Speakers Profile - The Gender Park

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
ON GENDER EQUALITY - 1
SPEAKERS
International Conference
on Gender Equality (ICGE-1) 2015
SPEAKERS
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Prof. Naila Kabeer
N
aila Kabeer is Professor of Gender and
Development at the Gender Institute,
London School of Economics and Political
Science. Prior to that, she was Professor of
Development Studies at the School of Oriental
and African Studies (SOAS) at London University
and Professorial Fellow at the Institute of
Development Studies, Sussex where she worked
for many years. She has also worked as a
Senior Research Fellow at the Department for
International Development, UK between 20092010. Her research interests include gender,
poverty, social exclusion, labour markets and
livelihoods, social protection and citizenship and
much of her research is focused on South and
South East Asia. She is currently on advisory
editorial committee for the journals Feminist
Economics, Development and Change, Gender
and Development and on the board of the
Feminist Review Trust.
Prof. Mridul Eapen
P
rof. Mridul Eapen is currently Hon.Fellow
at the Centre for Development Studies,
Trivandrum and Member, Gender Park Board. She
did her PhD from Erasmus University, Rotterdam
and after retiring from the CDS in 2005, served
as Member, Kerala State Planning Board from
2006-11. She has been a Member of the Working
Group of Feminist Economists constituted by the
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erstwhile Planning Commission during the 11th
and 12th Five Year Plans. Her areas of research
interest are Rural Development, Employment and
Gender Studies, specifically Gender Responsive
Budgeting. During her tenure at the Planning
Board Dr. Eapen worked on evolving a pragmatic
approach to Gender Responsive Budgeting at
the State level. As a Consultant to UN Women
in 2014, she did a study on Assessing Gender
Responsive Budgeting in Bangladesh.
Dr. Pam Rajput
D
r. Pam Rajput is the Chairperson of the
High Level Committee and is an academic
turned activist who has engaged in the women’s
movement since the mid-1970s from the
grassroots to the global level, with links to local,
national, regional and international networks as
well as to governments and institutions. She is
former Dean, Faculty of Arts at Punjab University,
Professor and Chairperson of the Department
of Political Science and Founder Director of the
Centre for Women›s Studies and Development,
Panjab University. Rajput has been a member of
expert committees of the National Commission
for Women (NCW), the 11th Plan Working
Group on Empowerment of Women, the 12th
Plan Working Group on Women›s Agency and
Empowerment, and Convenor, Think Tank for
Engendering the Planning Process. She was
member of the Central Monitoring Committee
of the NMEW and the Governing Council of the
Central Social Welfare Board.
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Ms. Bindhu
Ananath
M
s. Bindu Ananth is the Chair of IFMR Trust
and IFMR Holdings and has held that
position since January 2008. She is a Director
of all investee companies of IFMR Trust. Prior to
this, Bindu worked in ICICI Bank’s microfinance
team between 2001 and 2005 and was head
of the new product development team within
their Rural Banking Group in 2007. She has
an under-graduate degree in Economics from
Madras University and Masters Degrees from
the Institute of Rural Management (IRMA) and
Harvard University’s John. F. Kennedy School
of Government. She is a Fellow of the Global
Economic Society.
Bindu has co-edited “Financial Engineering for
Low-Income Households”, a book published by
SAGE. She has also published in the Economic
and Political Weekly, OECD Trade Paper Series
and the Small Enterprise Development Journal.
She was a member of the RBI Committee on
Comprehensive Financial Services for LowIncome Households and Small Businesses
(2013). She serves as a Nominee Director
for National Stock Exchange on the Board of
Computer Age Management Services. She is
a member of the Advisory Board of Columbia
University’s India Initiative.
Dr. Ravi Verma
D
r. Ravi Verma is Regional Director for
the International Centre for Research on
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Women›s (ICRW) Asia Regional Office in New
Delhi, India. Over the past three decades or so he
has worked on issues of men, masculinities, male
sexual health and gender equality as they relate
to violence against women, reproductive health
including family planning and HIV and AIDS in
India and in the countries of Asian region. He
has published extensively on these issues in
both Indian and international journals of repute.
Ravi is a member of High Level Committee on
the Status of Women (HLCSW), Government
of India. He is also one of the members of the
Rights & Empowerment working group of the
FP2020 Initiative.
Prof. S Irudaya
Rajan
P
rof. Irudaya Rajan is a lecturer at the Centre
for Development Studies. He has more than
two decades of research experience in Kerala,
and has co-ordinated six major migration surveys
in Kerala. His areas of Research interest include
Population and Development, Economics of Aging,
Gender and Development, International Migration,
Economic benefits and social costs, data base
issues , population censuses.
Dr. U S Mishra
P
rofessor at the Centre for Development
Studies, is a demographer and statistician.
He is engaged in teaching and research on
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population and development issues. His interest
areas of research include aging, health, nutrition,
population policy and programme population.
Prof. K N Harilal
P
rofessor at the Centre for Development
Studies. His main interest area is regional
analysis economy of Kerala. His PhD dissertation
was on India – EEC trade wherein the focus was
on trade barriers facing India’ exports to the
European Community.
Dr. Vinoj Abraham
V
inoj Abraham is Associate Professor
at Centre for Development Studies,
Thiruvananthapuram. His areas of research
include Labour Economics, Gender and
Development, Regional Development,
Technology and Innovation. His teaching
interests are in Labour Economics and Economic
Development. He was awarded Ph.D from
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, in 2006.
He was awarded the Young Labour Economist
award of the Indian Society of Labour Economics
in 2007. Primarily trained in Economics he tries
to approach research from an inter-disciplinary
perspective. He has presented his works
extensively and has published articles in journals
of national and international repute. Of relevance
to this conference is a paper that was published
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in the Economic and Political Weekly, titled
“Missing Labour or Consistent Defeminisation?”
in 2013. He has worked on a number of projects.
One of the projects that he had worked recently
is an “Evaluation of the MGNREGS in South
India”, funded by the Planning Commission,
Government of India. The current presentation
draws insights from this work to throw light on
women and MGNREGS in Kerala.
Dr. Praveena
Kodoth
A
ssociate Professor at the Center for
Development Studies. She did her doctoral
research a Sir Ratan Tata Fellow with the Asia
Research Centre, London School of Economics
and Political Science in 2006. Her interest areas
include social Policy, Higher Education, State
Politics and Policy. Her work has specific focus on
the International migration of women workers;
higher education, student politics and citizenship
gender and agrarian relations; political economy
of dowry in Kerala and transformation of family
and marriage in Kerala
Dr. Devika J
ayakumari Devika is a Malayali historian,
social critic, and feminist. She currently
teaches and researches in Centre for
Development Studies, Trivandrum as an
associate Professor and has authored several
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books, and articles on gender relations in
early Kerala society. She is bilingual and has
translated both fiction and non-fiction books
between Malayalam and English. Also she writes
on contemporary politics and culture in Kerala on
the team blog www.kafila.org.
Ms. Manjula
Pradeep
M
anjula Pradeep holds a post graduate
degree in Social Work and also Bachelors in
Law. She is working for the rights of marginalized
communities and in particular for the rights of
Dalit women for more than two decades. She is
at present, the Executive Director of Navsarjan
Trust, a well known State level Human Rights
Organization in Gujarat. Manjula is on the Board
of International Dalit Solidarity Network. She
has been representing the issues of Dalits and
Dalit women in for more than one decade at the
United Nations and at the European Parliament.
Ms. Monisha Behal
D
r. Monisha Behal has worked for many years
in bringing about greater understanding of
gender issues of north east India to a larger
platform amongst women›s groups, in the
country. As a young activist she was actively
working with rural women of Assam through
the Tezpur District Mahila Samiti. Her vast
experience in the north east region inspired
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setting up several pioneering initiatives, one
among them being North East Network, (NEN)
a women’s rights organisation set up in 1995. As an experienced activist of the 90s she was
a recipient of Mac Arthur Fellowship where she
concentrated fully in the state of Nagaland. Her
work in Nagaland has now grown into fullfledged community based programme. . She
is a recipient of Ananya award by MoWCD,
Government of India and several state level
awards, recognizing her work in bringing about
gender justice in the NE region. Ms. Rita Thapa
A
feminist activist for the past 25 years, Rita
is recognized for her ground breaking work
in founding Tewa, the Nepal Women’s Fund.
Currently Rita is engaged in peace-building work
through Nagarik Aawaz which she founded
in 2001, works in founding and strengthening
women’s networks for peace and plays a catalytic
role in citizen’s initiatives for a new Nepal. Rita
served on the board of the Global Fund for
Women/USA for six years. She is a current
board member of the Urgent Action Fund/USA
and also serves on the South Asia Center for
policy studies (SACEPS). Rita was the Dame
Nita Barrow Distinguished visitor 2009 at the
University of Toronto and is an Ashoka fellow.
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Dr. Meera
Velayudhan
D
r. Meera Velayudhan has a Ph.D in Modern
Indian History has been involved in gender
studies since its inception in the early 1980s in
India. Since gender studies emerged alongside
a renewed women’s movement, Meera locates
herself in the dynamic space where research
met field experiences. The focus of her research
has been women’s struggles and forms of
organization in varied historical contexts- both
pre- independence and contemporary. Her work
experience includes international organizations
such as UNICEF where she assisted in preparing
UNICEF’s Board report on the situation of women
and children in South Asia (1981) and also
prepared voluntarily an annotated bibliography
of studies on women and development. Meera
is a Senior Policy Analyst (Gender& Culture) at
the Centre For Environment & Social Concerns
(CESC),Ahmedabad, Gujarat and is currently,
Visiting Gender Expert at School Of Social
Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam,
Kerala. Meera has a range of publications- in
books, journals, newspapers and has been Editor,
Indian Association for Women’s Studies (IAWS).
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Dr. Sr Lissy
D
r. Sr. Lissy Joseph is the Founder of the
Domestic Workers Movement in (United)
Andhra Pradesh, India in 1997. In that capacity
she has become very engaged in advocating for
the rights of domestic workers in the State and
Country, migrant domestic workers, particularly
in the Gulf States. Her organization is a member
of Migrant Forum Asia, GAATW and the Women
& Global Migration Working Group. She is a
pioneer in the cause of education for the children
out of School, and Drop outs, creating Bridge
school as a possible system to mainstream
children into regular schooling. She is a recipient
of Sadguru Gnanada National Award in 2008,
Mother Theresa Memorial Award from Citizens
Council, 2009,Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National
Award 2014 by the Dalit Open University for
her initiatives and work with Dalits and their
empowerment. Sr. Lissy is a member of the
Sisters of Charity of Sts. Bartholomea Capitanio
and Vincenza Gerosa (SCCG). She holds a PhD
in Social Work and is a Bachelor of Laws with
a focus on cases related to violence against
women. She lives in Andhra Pradesh.
Dr. Sumangala
Damodaran
D
r. Damodaran is an Associate Professor,
School of Development Studies. She did
her MPhil in Economics from the Centre for
Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal
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Nehru University, Delhi on Trends in India’s
Import Structure after Early Liberalisation from
the mid-eighties. Her PhD in economics from the
same institution was on the relationship between
Export Orientation, Economic Organisation and
Labour Markets in the Leather Industry in India.
Dr. Sumangala Damodaran is an economist who
has joined the School of Development Studies at
AUD after a sixteen year teaching stint at Lady
Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. Before
that, she worked as a Research Associate at the
Institute for Studies in Industrial Development
for two years. She worked as a consultant with
the National Commission for Enterprises in
the Unorganised Sector (the Arjun Sengupta
Committee) of the Government of India for
over a year in 2008-09 and was involved in
the writing of reports of Skill Development,
Enterprise Development, Technology Acquisition
for the Unorganised Sector and the final Report
on Employment that was submitted by the
Commission to the Government of India.
Ms. Sonia George
M
s. George is a coordinator of Self Employed
Women’s Association (SEWA) in Kerala.
Prof. Neetha N
Neetha N is a gold medalist for Post
Prof.
Graduation and has done her M. Phil and
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Doctoral studies at the Centre for Development
Studies, Trivandrum. She is the recipient of
IWMI/Ford Foundation Fellowship for South
Asian Women Doctoral Scholars. She was
Associate Fellow at the V.V. Giri National Labour
Institute, NOIDA during 1998-2006. Her
research interests are labour and employment
issues of women, domestic workers, labour
migration and gender statistics and data gaps
Prof. Preet Rustagi
he is currently a professor at Institute of
Sof research
Human Development, New Delhi. Her Areas
interests include work, employment
and institutions; gender development indicators;
crimes against women; women’s equality
and empowerment; urban poverty; children’s
education and work; child well-being and
deprivations; and food security. She has been
pursuing intensive district level analysis for the
country to examine gender inequalities and
discrimination against women and has also
worked on the South Asian region. She is an
associate editor of the Indian Journal of Human
Development, a bi-annual publication of the IHD
and also an associate editor of the Indian Journal
of Labour Economics, a quarterly publication of
the Indian Society of Labour Economics.
Prof. A V. Jose
Economist with specialization
Development
in labour markets, employment, wages
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and income distribution. A retired official of
the International Labour Office in Geneva, he
worked as the Head of Education Program in
the International Institute for Labour Studies.
Currently based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala,
Dr. Jose is an Honorary Visiting Professor
at the Centre for Development Studies,
Thiruvananthapuram and a member of the
Standing Committee on Labour Force Statistics,
Central Statistical Organization, Government of
India.
Prof. Padmini
Swaminathan
P
admini Swaminathan is Professor and
Chairperson of the Centre for Livelihoods at
the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad.
Earlier she held the post of Director, Madras
Institute of Development Studies, Chennai,
and was also the Reserve Bank of India Chair in
Regional Studies at the same Institute till her
retirement in May 2011.
At MIDS, a Social Science Research Institute,
under the aegis of the Indian Council of Social
Science Research, New Delhi, Professor
Swaminathan was able to broad-base and
provide a multi-disciplinary focus to her
research work. Her research interests expanded
to cover newer areas as well as the linkages
between the themes of industrial organization,
labour, education and health – all from a
gender perspective. Professor Swaminathan›s
publications in a wide range of development
journals and books reflect this diversity of her
research explorations.
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Dr. Gita Gopal
D
r. Gopal has a doctorate in law from the
Harvard Law School and worked as a
development expert with the World Bank
in Washington between 1991 and 2011. She
is currently the Honorary Gender and Child
Protection Advisor to the Government of
Kerala and consults intermittently with several
international organizations. She is also the
Gender Advisor to the Government of Kerala.
Dr. Bindulakshmi
Pattadath
D
r.Pattadath is an Assistant Professor,
Advanced Center for Women’s studies,
School of Development Studies at Tata Institute
of Social Sciences. She completed her doctoral
research at Indian Institute of TechnologyBombay.
Prof. Rosa Maria
Perez
R
osa Maria Perez is professor at the
Department of Anthropology of the
Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE -IUL),
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as well as visiting professor (Anthropology)
at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in
Gandhinagar. Since 2000, she has regularly
been a visiting professor at the Department
of Portuguese Studies of the Watson Institute
of International Relations, Brown University,
USA. Her main research is on Indian society
and social segregation, colonialism and postcolonialism in India. Perez is a member of
the Council of the European Association for
South Asian Studies (EASAS), of the Board of
Advisers of the South Asian Democratic Forum
(SADF), a member of the Steering Committee,
(European University Institute). She served as a
member of the Committee for Advanced Asian
Studies of the European Science Foundation, for
whose executive board she was appointed, as a
member of the Anthropology Expert Panel of the
European Reference Index for the Humanities
(ERIH).
Prof. David Legge
P
rof. David Legge started his career in internal
medicine but early on moved into health
services research, health policy and public health.
He has undertaken research and teaching in the
political economy of health, comparative health
systems, primary health care, policy capacity,
and international health policy (based in recent
years at La Trobe University in Melbourne).
David is currently co-chairperson of the Steering
Council of the global People’s Health Movement
(PHM). David has been closely involved in
PHM’s International People’s Health University
(IPHU), a short course program in the political
economy of health for health activists, and in
PHM’s WHO Watch project.
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Mr. Subhash
Mendhapurkar
M
r. Mendhapurkar is an Indian social activist
based in the state of Himachal Pradesh,
active in the fields of Women Self-reliance,
Rural Self-governance, Rural Healthcare, Anti
Alcoholism, Microfinance, Water management
and Ecomanagement. He is the founder and
Director of SUTRA (Society for Social Uplift
Through Rural Action), a Non- governmental
organization which has been credited for the
Socio-economic transformation of thousands of
rural women in the foothills of the Himalayas of
the Shimla and Solan area.
Mr. Anand Pawar
M
r. Anand Pawar is the Executive Director of
SAMYAK, an NGO based in Pune, India. He
is a male gender trainer and an activist involved
with women’s and men’s groups working towards
gender equality and a violence-free society. He
is also an active member of the South Asian
Network to Address Masculinities (SANAM) and
one of the Asia Board members of the Women’s
Peace Maker Programme (WPP). Having
travelled extensively international borders, he
has served as a consultant to many INGOs and
developmental agencies including several UN
agencies.
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Mr. Satish Kumar
M
r. Satish Kumar is the Additional Director at
Centre for Health and Social Justice (CHSJ).
He is overseeing the thematic area of Men and
Gender Equality in CHSJ. He has been working
on social justice issues since 23 years and on the
issue of gender equality, masculinity, sexuality
and gender based violence since 10 years. He is
a part of SAHAYOG, HUMSAFAR, FEM and Men
Engage.
Ms. Bimla
Chandrashekhar
M
s. Bimla Chandrashekhar is Founder and
Director of EKTA- A resource center for
women based in Madurai, India. Her interest
areas include governance, human rights and
gender and masculinities.
Mr. Shrinivas Rao
M
r. Shrinivas Rao is a social worker by
profession with MPhil in Economics. He
is currently the Programme Director of Azad
Foundation-Delhi State. He has worked on
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issues of rural and urban development and local
self-governments in Delhi and Chhattisgarh.
He comes with a lot of grassroots experience.
Shrinivas has previous experience of working
with PRIA and UNDP.
Prof. Rama Baru
P
rof. Rama Baru teaches at the Centre of Social
Medicine and Community Health School
of Social Sciences, JNU. Her areas of interest
include Health Policy, Commercialization of
Medical Care, Inequalities and Health. Rama V
Baru is an Associate Professor at the Centre of
Social Medicine and Community Health at the
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Her
principal areas of research are privatization of
health care, health policy, comparative studies
in health systems and health sector reforms.
She has published widely in these areas and also
authored Private Health Care in India: Social
Characteristics and Trends (Sage Publications,
1998). She is on the editorial board of the Global
Social Policy published by Sage Publications
and on various committees of national and
international organizations.
Prof. Vikas Rawal
P
rof. Vikas Rawal is Professor at Centre for
Economic Studies and Planning of Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi. He has done his
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Ph.D (Development Economics): 2000, from
Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research
and had also done his Master’s (Development
Economics) from Indira Gandhi Institute of
Development Research. He is a Member of Core
Committee, Human Development Report, Tripura
and also a member of Editorial Board, Review
of Agrarian Studies. His areas of interest/
specialization are Development Economics,
Agricultural Economics, Applied Econometrics.
Dr. Indira
Chakravarthy
D
r. Indira Chakravarthy is an Indian
public health specialist, scholar and
environmentalist. She has been involved with
two projects of the World Health Organization
(WHO) such as the World Summit for Children
and the Hunger Project. Some of the studies
conducted by Dr. Chakravarty, such as the one
she conducted on the street vendors of Calcutta,
have led to policy changes and new initiatives at
the government level.
Dr. Santhosh MR
D
r.Santhosh MR teaches at Tata Institute of
Social Sciences, Guwahati Campus. Before
joining TISS, he worked with the Centre for Trade
and Development (Centad), a Delhi based policy
think tank, where he was involved in research and
advocacy work on trade and development issues.
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He was also associated with various projects
such as Tracing Pharmaceuticals in South Asia
(TPSA) and Accessing Medicines in Africa and
South Asia (AMASA). He holds an M.Phil/PhD
from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He
secured his Master of Social Work degree from
Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. He was
also a recipient of UGC-JRF and TWN Fellowship.
His areas of interest are political economy
of health, pharmaceutical industry, access to
medicines and IPRs, trade and health, and trade
and gender.
Prof. Mohan Rao
M
ohan Rao is Professor at the Centre of
Social Medicine and Community Health
(CSMCH), School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi. A medical doctor
specialised in public health, he has written
extensively on health and population policy, and
on the history and politics of health and family
planning. He is the author of From Population
Control to Reproductive Health: Malthusian
Arithmetic (Sage, New Delhi, 2004) and has
edited Disinvesting in Health: The World Bank›s
Health Prescriptions (Sage, New Delhi, 1999)
and The Unheard Scream: Reproductive Health
and Women›s Lives in India (Zubaan/Kali for
Women, New Delhi, 2004). He has edited, with
Sarah Sexton of Cornerhouse, UK, the volume
Markets and Malthus: Population, Gender and
Health in Neoliberal Times (Sage, New Delhi,
2010). A volume edited with Sarah Hodges,
Public Health and Private Wealth: Stem Cells,
Surrogacy and Other Strategic Bodies( OUP) is
forthcoming. He is actively involved with the Jana
Swasthya Abhiyan.
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Mr. Sonu Niranjan
M
r. Sonu Niranjan is female to male
transgender who works with Sangama-a
non-governmental organisation advocating the
rights of sexual minorities, sex workers and
People Living With HIV in Karnataka. He has
been associated with Sangama and its collectives
for the last 12 years. He is also an active member
of Samara (Community organization of working
class sexual minorities and sex-workers in
Bangalore) and is presently the Secretary of the
organization.
Ms. Simran Shaikh
S
imran has taken her personal experience as
a hijra to her professional work in HIV/AIDS
and human rights over the past decade. A fierce
advocate for the right to health, she has been
with Alliance India since 2010.
Ms.Kalki
Subramaniam
M
s.Kalki Subramaniam is an activist, author
and an actor. She is the founder of Sahodari
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Foundation which works for the social, economic
and political empowerment of transgender
persons in India. Kalki advocates nationally
against discrimination and hatred against
transgender people and intersex people and
voices for their inclusion at all levels. She has
lectured in numerous prestigious institutions
like IIT Madras, Jindal Global Law School,
National Judicial Academy, Gauhati University,
CET and many more institutions across India.
Her collection of poetry in Tamil titled ‹Kuri
Aruthean› was published recently by reputed
publishing house Vikatan publishers. She is
currently working on two of her books, her
first English book and her second Tamil book.
In October 2010, Ms.Kalki was invited by the
government of the United States of America
for a 16 days International Visitors Leadership
Program (IVLP) to Washington DC, New York
and Salt Lake city.
Ms. Akkai
Padmashali
M
s.Akkai Padmashali, is Transsexual Gender Minority Activist. Working in
Sangama as Program Manager for past nine
years. Her areas of interest include advocacy of
Gender and Sexual Minorities and Sex workers
community with political leaders, political
parties, chief ministers, chief secretaries,
judiciary, bureaucrats, media etc. and with
different sections of the society. Her efforts are
invested towards causes of social justice and
social inclusion and she lobbies for opportunities
in the mainstream sector for the oppressed
communities. Akkai was a sex worker from
2000-2004 after which she left the profession
and joined Sangama, Bangalore. Akkai was
invited by the President of India to attend the
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Swearing in Ceremony of the Hon›ble Chief
Justice Shri Altamas Kabir, Supreme Court of
India on 29th September 2012. She was recently
conferred with Karnataka Rajyotsava Award, the
second highest civilian honour in the state.
Mr.Jithendran VN
IAS
M
r. Jithendran VN has spent all his
professional life working in decentralized
planning, rural development, and poverty
alleviation. Currently, he is the director of the
Department of Social Justice, Government
of Kerala, which is the pivotal government
department that formulates, manages, and
coordinates many Governmental policies
for an inclusive society. His department is
responsible for implementing many policies
with a focus on inclusion such as Policy against
Sexual Harassment, Gender Equality and
Women’s Empowerment Policy, the Policy
for Transgender, Policy for People with
Disabilities, and the Policy for the Child. A
committed and dedicated officer, Shri Jithendran
retired last year, but at the request of the
Government continues to work in the same
capacity to ensure the follow-through of many
policies he helped to formulate. In the area of
gender equality, he is known amongst his team
for seeking to change the «culture of tolerance
and silence” among women and is always
pushing for transformative change that will leave
women empowered and independent.
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Ms. APARNA
MEHROTRA
S
enior Adviser and Focal Point for Women in
the UN system at UN Women
Ms. Simran
Sawhney
P
roject Associate at SAMA RESOURCE GROUP
FOR WOMEN AND HEALTH
A postgraduate in Gender Studies from
Doctor Bhim Rao Ambedkar University and a
PG Diploma holder in Child Rights Law from
National Law School of India University, Ms.
Simran Sawhney currently works as a project
associate with SAMA Resource Group for
Women and Health for more than two years, a
Delhi based resource group that works on issues
of women’s health and rights.
., food, violence and other larger issues that
affect their lives.
Ms. Akila
Radhakrishnan
P
lanning Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist
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Dr. K S James
D
r. K S James is professor of Population
Research Centre and currently Acting
Director of Institute for Social and Economic
Change (ISEC), in Bangalore, India. He has
worked extensively on demographic changes
with focus on population and development
and ageing issues. His areas of interest include
demographic and health transition, ageing
issues, and migration. He has published widely
on demographic transition and demographic
dividend in India and his paper on the
implications of demographic changes in India
was published in Science in November 2011.
He has been a visiting fellow at the Harvard
Centre for Population and Development,
Harvard University, USA; International Institute
for Applied System Analysis (IIASA), Austria;
London School of Economics, UK; and French
National Institute of Demographic Studies
(INED), Paris; University of Groningen,
Netherlands.
Dr. Nima Ganga
D
r Nima Ganga is a postdoctoral fellow in
global mental health at Duke University. She
holds a PhD in mental health, followed by an
NIMH funded research fellowship at the SHARE
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network. Her work has focused on mental health
of young adults, mental health treatment gap,
and policy choices. Ganga has published several
articles in international peer reviewed journals
and has done many international presentations.
Ms.Indu Capoor
I
n 1992 Indu Capoor started Centre for Health
Education Training and Nutrition Awareness
(CHETNA) in Ahmedabad. CHETNA works to
promote the health, rights and empowerment of
women, girls, children, youth and rural women,
children and youth.
Dr. Dipta Bhog
S
he is at present the Managing Trustee of
Nirantar, a centre for gender and education
in Delhi. She has worked as a journalist and
a women’s rights activist. She has extensive
experience, of over two decades, of working on
issues related to Women’s Literacy, Adult and
Girls Education and rural journalism both at
the level of programme design implementation,
policy and impact. She has conducted
trainings for rural women, field activists,
teachers, students, researchers, government
functionaries and master trainers both at the
national and South Asia level on issues related
to gender and education. She has conducted an
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extensive study on Analyzing School Textbooks
from a Feminist Lens and has worked on
writing Textbooks for both National and State
Governments. She was part of the National
Curriculum Framework 2004 committee on
Gender issues in Education. More recently, she
was part of a study exploring women’s leadership
in Non-Governmental organizations working
in rural areas. Dipta Bhog was instrumental in
initiating Khabar Lahariya, a newspaper in 2002
and has been involved in training the team of
rural women journalists.
Prof. Uma
Chakravarti
P
rof. Chakravarti is a feminist historian who
taught at Miranda House, University College
for Women, Delhi from 1966 to 1998. She writes
on Buddhism, early Indian history, the 19th
century and on contemporary issues. Since the
1970s Uma Chakravarti has been associated
with the women’s movement and the movement
for democratic rights and in this capacity she
has participated in many fact finding teams to
investigate human rights violations, communal
riots, and state repression.
Dr. Nandini
Manjrekar
D
r.Nandini Manjrekar is The Professor and
Dean at Tata Institute of Social Science.
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Educational qualification of Ms. Nandini
Manjrekar is M.Sc. from Mumbai, M.Phil
and Ph.D from MS University, Baroda. Her
areas of interest are Gender and schooling/
curriculum and pedagogy, school knowledge;
Education and conflict, Sociology and history
of childhood; Histories of women’s education.
Nandini Manjrekar has done research in gender
and national identity in textbooks, impact of
Sangati curriculum on Students and teachers of
municipal schools in Mumbai and other relevant
areas.
Ms. Pamela
Philipose
M
s.Pamela Philipose is a member trustee of
National Social Watch and the Director
of Women’s Feature Service, an news agency
that generates stories largely on women in
Media. Ms. Philipose has worked with renowned
newspapers and magazines such as The Times of
India, Eve’s Weekly, Bombay, Down to Eartha and
The Indian Express.
She has also been awarded a number of
prizes including ‘Chameli Devi Jain Award for
Outstanding Woman Journalist’ and ‘Zee Astitva
Award for Constructive Journalism’.
Ms. Parvathy
M
s. Parvathy is an Indian film actress from
Kozhikode, Kerala, who appears in South
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Indian films. She made her acting debut in the
2006 Malayalam film Out of Syllabus, portraying
a supporting role as a college student. She acted
in the films ‘ Note Book, Vinoda Yathra, Ennu
ninte Moideen, Banglore days.
Ms. Pat Mitchell
T
hroughout her career as a television
journalist, producer, media executive, Pat
Mitchell has been a game changer, breaking new
ground for women, and opening up opportunities
for others. She was one of the first women to
anchor a television news program, the first to
own, produce and host a nationally syndicated
series, “Woman to Woman”, and the first woman
to be President and CEO of a broadcast network
(PBS).
Mitchell’s work in front of and behind the camera
focuses on media as a force for social change.
Her award winning programs have been honored
with 37 Emmys, five Peabody’s and two Academy
Award nominations.
Dr. Mallika
Sarabhai
D
r. Mallika Sarbahai is an activist and Indian
classical dancer from Ahembadabad,
Gujarat. She is the daughter of a classical dancer
Mrinalini Sarabhai and renowned space scientist
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Vikram Sarabhai. She completed her MBA
from IIM Ahmedabad in 1974 and Doctorate
in Organisational Behaviour from the Gujarat
University in 1976. She is a noted choreographer
and dancer and has also acted in a few Hindi and
Gujarati films. She has immensely contributed to
the fields of acting, writing and publishing.
She is a social activist and has participated in
many socio-developmental projects initiated by
the United Nations. Mallika Sarabhai has also
received the «French Palme D›or››, the highest
civilian award of France. As a young dancer,
Mallika won many international awards for her
classical dance including the «French Palme
D›or››, the highest civilian award of France. In
1977, she took over the reigns of Darpana, the
arts academy founded by her parents.
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Ms. Julie Babinard
J
ulie Babinard is a Senior Transport Specialist in
the Transport Unit of the Transport, Water and
Information and Communication Technology
Department of the World Bank. Her research,
publications and operational experience
focus on inclusion, employment, health and
environmental aspects of transport operations.
She also coordinates the Transport for Social
Responsibility Thematic Group which aims
to develop guidance and good practice for
optimizing the social and environmental benefits
of the sector’s policies and investments. Ms.
Babinard holds a Master’s in International
Policy Studies from Stanford University with
a background in environmental and natural
resource economics. She has published a
number of papers, chapters and strategy notes
on international development economics topics,
including transport and access issues. Prior
to joining the Bank in 2001, she worked as a
researcher for the Freeman Spogli Institute for
International Studies at Stanford University,
California, and at the International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington DC.
Ms. Sonomi Tanaka
s. Sonomi Tanaka is responsible for
M
overseeing and providing advice on ADBwide operations in support of gender equality
and women’s empowerment. As Co-Chair
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of the Gender Equity Thematic Group, she
facilitates knowledge management on gender
and development in ADB and coordinates
gender mainstreaming initiatives across
different departments and through different
sector and thematic groups. Sonomi has
worked on gender and development, poverty
reduction, social analysis, social protection,
and community participation issues in Asia
and the Pacific for nearly 20 years. She has
covered a number of sectors including education,
finance, health, infrastructure, natural resources
management, public sector management, and
urban development. Prior to working with ADB,
Sonomi worked in the World Bank’s South Asia
Department and in development institutions in
Japan.
Ms. Nadereh
Chamlou
s. Nadereh Chamlou is the former Senior
M
Advisor to the Chief Economist of MENA.
She has worked in technical, advisory, managerial
and coordination functions across the WBG, in
PSD/FDP, infrastructure, environment, corporate
governance, and the knowledge economy. She
also worked extensively on gender equality and
women’s empowerment.
Dr. PT Mohammed
Sunish
D
r. Sunish is the present Managing Director
of the Kerala State Women’s Development
Corporation, Department of Social Justice,
Government of Kerala. He is also the first
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CEO of The Gender Park, which is one of its
kind initiative in the world to create a unifying
platform for resolving gender issues and
achieving gender equity in the State of Kerala. In
2015, he spearheaded the launching of a novel
project called Sandesh One- Social Enterprises
Network for Women, the first and the largest
network of its kind in the country. Designated
also as the first CEO of The Gender Park, Dr.
Sunish pioneered the first off campus project of
the Gender Park – She Taxi –India’s first 24X7
women-owned, women operated cab service
for women, which met with both national and
international acclaim. Dr. Sunish has ideated
and set into motion many a path-breaking
projects such as REACH,
She-toilet, iWTC
and181-Women Helpline. REACH (Resource
Enhancement Academy for Career Heights), the
flagship finishing school initiative of the State
Government established in 2009, is creatively
engaged in training women to make them readily
employable and has so far helped over 2500
women land a job and advance their career.
Ms. Nalini Nayak
M
s.Nalini Nayak is an activist, feminist and
trade unionist based in Kerala.[1] She is
involved with coastal communities and their
issues for over three decades,[2] associated with
Protsahan Trivandrum, and SEWA Kerala. She is
a founder member of the International Collective
in Support of Fishworkers, where she has taken
the initiative to collectively evolve a feminist
perspective in fisheries. She is at present, the
general secretary of the Self Employed Women’s
Association, Kerala, of which she was a joint
founder.
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Prof. Radhika
Balakrishnan
P
rof. Radhika Balakrishnan, executive director
of the Center for Women›s Global Leadership,
and Professor, Women›s and Gender Studies at
Rutgers University, has a Ph.D. in Economics from
Rutgers University. Previously, she was Professor
of Economics and International Studies at
Marymount Manhattan College. She has worked
at the Ford Foundation as a program officer in the
Asia Regional Program. She is currently the Chair
of the Board of the US Human Rights Network
and on the Board of the Center for Constitutional
Rights and the International Association for
Feminist Economics. She is the co-editor with
Diane Elson of Economic Policy and Human
Rights: Holding Governments to Account (Zed
Books, 2011). She is the author of Why MES with
Human Rights: Integrating Macro Economic
Strategies with Human Rights (Marymount
Manhattan College, 2005).
Ms. Sejal Dand
M
s. Sejal Dand has been an feminist
activist based in India since 25 years,
and is currently the National Advisor to the
Commissioners appointed by the Supreme Court
of India in the WP( Civil) 196 of 2001. She is
also a founder member and current Research
and Advocacy Director of the feminist collective
ANANDI (1995), which works to organize
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primarily rural and tribal women (farmers,
wage workers, fishers, forest collectors) from
marginalized communities around issues of food
security, livelihoods and basic human rights
in Gujarat. She is also a founding member of
SAFA (South Asian Feminist Alliance). WEMAN
(Women›s Empowerment Mainstreaming and
Networking) and a steering group member of the
Right to food campaign in India.
Dr. Manjula
Bharathi
D
r. Manjula Bharathi is an Assistant Professor
(Sr. Scale) at Tata Institute of Social Service.
Her research interests include local governance,
gender and micro- credit programmes, political
economy of the media and development
communication
Dr. M K Jeyaraj
D
r. M K Jeyaraj is the Director for the State
Institute for the Mentally Challenged, Dept.
of General Education, Govt. of Kerala and was
appointed by the Govt. of Kerala as a one man
commission to study the issues pertaining to
intellectually challenged persons in Kerala. He is
also the Chairman of Special Olympics Bharath.
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Ms. Mercy Kappen
M
s. Mercy Kappen is the Director of
Programmes at Visthar, Bangalore.
Visthar’s mission is to respond to issues of
poverty, displacement, gender discrimination
and social exclusion by initiating and promoting
transformative and inclusive education,
community based initiatives and campaigns in
collaboration with Civil Society Organizations,
Faith Based Organizations and Social
Movements. Ms. Kappen specialises in Gender,
Disability and Development.
Ms. Sabriye
Tenberken S
abriye Tenberken is a German social
worker and co-founder of the organisation
Braille Without Borders. Sabriye was born
in Cologne, West Germany. She lost her sight
slowly as a child due to retinal disease, and her
parents took her to many places so she would
store up many visual memories, before becoming
totally blind by the age of 13. She studied at
Central Asian Studies at Bonn University. In
addition to Mongolian and modern Chinese,
she studied modern and classical Tibetan in
combination withSociology and Philosophy.
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Mr. Graham Varley
G
raham Varley is a Social Change Catalyst.
Graham is an experienced health and social
care practitioner and manager from the UK. He
currently works with Kanthari International in
Trivandrum. Mr Graham Varley is an experienced
health social care practitioner nad manager
from UK, for over 30 years. He has designed,
implemented and developed services and
ventures for marginalized communities both
within the voluntary sector and inside local
government. As a policy maker and strategist,
Graham has held lead roles in key change areas
such as personalization, social rehabilitation and
stake holder engagement. Throughout his career,
Graham has maintained his commitment to
grass roots social change activism, particularly in
relation to disability.
Dr. Glyn Williams
S
ince 2010 he has been Chair of the
Developing Areas Research Group at the
Royal Geographical Society. He was awarded
a BA in Geography from St Catharine’s College,
University of Cambridge (1991) followed by
a Doctorate from Cambridge in 1996. He
completed a certificate in Higher Education
Teaching at Keele University. In 2003 he
was appointed as a lecturer in Environment
and Development in the Global South in the
Department of Geography, King’s College London
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and in 2005 he was promoted to Senior Lecturer.
In 2006 he was appointed as Senior Lecturer in
the Department of Town and Regional Planning,
University of Sheffield.
Dr. Michelle
Williams
D
r. Michelle Williams received her BA
(Political Economy of Industrial Societies and
German), MA (Sociology), and PhD (Sociology)
from the University of California, Berkeley. She
was a Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow
in Sociology and Political Studies at Wits
University (August 2005-December 2006).
She has published on communism in South
Africa and India, the solidarity economy, social
movements, labour, and the growing area of
scholarship comparing and connecting India and
South Africa. She is currently working on a book
project with Vishwas Satgar on the solidarity
economy, focusing on cooperatives in the global
political economy tracing the linkages from
consumer markets to producer cooperatives.
With funding from the Norwegian Research
Council and in collaboration with colleagues
from the Norwegian Institute of Urban and
Regional Research (Norway) and the Centre
for Development Studies (Kerala, India) she is
involved in research on women’s participation in
local economic and political spaces, comparing
a township and two rural areas in South Africa
with communities in Kerala. She was a member
of the Centre for Indian Studies in Africa (20072011) and is the chair person for the Global
Labour University Programme (GLU) at Wits. She
also is a member of the Development Studies
programme's board.
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Ms. Sharmistha
Mukherjee
s. Mukherjee is the granddaughter of
M
the late Shri Kamadakinkar Mukherjee,
a freedom fighter. Her father Shri Pranab
Mukherjee is currently the President of India.
A highly acclaimed Kathak dancer with years
of experience, Sharmistha Mukherjee has had
the privilege of showcasing the rich cultural
heritage of India through her art in more than
40 countries. An activist fighting for gender
equality, Sharmistha has been extremely vocal
about sharing her concerns through various
means. She is a regular speaker on seminars
and conferences on gender issues, and has been
involved in many programs creating awareness
on gender issues. She has done innumerable
fundraising programs as an artist and lent
her support as an activist for various causes
including women and children, with focus on
security for women. An avid animal and nature
lover, she believes in the right of all to live in
peace and with dignity. Ms. Meagan
Falloone
S
he is the CEO of Barefoot College
International. Ms. Fallone is currently steering
the establishment of a further 6 Barefoot College
Women’s Vocational Training Centers throughout
Sub Saharan Africa, Latin America and SE Asia/
Pacific; to triple the size of the Barefoot College
by 2018. The “Barefoot Approach” focuses on
Water management, Renewable Solar Energy,
Livelihood & Enterprise creation and a unique
solution to Rural Education for rural children that
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has today educated more than 75,000 young
people. This dedication to creating information
sharing across literacy, language, cultural barriers
in true South/South cooperation, is at the heart
of the Barefoot College strategic vision.
Ms Fallone has achieved significant recognition
for the Barefoot Approach through creation of
Governmental and Multilateral partnerships
since joining Bunker Roy in 2011 to scale the
Women’s Barefoot Solar Initiative of community
based, self reliant and sustainable Solar
Electrification. She has been a field presence in
more than 52 countries since joining Barefoot
College and currently guides field operations
and partnerships in 72 Countries. Meagan is
responsible for Development, Strategic Planning,
Budget Management, Policy & Advocacy,
Measurement & Evaluation and Communications
initiatives of the Barefoot College Internationally.
Since her joining the leadership team at Barefoot
College she has sensitively been able to manage
a challenging and deep organisational shift form
a grass roots, India centred entity to a vibrant
global organisation, working towards its own
sustainability.
Ms. Vanita Datla
M
s Vanita Datla is the Chairperson,
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII),
Telangana & Executive Director & CFO at Elico
Ltd, a 50-year-old company that is a pioneer
in the Analytical Instruments Industry and
Managing Director, Elico Healthcare Services Ltd,
a service provider to the Health-Care Industry in
countries like USA, Middle East etc.
Ms Datla has done her MBA along with earning
the Chartered Financial Analyst Charter from the
ICFAI Business School. She earned a place on the
Dean’s Honor Roll for securing a perfect 4.0 GPA
at Wichita State University in the USA, while
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pursuing her under graduation. She graduated
from St. Francis College for Women in Hyderabad
with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Economics
& Public Administration. She serves on the
School Board of Management Studies, University
of Hyderabad and is a Permanent Invitee to the
Board of WWF State Chapter AP. Earlier, she was
an active member of the Steering committee on
‘Green Homes’. She also served on the Board of
the ICFAI Business School Alumni Federation.
She is the Treasurer of Women in Network, an
NGO that works closely with children & women
of urban slums, & was part of the founding team.
Ms.Ritu Kapur
itu Kapur is the co-founder of Quint. She used
to head Programming at History Channel, was
RFeatures
Editor at CNN IBN, where she launched
the popular CJ (Citizen Journalist) Show, among
others. She has also conceived and produced
Bhanwar, a docu-drama based on real-life
incidents. Her shows ran to popular and critical
acclaim, and went on to win several awards. She
has also led successful campaigns like Register
To Vote and Power Of 49, that championed a
manifesto for women, who comprise 49 per cent
of the population. An obsessive Net zealot, she
burns up serious Gigabytes daily on social media,
apps and what-have-you, obsessively looking for
early trends in news and views. A heavy foodie,
she likes her news to be like her steak: all meat
and juice, no fat.
Ms. Anu Sriram
A
nu Sriram is the Co-Founder & Joint
Managing Director of Integra Software
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Services & Bioville Farms Pvt Ltd. She has a B.E
in Electronics & an MBA. Integra is an end-toend publishing services company, it serves global
publishers for both full- service and custom
service. From developmental editing to content
production to digital media – Integra offers,
its proven capabilities for all possible content
services requirements in the Pre- K–12, HigherEd, ELT, STM, Trade, and Legal space. Integra has
1100+ highly qualified professionals with diverse
skills delivering impeccable quality. It has offices
in Pondicherry & Chennai and also has Onshore
facilities in UK, US, Japan & Spain.
Anu along with her husband Sriram, set up
the Sriram Charitable Trust for the welfare of
society, focusing primarily on Education, Health
Care, the Environment, Social Rehabilitation
and Rural Upliftment, Women Empowerment
and helping Government on Good Governance.
They have their own organic farm,spread over
more than 150 which addresses the needs
of the consumers seeking safe food and also
provides sustainable livelihood for farmers. The
Regional Deputy Chairwoman IWN, Southern
Region, a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
initiative, which is an exclusive platform for
Career Women & Entrepreneurs, which provides
learning, knowledge enhancement programs, skill
development and mentorship opportunities. Anu
was selected as one of the 15 Faces of the Future,
by India Today, the recipient of the “Outstanding
Woman Entrepreneur-SSI” from ESC, India
Today’s Business Wizards of Tamil Nadu – A
Tribute to Women Entrepreneurs .
Dr. Mary Roy
A
two-minute video of Mary Roy, the
octogenarian who changed the lives of
Christian women across the state by giving them
equal rights to family property.
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Ms. Maria Umar
M
aria is the founder and president
of Women›s Digital League (WDL) - an
online platform that provides digital training and
work to Pakistani women. She has been working
in the online digital outsourcing sphere for more
than 6 years. Currently WDL is working on a
World Bank project to create digital livelihood in
Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) province, as well as,
running several workshops for students across
Pakistan. Project Artemis/Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women
Program was the turning point in her career
when she was coached and mentored by top
business professors and talent from the Silicon
Valley. Getting to the finale of GIST›s «I Dare»
business plan competition was another huge
encouragement. Google Pakistan profiled WDL in
its online campaign showcasing innovation in the
use of technology.
Maria was nominated a Thought Leader by
Ashoka Changemaker. WDL also won the
Early Stage Award in Changemakers› ''Women
Powering Work'' competition. She is also a
consultant to Enclude on an entrepreneurship
accelerator for women, WomenX.
Ms. Hasina Khan
M
s. Khan is a feminist activist working at the
grassroots level for more than two decades.
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She has been part of autonomous women›s
groups, and is an active member of the women›s
movement in the country.Ms. Khan›s life story
illustrates her resilience and dedication. She has
earned a reputation as a problem-solver and
organizer in her own community. Ms. Khan has
worked hard for 12 years to support the women
in her own community. Dr. KM Abraham
O
ver 35 years of experience in various
positions in public sector management and
academic assignments, Dr. KM Abraham, the
chair of this session, is the current Additional
Chief Secretary (Finance) ?with additional
charges of Higher Education and Social Justice
Departments. He has a PhD (Technology
Planning) from the University of Michigan, USA,
and a M.Tech (Industrial and Management
Engineering), Indian Institute of Technology,
Kanpur, India. He and his team have formulated
many inclusive state policies such as those for
people with disabilities (2014), Gender Equality
(2015), and ?Transgender (2015) to usher in a
more inclusive and just society. His most recent
focus is to ensure a framework where people
resident in the state, but without a permanent
home address, are entitled to socioeconomic
benefits offered by the State. Also, on his radar
screen is the draft Child policy, which is in the
public domain for comments. Although he is
immersed in public life and policy making, he
is the Chief Patron (and formerly President) of
the Taekwondo Association of Kerala; he is also
a half Marathon runner, and has successfully
participated in seven major international events.