Sunita Krishnan is a famous Indian social activist working against human trafficking. She is famous for helping in the rehabilitation of rape victims and their children.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Sunita was born on Friday, 23 May 1969 (age 50 years; as in 2019) in Mumbai. His zodiac sign is Gemini. He completed his schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya Waltair in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Later, she joined St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore and Yenepoya University, Mangalore, Karnataka to complete her Master of Social Work and PhD.
Family, Caste and Husband
He was born in a Malayali family in Palakkad. His father’s name is ‘Raju Krishnan’, who worked as an employee in the Survey of India, and his mother’s name is ‘Nalini Krishnan’. She married Indian film director ‘Rajesh Touchriver’.
Sunita Krishnan with her father
Sunita Krishnan with her husband
livelihood
Since childhood, she wanted to work for the welfare of the society. When she was eight years old, she started dance training for mentally challenged children and four years later, she started a small school where she taught children from slum areas. When she was 15 years old and working in a neo-literacy camp for the Dalit community, an incident changed her life. A gang of eight men brutally raped her and beat her so much that she became partially deaf within a year. Although Sunita was heartbroken after this incident, she gathered all her energy and took this incident as a source of inspiration. She started working for the welfare of women; Especially, for rape victims in India. Her parents were not happy with her lifestyle, hence, she decided to move to Hyderabad and joined the People’s Initiative Network (PIN) in Hyderabad. The organization was founded by Brother Varghese Thekanath, a member of the Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel and himself a social worker.
An old picture of Sunita Krishnan with brother Varghese Thekanath
In 1996, Sunita helped Mehboob Mehboob to evict prostitutes from the red light area of Hyderabad and provide them employment, she also started a school in the vacated brothel. The school was later named ‘Prajwala’, which is based on five pillars – prevention, protection, rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration. Her non-profit organization has helped more than 12000 victims of prostitution to recover and start a new life. Prajwala has also helped in educating the children of such victims and providing them a better future. Survivors are trained in carpentry, welding, printing, masonry and housekeeping.
Sunita Krishnan with her school children
In 2003, he drafted some recommendations on rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking, which was passed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh as ‘Policy for Rescue and Rehabilitation of Victims of Trafficking’. In 2009, her speech on human trafficking at TED India’s official conference at the Infosys campus in Mysore went viral (it is available on TED India’s YouTube channel). In 2011, she got the opportunity to work as an advisor to the government in drafting Kerala’s Nirbhaya Policy for women and children, but she later resigned in 2014; Because she was not satisfied with his working method. Later, in 2015, he was reappointed and given more powers to take decisions.
She conducted seminars both nationally and internationally to educate people more about human trafficking. In 2012, she was invited to the Star Plus show Satyamev Jayate (hosted by Aamir Khan) where she talked about her non-profit organization ‘Prajwala’. Sunita and her husband made several documentaries on human trafficking, HIV AIDS, Sheikh marriage, incest and prostitution. He published several books on the same subject. In 2013, the Andhra Pradesh State Commission for Women appointed her as a member in drafting India’s new bill on rape. She worked with the Crisis Counseling Center at Afzalganj Police Station in Hyderabad to prevent human trafficking. In an interview, she revealed that her journey was not easy as she had to face deadly attacks and threatening messages for helping rape victims.
Sunitha Krishnan in Satyamev Jayate
controversies
His campaign ‘#ShameTheRapist’, where people shared rape videos on WhatsApp, was criticized by a section of the society.
Awards and Honors
- Stree Shakti Award, Government of India, 2003.
- CNN-IBN Real Hero Award, Reliance Foundation, 2008.
- Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report Heroes from the US State Department, 2009.
- Tejaswini Award, FICCI, 2010.
- Human Rights Award, Vital Voices Global Partnership, Washington DC, 2011
- Godfrey Phillips National Amodini Award, 2013.
- Mahila Tilakam Award, Government of Kerala, 2013.
- Outstanding Women Award, National Commission for Women, 2013.
- Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice, 2014
- People of the Year Award from Limca Book of Records, 2014.
- Padmashree in the field of social work, 2016.
Sunita Krishnan received Padma Shri award
- Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, 2017
Note: He has many other awards and honors to his name.
Address
20-4-34, 3rd Floor, Behind Charminar Bus Stand, Charminar, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Facts/General Knowledge
- She was born as a disabled child, with her legs bent backwards, but after regular physiotherapy sessions she was able to walk normally.
- In the initial days of her organization ‘Prajwala’ she faced financial crisis for which she had to sell her jewelery and utensils.
- The film, Anamika, was co-produced by Sunita, who is a part of the curriculum of the National Police Academy, Hyderabad; While the second film ‘Na Bangaru Talli’ has won 3 National Awards in 2014.
- Following his #ShameTheRapist campaign in 2015, his landlords asked him to shift to Economic Rehabilitation Unit, Hyderabad, for which he crowdfunded from goCrowdera.com and collected over $225000.
- In 2019, Sunita appeared in the ‘Karmaveer’ episode (18 October 2019) of Kaun Banega Crorepati 11 (2019) with her husband Rajesh Touchriver.
#KBC11
Now the time has come to raise voice against the evils of the society. Watch our #KBCKaramveer Sunita Krishnan sharing her perspective on the status of women in the present era, this Friday at 9 PM only on Sony Prajwala Prajwala Dr.Sunita Krishnan.
Another TV show has been released on Sony Entertainment Television. Issue 16, 2019
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn