Natisara Rai And Vidya Rajput Win First Kamla Bhasin Award

Natisara Rai from Nepal and Vidya Rajput from India received the first-ever Kamla Bhasin (South Asia) Award for Driving the World towards Gender Equality.

The Kamla Bhasin award is derived from renowned feminist Kamla Bhasin, who passed away in September 2021. Bhasin played a prominent role in the women’s movement in India and other South Asian countries. The Azad Foundation, iPartner India, and National Foundation for India came together to institute the award. It also includes an amount of Rs. 1,00,000 for the winners.

First Kamla Bhasin Award Winners

Natisara Rai is the co-founder and executive director of the Shakti Milan Samaaj (SMS). At the age of 13, she was forced into sex work, she is also HIV positive. Today her organisation supports over a thousand HIV-positive women in Nepal to access healthcare, dignified work, and education.

Rai continued to face social boycotts and discrimination even after her rescue citing her HIV+ condition. But Rai never gave up, despite all odds she was able to build a strong community to resist injustices and extend solidarity.

As per a report, Natisara Rai said after receiving the award said “I am extremely honored to receive this recognition named after Kamla didi, who guided us, staying at the forefront of the fight for gender equality. While receiving this award, I feel more responsible and, I will stay on my word, setting an example, to carry forward Kamla didi’s vigorous advocacy for human rights.”

On other hand, Vidya Rajput is a transwoman from Chhattisgarh’s Bastar. Vidya Rajput co-founded an organisation called Mitwa in 2009. Mitwa organises and collectivises transpersons and raises awareness of their rights, including the right to self-identify.

As per a report, “Rajput's work with Mitwa is rooted in her own life of struggle, hardship, and discrimination. Over the years, through advocacy and training, Vidya has been able to bring changes in the lives of people and influence state policy."

While receiving the award Rajput stated, "This award is an encouragement; it will give courage not only to me but also to all people like me. That is because until today we (transgender people) only have rejection from our family and society. And getting this honour will give confidence to our community and it will bring a lot of positive changes in the future."

Anu Aga chaired the five-member jury to select the winners. Aga pointed out it has been a privilege to chair the jury for the inaugural Kamla Bhasin Award. The task of the jury was extremely challenging as the applications received were high quality. She was delighted that they could pick two clear winners whose life and work embody the spirit of what Kamla stood for. The rest jury members included Khushi Kabir (Bangladesh), Binda Pandey (Nepal) Salil Shetty (India), and Namita Bhandare (India).

Suggested Reading- Woman Awarded Rs 57 Lakh In Maternity Discrimination Case After Representing Self