Bhubaneswar: Internationally renowned women’s rights activist & author Manasi Pradhan of Odisha has been chosen to get the prestigious ‘Women of Wonder’ award for the year 2018. The award instituted by Lions Clubs International in association with Wockhardt Foundation & Dibyaj Foundation will be conferred on Mrs. Pradhan at a glittering award ceremony to be held on March 3, 2018, from 6.30 pm onward at Mumbai Race Course.
Others who will receive the award this year in various categories include Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, Head of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar, renowned industrialist Kiran Majumdar Shaw, Bollywood producer Ekta Kapoor, Allahabad Bank Chairman Usha Ananthasubramanium, Indian cricket captain Mithali Raj and Olympian Dipa karmakar.
Widely regarded as a spirited fighter for women’s rights, Manasi Pradhan is the founder of 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 atrocities on women and has led several state governments to take corrective measures like prohibiting liquor & initiating reforms to secure justice to women.
Mrs. Pradhan 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 Menchu, Malala Yousafzai, Betty Friedan, Naomi Klein, Angela Davis, Kate Millett and Gloria Steinem. In 2017, the Los Angeles based Welker Media Inc. named her among 12 most powerful feminist change makers across the globe.
Mrs. Manasi Pradhan was conferred with the prestigious Rani Lakhsmibai Stree Shakti Puraskar in 2014 by the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhawan. She has received numerous international and national awards including the Outstanding Women Award in 2011.
Born on 4 October 1962 to a very poor family in a remote village of Odisha, Mrs. Pradhan 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 Mrs. Pradhan has been adopted as documentaries in United States and Israel by acclaimed film makers including Matan Uzeil.
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