A HIV positive former sex worker from Nepal, Natisara Rai has won the inaugural Kamla Bhasin Award held this week in New Delhi. Indian trans rights activist Vidya Rajput is the other winner of the award named after a pioneer of the women’s rights movement in South Asia.
Rai was trafficked to India and forced to sex work when she was only 13. But even after being rescued, she continued to be ostracised because she was HIV positive. Over the years she used her experience as a driving force to build a strong community of survivors that now advocates against the injustices while extending solidarity to others in similar circumstances.
Rai is the co-founder and executive director of Shakti Milan Samaj (SMS) that supports over 1,000 HIV+ women in Nepal to access dignified healthcare, literacy, livelihoods and education.
“I am extremely honoured to receive this recognition named after Kamla didi, who guided us, staying at the forefront of the fight for gender equality,” said Natisara Rai after accepting the award.
She added: “While receiving this award, I feel more responsible and, I will stay on my words, setting an example, to carry forward Kamla didi’s vigorous advocacy for human rights.”
Feminist icon Kamla Bhasin was also a poet, author and educationist, and was associated with several organisations and movements across the globe. She co-founded Sangat, a South Asian women’s network and Jagori, a women’s rights NGO in India.
Bhasin wrote and published several books, songs and stories, many of which have been reproduced in some 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. She died in New Delhi in September 2021.
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The other awardee Vidya Rajput, a transwoman from Bastar of Chhattisgarh in India co-founded the organisation Mitwa in 2009 to collectivise trans-people, advocate and raise awareness for their rights, including the right to self-identify, right to education, housing, employment, and healthcare.
Rajput’s 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.
“This award is an encouragement, it will give courage not only to me but also to all people like me,” said Rajput after receiving the prize. “That is because until today 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 future.”
Kamla Bhasin Award for Driving the World towards Gender Equality includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. A total of 64 entries were received from eight countries in the region. A five-member jury, chaired by Anu Aga included Khushi Kabir from Bangladesh, Binda Pandey from Nepal, Salil Shetty from India and Namita Bhandare, also from India.
“It has been a privilege to chair the jury for the inaugural Kamla Bhasin Award. The high quality of applications made the task of the jury extremely challenging and I am delighted that we could pick two clear winners whose life and work embody the spirit of what Kamla stood for,” said Aga while announcing the winners.
The award includes a citation and cheque of INR100,000 each, and it has been jointly instituted by Azad Foundation, iPartner India and National Foundation for India.
“This award is meant to honour and celebrate the many lifetimes of achievements of Kamla,” said Meenu Vadera, Founder of Azad Foundation. “It is also meant to encourage the efforts being taken by transgender men and women 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.”
She added: “We are happy that the awards have gone to two extraordinary persons from South Asia, who are in many ways carrying forward the legacy of Kamla,” she added.
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