Natisara Rai and Vidya Rajput win Kamla Bhasin award for work on gender equality

New Delhi, Nov 26 (PTI) Shakti Milan Samaaj co-founder Natisara Rai and transgender rights activist Vidya Rajput have won the inaugural Kamla Bhasin (South Asia) Award for driving the world towards gender equality.

Rai is the co-founder and executive director of Shakti Milan Samaaj (SMS), an organisation that supports over 1,000 HIV positive women in Nepal to access dignified healthcare, literacy, livelihoods and education, a statement said.

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, she along with other survivors were able to build a strong community through which they resist injustices and extend solidarity.    Rajput, a transwoman from Bastar in Chhattisgarh, co-founded 'Mitwa' in 2009 to collectivise trans-people, advocate and raise awareness for their rights, including the right to self-identify, education, housing, employment, and healthcare.

Her work with Mitwa is rooted in her own life of struggle, hardship and discrimination. Over the years, through advocacy and training, she has been able to bring changes in the lives of people and influence state policy.

The award is named after Kamla Bhasin, a feminist icon, poet, author, educationist and a pioneer of the women's rights movement in South Asia. The award encompasses South Asia to include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. PTI UZM SRY SRY