Manasi Pradhan

Manasi Pradhan
Born (1962-10-04) 4 October 1962
Banapur, Khordha district, Odisha
Nationality Indian
Education M. A. in Odia literature, LL.B.
Alma mater Utkal University, G.M. Law College, Puri
Occupation Women's Rights Activist, Author and Poet
Organization Nirbhaya Vahini, OYSS Women, Nirbhaya Samaroh
Notable work Urmi-O-Uchchwas, Akasha Deepa, Swagatika
Movement Honour for Women National Campaign
Awards Stree Shakti Puraskar
2013
Outstanding Women Award
2011

Manasi Pradhan (born 4 October 1962) is an Indian women's rights activist and author who is globally recognized as a foremost voice for women's rights. She is the founder of Honour for Women National Campaign, a nationwide movement to end violence against women in India.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] In 2014, she was conferred with Rani Laskhmibai Stree Shakti Puraskar by the President of India. Along with Mary Prema Pierick, global head of the Missionaries of Charity, she won the 'Outstanding Women Award' in 2011.[8][9][10][11]

Pradhan is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the 21st century global feminist movement.[12][13][14][15] She is frequently featured among World’s top activists and authors by prestigious international publications and organizations. In 2016, the New York based Bustle (magazine) named her among 20 most inspiring Feminists Authors and Activists along with Nobel Prize winners Shirin Ebadi, Rigoberta Menchú, Malala Yousafzai, Betty Friedan, Naomi Klein, Angela Davis, Kate Millett and Gloria Steinem.[16] In 2017, the Los Angeles based Welker Media Inc. named her among 12 most powerful feminist change makers.[17]

In 2018, the Oxford Union of University of Oxford invited her to address the union, putting her in the league of eminent global icons like Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Margaret Thatcher, Elton John and a host of world leaders who have addressed the union. [18][19][20][21]

She is the founder of Nirbhaya Vahini, Nirbhaya Samaroh and OYSS Women.[22][23] She has served on the panel of Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board) for India [24] and Inquiry Committee of the National Commission for Women.[25][26][27][28]

Born to a poor family in a remote village of Odisha, she fought successfully the widely prevalent social taboo against educating women, walked 15 km daily amidst hilly terrain and swamp to the only high school in the entire region to emerge as first woman matriculate of her village and subsequently the first woman law graduate of her region. The inspiring life story of Manasi Pradhan has been adopted as documentaries in United States and Israel.[29][30][31][32]

Early life and education

Pradhan was born to a very poor family in a remote village called Ayatapur in Banapur block of Khordha district, Odisha.[8] She was the eldest among two daughters and a son born to Hemalata Pradhan and Godabarish Pradhan. Her father was a farmer and mother a house wife.[33]

Female education was considered a major taboo in most rural areas of Banapur then. Girls were rarely allowed to attend high school. After completing her middle school in the village, there was strong pressure to end her studies. Further, there was no high school in the nearby areas.[34]

She walked 15 km daily, amidst hilly terrain and swamp, to the only high school in the entire region, to emerge as the first woman to pass high school examination in her village.[8][35]

After completing her schooling from Patitapaban High School in Gambharimunda, the family shifted to Puri for her college education. With little earning from the village farmland, it became difficult to sustain and the burden of the entire family fell on her shoulder. Soon after passing the intermediate examination, she had to work to support her family and her studies. She earned a B.A. in Economics from Government Women’s College, Puri, and M.A. in Odia literature from Utkal University. She obtained Bachelor of Laws from G.M. Law College, Puri.[36][37][38]

President of India Pranab Mukherjee bestowing the 2013 Rani Lakshmibai Stree Shakti Puraskar on Manasi Pradhan at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on 8 March 2014.[39]

Career

Manasi Pradhan as an woman entrepreneur in 1998

She worked with the finance department, Govt. of Odisha and Andhra Bank for a short period but left both to pursue her own passion. In October 1983, at the age of 21, she began her own printing business and a literary journal. In few years time, the business grew exponentially, putting her in the league of few successful women entrepreneurs of her time.[36][40][41]

Activism

Founder Manasi Pradhan along with Sonal Mansingh, Mohsina Kidwai, Saroja Vaidyanathan and Kum Uma Sharma at the inauguration of 2015 Nirbhaya Samaroh held on April 9, at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

In 1987, she founded OYSS Women. The initial motive was to help girl students achieve higher education and develop them as future leaders in the society. OYSS Women has been organizing leadership workshops, education and vocational training camps, legal awareness and self-defense camps, nurturing thousands of young women as prospective leaders in their chosen field.[42]

Apart from the above, the organization undertakes numerous activities and events and is widely credited for pioneering contribution in empowering women. The organization is also spearheading the Honour for Women National Campaign.[43]

Honour for Women National Campaign

In November 2009, she launched the Honour for Women National Campaign, a nationwide movement to end violence against women in India. The movement has been instrumental in galvanizing the nation against women atrocities.[44][45]

The movement employs a multi-pronged strategy to fight the menace of violence against women in India.

It uses a plethora of vehicles i.e. women’s rights stall, women’s rights festival, women’s rights meets, women’s rights literature, audio-visual displays, street plays etc. to raise awareness on legal and institutional provisions to fight atrocities on women.[46]

On the other hand, it puts pressure on the state by mobilizing public opinion and sustained campaigning for institutional changes and correctional measures to contain violence against women.[47]

Manasi Pradhan inaugurating the Joy of Giving Week at Bits-pilani on September 4, 2017

In 2013, after a four year long churning involving a series of national seminars, workshops and consultations involving stakeholders from across India, the movement came up with a detailed draft charting its fight to end violence against women.

Manasi Pradhan giving TEDx talk at Indian Institutes of Management Ranchi on January 28, 2018

In 2014, the movement released a Four-Point Charter of Demand for all state governments of India. In the same year, it launched Nirbhaya Vahini, consisting of over 10,000 volunteers spread across India to mobilize public opinion and engage in a sustained campaign for implementation of its four-point charter of demand.[48]

Four-Point Charter of Demand

In 2014, the Honour for Women National Campaign headed by Manasi Pradhan released a four-point charter of demand for all state governments of India. The charter forms a cornerstone of the movement and has led several state governments to make suitable amendments.

  1. Complete clamp down on liquor trade
  2. Self-defense training for women as part of educational curriculum
  3. Special protection force for women security in every district
  4. Fast-track court and special investigating & prosecuting wing for crime against women in every district.[47][49]

Literary works

Manasi Pradhan is an acclaimed author and poet. Her fourth book Urmi-O-Uchchwas ( ISBN 81-87833-00-9) has been translated into eight major languages.[24][50][51]

References

  1. ↑ "President Confers Stree Shakti Puruskar on International Women's Day". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "Manasi among World's top feminists". The Pioneer. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  3. ↑ "These women's rights activists inspire us to fight for equality". One.org, Washington, DC. 2017-02-09. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  4. ↑ "Manasi Pradhan wins Rani Laxmibai Puraskar". Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  5. ↑ "Delhi gangrape victim continues to embolden Indian women - Matters India". Archived from the original on 13 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "At Chilika meet, rural women vow to fight against violence". Daily Pioneer. Dailypioneer.com. 2013-04-26. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  7. ↑ Vu Thu Ha (29 September 2017). "World needs empowered women more than ever". Vietnem News. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
  8. 1 2 3 "Rani Laxmibai Stree Shakti Puraskar for Manasi Pradhan". Statesman. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  9. ↑ http://unwomen-asiapacific.org/mediaclippings/myFiles/Countries/India/2012/03-March/UN-Women-and-NCW-report2.pdf
  10. ↑ "Women Reformers : Breaching Bastions". Sulabh International. 5 March 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  11. ↑ "Giving Wings to Fly". Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times Newspaper Ltd. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  12. ↑ "Manasi Pradhan". www.womensactivism.nyc. New York City Department of Records & Information Services and New York Commission on Gender Equality, New York, United States.
  13. ↑ "These women's rights activists inspire us to fight for equality". One.org, Washington, DC. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  14. ↑ Madeleine Dabernig (23 March 2018). "10 Women fighting for Human Rights that you should know about". TWSS Magazine. Bristol University, United Kingdom. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  15. ↑ "Smash stereotypes to close the gender gap". The Strait Times, Singapore. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  16. ↑ Miller, E. Ce (14 November 2016). "20 Feminist Authors And Activists Who Will Inspire You To Get Out There And Fight". Bustle magazine, BDG Media Inc., New York City. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  17. ↑ Ivashchenko, Ekaterina (6 July 2017). "Women's Power : 12 Feminists Any Changemaker Should Know". Welker Media Inc., Los Angeles. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  18. ↑ "Manasi Pradhan to be a Guest Speaker at Oxford Union". SheThePeople.TV. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  19. ↑ "Activist at Oxford Union". The Telegraph. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  20. ↑ "Manasi Pradhan". The Oxford Union, Oxford, United Kingdom. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  21. ↑ "Manasi Pradhan invited to speak at the Oxford Union". The Pioneer. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  22. ↑ "Stree Shakti Puraskar" (PDF) (Press release). Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  23. ↑ "Change in both men, women's mindsets needed'". Daily Pioneer. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  24. 1 2 "I & B Ministry appoints Manasi Pradhan as Censor Board advisory member - Trade News". BollywoodTrade.com. 2010-08-20. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  25. ↑ "Women's Panel to probe teacher's murder". NDTV. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
  26. ↑ "Chilika circuit not safe for women, says NCW". Times of India. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
  27. ↑ "Serious loopholes in Women Security". 8 December 2013. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
  28. ↑ "NCW for Judicial Probe into Woman Constable Assault". Outlook India. news.outlookindia.com. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  29. ↑ Tyagi, Dev (2017-11-20). "Manasi Pradhan : Meet One of India's Finest Unsung Women Heroes". Rapidleaks. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  30. ↑ "Standing up for Women". Orissa Post. Dharitri Newspaper Group. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
  31. ↑ "Manasi Pradhan to get the Women of Wonder award". Khouj.com. Khouj News. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  32. ↑ "Women Role Models". Handwork of India. 10 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  33. ↑ "महिला हिंसा के खिलाफ आवाज़ उठाती मानसी प्रधान". Lok Bharat Media Network. Retrieved 3 Jan 2018.
  34. ↑ "Story of Manasi Pradhan". First Stone Foundation. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  35. ↑ "Manasi Pradhan – The Social Reformer". JanManch TV. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  36. 1 2 "Manasi Pradhan wins Rani Laxmibai Puraskar". Orissa Post.
  37. ↑ "An interview with Manasi Pradhan". The YP Foundation. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  38. ↑ "Manasi Pradhan biography". www.notedlife.com. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  39. ↑ "laws alone cant come to women's rescue". The Hindu. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  40. ↑ "5 Most Inspiring Women Social Workers around the World". Women’s Day. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  41. ↑ "Women Entrepreneur contribution to Indian Economy" (PDF). DVS International Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Research, ISSN No.2454-7522, Issue: 08 Vol:02, No.4 April–June 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  42. ↑ "Women's Rights Stall at Puri". The Pioneer. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  43. ↑ "Roadmap drawn for rural women empowerment". 26 June 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  44. ↑ "Three strategies to cut violence against women". The Pioneer. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  45. ↑ "Manasi Pradhan". The Hindu. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  46. ↑ "Rural women vow to fight against violence". The Pioneer. 26 April 2013. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  47. 1 2 "Three-pronged Strategy to Curb Crime Against Women". The Indian Express.
  48. ↑ "Nirbhaya Vahini to fight violence against women". The Pioneer. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  49. ↑ "The Most Courageous Act done to bring Change in India". The Open Page. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  50. ↑ "Manasi Pradhan is advisory panel member of Censor Board". IndianTelevision.com. 20 August 2010.
  51. ↑ "Manasi Pradhan: Odisha's daughter". 15 September 2016.

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