Rashmi Anand is an Indian activist and writer concerned about domestic violence. The President of India awarded her the

Nari Shakti Puraskar The Nari Shakti Puraskar () is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or to institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is presented by the presi ...

. This is the highest award for women in India. She founded the "Woman of the Elements Trust" which supplies support to victims of domestic abuse in Delhi.

Life

Anand was brought up in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

and her work took her to Delhi where her parents arranged a marriage with a successful lawyer in the city. Her parents wanted her to stick at the language despite having to go to hospital due to injuries her husband had caused. Anand suffered physical abuse from her husband for ten years. They had two children together and when she finally decided to leave the marriage she left with her six year old child who was not speaking due to the stress. She did not press charges against her husband due to the threats that he made but she did win the custody of their children. This story was the basis of her first book. The 2010 Delhi Police Calendar was based on her first book. She founded the "Woman of the Elements Trust '' which supplies free legal and emotional support to victims of domestic abuse at the ''Crime Against Women Cell'' in Delhi. In 2014 she received the Neerja Bhanot Award for her courage from

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi cinema, Hindi film industry has spanned Shabana Azmi filmography, over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist paral ...

for "her courage and bravery". The award is given with 150,000 rupees annually in memory of the heroic flight attendant

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. She was awarded one of the first eight Nari Shakti Awards for her leadership and achievement in 2015. The award was made on

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

from the then Indian President

Pranab Mukherjee Pranab Kumar Mukherjee ( ; born, 11 December 1935 – 31 August 2020) was an Indian statesman who served as the president of India from 2012 until 2017. He was the first person from West Bengal to hold the post of President of India. In a pol ...

. Anand has written thirteen books. Her life story has been covered by the Indian TV show '' Satyamev Jayate''. An issue of

Chicken Soup for the Soul Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC is an American self-help and consumer goods company based in Cos Cob, Connecticut. It is known for the ''Chicken Soup for the Soul'' book series. The first book, like most subsequent titles in the series, consisted ...

, includes her life story under the title "Awakening".

Awards

from the President of India in 2015 * Neerja Bhanot Award * the Karmaveer Jyoti, * the Karmaveer Puraskaar * Doordarshan’s Woman Achiever Award of Aadhi Abaadi Baat Naari Ki, * the Bharat Excellence Award, * WeAreTheCity - Rising Star India - 2016 * the Indian Woman Achiever’s Award * Award for Literature from the Indian Council for UN Relations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anand, Rashmi Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Indian writers Writers from Kolkata Activists from Kolkata Activists from Delhi Writers from Delhi