Nobel peace laureates Jody Williams (USA) and Shirin Ebadi (Iran) are heading to Delhi, India this week, to stand in solidarity with women's rights activist organization Breakthrough, and other activists working to end violence against women in India. This is a seminal moment for India's women's rights movement, as activists around the country demand an end to impunity for widespread sexual violence.
Every day, 92 women are raped in India, according to India's National Crime Bureau. Rates of rape are at a record high in Delhi. And Breakthrough's recent survey of women in six Indian states reveals that 91 percent of women and girls in India face sexual harassment in their lifetime.
Countless brave, innovative activists make up the Indian movement to end sexual violence. Here are four we're inspired by:
(From left to right: Mallika Dutt, Meera Vijayann, Binalakshmi Nepram, Fearless Collective)
Mallika Dutt and Breakthrough
Mallika Dutt is founder, president, and CEO of Breakthrough, an international human rights organization working to make violence and discrimination against women and girls unacceptable.
Watch Mallika discuss how women around the world are working to end sexual violence:
Meera Vijayann
Meera Vijayann is the Youth to End Sexual Violence ambassador for India. Youth to End Sexual Violence is a network of young people dedicated to ending the use of rape and sexual violence in conflict.
Watch Meera's TED Talk, "Find your voice against gender violence":
Binalakshmi Nepram
Binalakshmi Nepram is a disarmament activist-writer working to empower women survivors of violence to rebuild their lives. Her work highlights the link between rising militarization and increasing violence against women—particularly sexual violence.
Watch Binalakshmi's powerful acceptance speech after winning a special achievement award for her work to end gun violence:
Fearless Collective
Fearless is a growing collective of artists and designers responding to the 2012 Delhi gang rape of a 23-year-old on a bus with affirmations of fearlessness and courage in the form of posters.
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