Sunitha Krishnan
| Sunitha Krishnan | |
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| Born | 1972 (age 44–45) Bangalore, India |
| Alma mater | St. Joseph's College, Bangalore, School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya, Mangalore University |
| Occupation | Founder of Prajwala, Hyderabad |
| Known for | Social activist, co-founder of Prajwala, an NGO that works for the rehabilitation of sex workers and their children. |
Sunitha Krishnan (born 1972) is an Indian social activist and chief functionary and co-founder of Prajwala, a non-governmental organization that rescues, rehabilitates and reintegrates sex-trafficked victims into society.
Krishnan works in the areas of anti-human trafficking and social policy. Her organization, Prajwala shelters rescued women and children and set up one of the largest rehabilitation homes in the country. She is making it possible for NGOs organizations to manage jointly a range of protective and rehabilitative services for women and children who have been trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation. She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2016.
Krishnan was born in Bangalore, to Palakkad Malayali parents Raju Krishnan and Nalini Krishnan. She saw most of the country early on while traveling from one place to another with her father, who worked with the Department of Survey which makes maps for the entire country.
Krishnan's passion for social work became manifested when, at the age of 8 years, she started teaching dance to mentally challenged children. By the age of 12, she was running schools in slums for underprivileged children. At the age of 15, while working on a neo-literacy campaign for the Dalit community, Krishnan was gang raped by eight men. This incident served as the impetus for what she does today.
Krishnan studied in Central Government Schools in Bangalore and Bhutan. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in environmental sciences from St. Joseph’s College in Bangalore, Krishnan completed her MSW (medical & psychiatric) from Roshni Nilaya, Mangalore.
In 1996, Krishnan, who had become an ardent activist, was arrested–along with more than a dozen other activists–for protesting against the staging of the Miss World competition in Bangalore, her hometown. As she had a leadership role in organizing the protests, Krishnan was in judicial custody for two months. Krishnan has stated that her parents were never on the same page with her. Krishnan was associated with Brother Varghese Theckanath, a Catholic Religious Brother and social activist, a member of the Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel, who founded People's Initiative Network (PIN) in Hyderabad to work with slum people. Krishnan had become acquainted with Varghese Theckanath during a conference on Globalisation he had organised in Mumbai.
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