Urmi Basu | |
|---|---|
 in 2017 | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Known for | founding New Light |
| Spouse | 2 |
Urmi Basu is an Indian activist who has been protecting sex workers in Kolkata. In 2019 she received the Nari Shakti Puraskar - the highest award for women in India.
Urmi Basu | |
|---|---|
| in 2017 | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Known for | founding New Light |
| Spouse | 2 |
Urmi Basu is an Indian activist who has been protecting sex workers in Kolkata. In 2019 she received the Nari Shakti Puraskar - the highest award for women in India.
Basu was born in Kolkata. [1] Her parents were both medical professionals and she enjoyed a good education.[ citation needed ]
She founded the organisation, "New Light" that looks after sex workers in Kolkata in 2000. She used her own funds to create the organisation. It was said that she left her second husband when he was unsupportive of her work. [1] New Light's base has a creche and it allows women to stay there in the night shelter. She is concerned about trans-generational prostitution, [2] 90% of the daughters of sex workers follow them into prostitution starting at an average age of thirteen. [3]
In 2012 she and her organisation were featured in an American (PBS) film titled "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide". [3] It was a four-hour documentary which premiered on PBS in October 2012. [4]
She was given the Nari Shakti Puraskar award on International Women's Day in 2019. The "2018" award was made in the Presidential Palace by the President of India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present. [5]
The Nari Shakti Puraskar is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or to institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is the highest civilian honour for women in India, and is presented by the president of India on International Women's Day at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The award was instituted in 1999 under the title of Stree Shakti Puraskar, renamed and reorganised in 2015. It is awarded in six institutional and two individual categories, which carry a cash prize of 200,000 and 100,000 rupees, respectively.
Priti Patkar is an Indian social worker and human rights activist. She is the co-founder and director of the organisation Prerana that has done pioneering work in the red-light districts of Mumbai, India to protect children vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking.
Gargi Gupta is the founder and secretary of Voice Of World (NGO), a multi-unit non-profit organization for visually impaired, disabled, and orphaned children in Eastern India, headquartered in Kolkata, India.
Arifa Jan is an Indian activist for felt rug making in Srinagar in Kashmir. Jan was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar on 8 March 2020.
Chami Murmu is an Indian environmental activist and is known for planting trees in India. She had planted 2,500,000 trees in India till she was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2019.
Twinkle Kalia is an Indian woman who lives in Delhi. She funds and drives ambulances. She was given the highest award for women, the Nari Shakti Puraskar, in 2017.
Lizymol Philipose Pamadykandathil is an Indian dental materials scientist. Her work has been recognised with a Nari Shakti Puraskar - the highest civilian honour exclusively for women in India.
Rashmi Anand is an Indian activist and writer concerned about domestic violence. The President of India awarded her the Nari Shakti Puraskar. This is the highest award for women in India. She founded the "Woman of the Elements Trust" which supplies support to victims of domestic abuse in Delhi.
Seema Kaushik Mehta is an Indian Kathak expert and designer of jewellery. She received the Nari Shakti Puraskar award for her dancing advocacy in 2019 after working with under-privileged children in Mumbai.
Laxmi Gautam is an Indian academic who devotes her time to looking after abandoned widows. She has been called the "Angel of Vrindavan". In 2015 she received the Nari Shakti Puraskar in recognition of her work. She teaches at the Institute of Oriental Philosophy in Vrindavan.
Dr. Saurabh Suman is an Indian Agri researcher who was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar. She leads an NGO that empowers women in Bihar. Suiman has also been involved in organising celebrations of Mahishasur martyrdom day.
Dr. Meena Sharma is an Indian journalist who was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2016. She has identified scandals of children who did not look after their elderly parents and the large number of abortions that were taking place of pregnancies that were predicted to deliver a female child.
Urmila Balavant Apte is the Indian Founder of the BhartiyaStree Shakti organisation in 1988 which is dedicated to the empowerment of women. She received the Nari Shakti Puraskar from President Ram Nath Kovind in 2018 for her work.
Manju Manikuttan is an Indian beautician and social worker. She rescued people who had been conned to be come servants in Arabia. She was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar which is the highest award for women in India.
Jayamma Bandari is an Indian former sex worker turned social worker. In 2018 she was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar. In 2011 she founded an organisation which supports sex workers and their children with choices.
Ambica Beri born Ambica Subherwal is an Indian art gallery owner. She was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2018 for establishing a retreat for artists.
Kshetrimayum Indira Devi, known as Chirom Indira, is an Indian entrepreneur, designer, and social worker.
K. Syamalakumari aka Syamala Kumari is an Indian temple painter. This was an occupation traditionally carried out by men. Her work includes painting at the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala. She has been awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar.
Dr. M.S. Sunil is an Indian Academician, Humanist and Philanthropist known for housing the homeless. She founded Dr. M.S. Sunil Foundation in December, 2016 in Pathanamthitta, with five trust members and six volunteers. Her works focuses to uplift the living conditions of impoverished families/ communities, her philanthropist and non- profit programmes aim to provide safe houses and healthy food to build a compassionate environment with enlightened mind on renewable energy and conservation of natural habitat by including every communities including Tribal and socially underprivileged with less or no inequality. She was acknowledged by the Government of India and was the recipient of many honours, including the Nari Shakti Puraskar- 2017 which is considered as the Government of India's highest civilian honour for women.
Doctor Ela Lodh was an Indian obstetrician and gynaecologist. She received the 2020 Nari Shakti Puraskar posthumously on 8 March 2022.