afghan Women Forward, an NGO which works to provide humanitarian assistance and fund economic programs for women. Its first clients included those formerly served by WAW. [29]
Viswanath's first marriage was to writer Suketu Mehta. [30] [31] Her second marriage was to Stephan Shaw, who is an active member of Jewish Voice for Peace. [32] [33] [34] She has three sons, Gautama, Akash, and Satya. [35] [36] [37]
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