Kamla Bhasin
Kamla Bhasin
Kamla Bhasin (24 April 1946–25 September 2021) was born in Shahidawalli village in Gujaranwala district in Punjab. One of six siblings, she moved with her family to Bharatpur in Rajasthan, where her father worked as a doctor. Her mother was a homemaker. Kamla was educated in Jaipur.
She became an icon of India’s women’s movement. Her spirit, slogans, poetry, songs, writings and speeches resonated with all, and made her stand out as a leader in the feminist movement.
Kamla co-founded Sangat, a South Asian women’s network, in April 1998. She was also a co-founder of Jagori, a women’s rights NGO in India. She wrote and published books, booklets, songs and stories, many of which have been reproduced in about 30 languages. An integral part of the global One Billion Rising movement, she was one of the coordinators for the ‘1000 women for the Nobel Peace Prize’ initiative in 2005.
Personal loss and tragedy motivated her to seek a deeper meaning of life in spirituality. She became a follower of Thich Nhat Hahn and Buddhist philosophy, though she remained receptive to all religious teachings.
Kamla was generous in her support of new ideas and actions. Her support to Azad Foundation and its work on non-traditional livelihoods was unwavering.
Kamla Bhasin Award
Kamla Bhasin Award for Driving Gender Equality Across South Asia has been constituted by Azad Foundation. The award is in memory of Kamla Bhasin, who was a friend and guide. She supported Azad’s work with her ideas and energetic participation that inspired hundreds of women and men trainees. Kamla was a leading feminist who advocated engaging with men towards gender equality. She believed that toxic masculinity dehumanises men and she came up with the popular slogan “Men of quality are not afraid of equality”.
This award intends to honour and celebrate her lifetime of achievements. It is also meant to encourage the efforts being taken by women, men and trans persons to fight patriarchy and work towards a gender-just society where women can acquire livelihoods with dignity and gain control over their lives and bodies. This is something Kamla worked tirelessly for, apart from her other passions and commitments.
The award will encompass South Asia and will include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Entries will be accepted in all official languages of the eight countries. There will be two award categories, each for INR 100,000 (one hundred thousand Indian rupees) that will recognize one individual in each category:
A woman (cis/trans) practitioner of Non-Traditional Livelihood (NTL)
A male (cis/trans) who has worked towards enabling a gender-just ecosystem that encourages women to take on livelihoods with dignity
Entries in all officially recognized languages of South Asia will be accepted.
Selection Criterion
Non-Traditional Livelihood Practitioner
- Would have been practising a non-traditional livelihood in her/their context for a period of at least 3 years.
- Would have empowered herself/themself to gain control over not just her/their earnings, but also her/their life
- Would have used the opportunity of such a livelihood to also become a change agent not just for her/their family but also her/their community.
Gender-Just Ecosystem to Engage Women in Livelihoods with Dignity
- Would have worked towards creating a gender-just ecosystem for at least 3 years. This could include work in public or private spaces, working with State and other stakeholders, addressing issues of unpaid care work, safe working environment, prevention of violence against women, and encouraging women to join the workforce.
- Would have expressed his/their politics in their personal lives and contributed to change not just in their families but also the communities they work with/belong to.
Selection Process
| March 8, 2023 | Launch of the Award |
| June 7, 2023 | Deadline for receiving entries. Applicants to fill in a nomination form – either a self-nomination or they could be nominated by an organisation. |
| July-August 2023 | Shortlist One – applicants will be interviewed. |
| End August 2023 | Shortlist Two – applicants/entries will be selected through the interviews and sent to the jury for deliberations. |
| September 2023 | The jury will identify the most promising candidate from each category. |
| November 26, 2023 | The finally selected candidates will receive their award and citation. |
The Jury
Anu Aga
Chairperson
Anu Aga is a social worker by training. The Thermax Board appointed Anu as the Executive Chairperson. After retiring, she devoted her time to primary education for the economically underprivileged. She has been on the board of Akansha for over 2 decades and helped launch Teach for India (TFI). She retired as Chairperson of TFI and is still on their board. Anu has been active in the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). She served for 6 years as a member for the Rajya Sabha.
Khushi Kabir
Bangladesh
Khushi Kabir is a social activist, feminist and environmentalist. She is currently the coordinator of Nijera Kori. She is also involved in an honorary capacity in various national, regional and global forums such as Member, Board Trustees of the Centre for Policy Dialogue; Regional Advisor for Sangat; and Bangladesh Coordinator for the One Billion Rising global campaign.
Namita Bhandare
India
Namita Bhandare is an award-winning journalist with 30 years of reporting experience for various publications including the magazines Sunday, India Today, and the daily Hindustan Times. In 2013, she was appointed India’s first gender editor for Mint newspaper and was there until 2016. She has authored a series of articles on women and work.
Binda Pandey
Nepal
Binda Pandey is a Nepalese Political activist. She was a member of the 1st Nepalese Constituent Assembly (2008-2012) and is currently a member of the Federal Parliament, representing the Communist Party of Nepal. She was Deputy General Secretary of the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions during 2004–2009. She represented the Asia Pacific trade union in the ILO Governing Body for a decade (2011-2021). She has written books on “Women Participation in Nepalese Trade Union Movement” and “Women in Nepali Politics”.
Munizae Jahangir
Pakistan
Munizae Jahangir is the editor in chief of Voicepk.net, Pakistan’s first digital media platform focusing on human rights issues. She is an award-winning TV journalist and documentary filmmaker, currently anchoring a prime-time current affairs show called ‘Spotlight’ on Aaj TV. She is an elected council member of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan; an elected Board member of SAHR (South Asians for Human rights) and the founder of SAWM (South Asian Women in Media) She was honoured as Young Global Leader by WEF in 2008.
Radhika Coomaraswamy
Sri Lanka
Radhika Coomaraswamy is a renowned lawyer, diplomat and human rights advocate who served as UN Under Secretary General and as Special Representative of the Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict from 2006 until her retirement in 2012. From 1994 to 2003, she was the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women. In 2017 she was appointed to the UN Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar and also appointed as a member of The Secretary General’s Board of Advisors on Mediation. In June 2022, she was appointed as a Member of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts in Ethiopia.
2022 Winners
Natisara Rai from Nepal and Vidya Rajput from India, the 2 winners were felicitated at the Award Ceremony held on 26th November 2022. Among the 2 award categories including, a) a woman (cis/trans) practitioner of non-traditional livelihood and b) a male (cis/ trans) who has worked towards enabling a gender-just ecosystem that encourages women to take on livelihoods with dignity, the Jury decided to not give any award in Category Two and as a result, two awards were given out in Category One. The award consisted of INR 100,000/- and a citation in the form of trophy.
Category
A Woman (Cis/Trans) Practitioner of Non-Traditional Livelihood
Natisara Rai
Founder and Executive Director, Shakti Milan Samaj
Kathmandu, Nepal
An HIV+ woman, and survivor of forced sex work, Natisara Rai is the co-founder and Executive Director of Shakti Milan Samaaj (SMS), an organization that supports over 1000 HIV+ women in Nepal to access dignified healthcare, literacy, livelihoods and education. At the age of 13, she was forced into sex work and trafficked to India. She continued to face social boycott and discrimination even after her rescue because she was HIV+. However, despite all odds, over the years she along with other survivors have been able to build a strong community through which they are able to resist injustices and extend solidarity.
Category
A Woman (Cis/Trans) Practitioner of Non-Traditional Livelihood
Vidya Rajput
Co-founder, MITWA Samiti
Chhattisgarh, India
Vidya Rajput, a transwoman from Bastar, Chhattisgarh, co-founded the organisation MITWA in 2009 to collectivize trans-people, advocate and raise awareness for their rights, including the right to self-identify, right to education, housing, employment, and healthcare. Vidya’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 trans people and influence state policy. She has successfully incorporated content related to transgender community into the State Board Education, B.Ed. and Police Training curriculums and has also enabled their recruitment in the Police department, industrial sector and municipal corporation in Chhattisgarh.
Media Coverage of the Ceremony
Please look out for news of the Kamla Bhasin Award (South Asia) 2023
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