Trisha Shetty (born 16 September 1990) is an Indian activist for gender equality and the founder of
SheSays
SheSays is an Austrian rock band, established in 2004.
Its founding members were Gudrun Liemberger, Andy Liu, Valentin Rosegger and Cathi Priemer.
Members
The singer and songwriter Gudrun Liemberger had been educated in the Konservatorium Wien. ...
. She is known for human rights advocacy, especially advocating for gender-sensitive policies and law, quality education, youth and gender representation and preventing sexual violence in India. Her work and advocacy has been recognised by the
United Nations,
President Obama,
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II and
President Emmanuel Macron. She currently serves as the President of the Steering Committee of the
Paris Peace Forum, an international summit launched in 2018, under the leadership of
President Macron; to promote good global governance. She is also part of the 8 member Global Leadership Advisory Council of the Museum for the United Nations -
UN Live
The Museum for the United Nations — UN Live is a global institution based in Copenhagen.
Its mission is to “unleash the power of culture to inspire local action and drive global change”. UN Live describes itself as an unconventional and bo ...
, alongside
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
; Former UN Secretary-General and
Darren Walker
Darren Walker (born August 28, 1959) currently serves as 10th president of the Ford Foundation, a private foundation dedicated to human welfare. In June 2020, Walker led the Ford Foundation to issue a $1 billion designated social bond to stabi ...
; President, Ford Foundation. Shetty was named one of India's "7 Most Powerful Warriors" by India Today and was one of the honourees of the
Vogue India Woman of the Year Award. She was also inducted as one of the 12
Obama Foundation Scholars at
Columbia University in the inaugural batch. Trisha publicly shared her story of child sexual abuse for the first time in 2019, in a
TED Talk titled, "Embrace your scars, be your own hero" as part of a special edition of TED conference broadcast on Television, hosted by and in collaboration with the Actor,
Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...
.
Early life and education
Trisha Shetty was born in
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
India. She completed her bachelor's degree in Political Science and Psychology from Jai Hind College,
University of Mumbai. She then graduated as a lawyer from the University of Mumbai. In 2018, she was selected as an Obama Foundation Scholar to complete a 1-year specialised training, educational and mentorship program at
Columbia University in New York City. The inaugural Obama Scholars cohort is composed of twelve accomplished leaders, who are participating in an immersive program that brings together academic, skills-based and experiential learning, designed by Columbia University in consultation with the Obama Foundation.
Career and activism
Shetty founded SheSays in August 2015. SheSays is a youth-led movement to advance gender equality through a multidimensional approach. Trisha shared her personal story of child sexual abuse and her journey to start SheSays for the first time in November 2019 through her TED talk, "Embrace your scars, be your own hero." Her talk was aired on television across
Star Plus
StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedies, ...
and
Star World
Star World (formerly known as Star Plus) is an English language entertainment television channel originally launched on 15 December 1991 as Star Entertainment () by STAR TV in Hong Kong as the old iteration of Star Plus. On 30 March 1996, the ...
in English and Hindi. She spoke as part of a special series developed by TED in collaboration with the actor, Shah Rukh Khan and Star TV Network. The talk was translated in multiple regional Indian languages and was broadcast digitally via
TED,
Hotstar and
NatGeo
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...
.
In 2016, the
United Nations Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
and Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth announced Shetty as one of 17 youth leaders selected for the inaugural class of UN Youth Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals. Shetty was selected for her leadership and contribution to end gender inequality and injustice by 2030.
In 2017, Shetty was named on the
Forbes 30 Under 30 list under the categories Pioneer Women and Social Entrepreneur. She also delivered the keynote address at the UN
ECOSOC Youth Forum, 2017.
In March 2018, Shetty was selected as one of the 13 Indian's to join the inaugural Young Leaders India-France Club launched by French President Emmanuel Macron, during his State visit to India. The Club Young Leaders India-France aims to build an influential advisory network to promote Indo-French bilateral action.
In June 2018, Shetty was inducted into the final
Queen's Young Leader Cohort by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. As a Queen's Young Leader, Shetty received specialised training and mentorship and was invited to a reception hosted by
Prime Minister Theresa May at
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...
.
Shetty was also co-contributor to the ''Sunday Times'' best seller, ''Feminists Don't Wear Pink'' (2018), a collection of short stories by activists and female leaders to raise money for the United Nations initiative Girl Up.
On
International Day of the Girl Child, Shetty assisted
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...
to launch the Global Girls Alliance under the Obama Foundation. Shetty joined other celebrities including
Zendaya,
Karlie Kloss and
Jennifer Hudson on ''
Today'' and urged viewers to take a stand for marginalised girls.
In 2018, Shetty became the vice-president of the Paris Peace Forum Steering Committee and the following year she was named the President of the Steering Committee working with
President Macron to host an annual event to support international cooperation and global governance to ensure durable peace.
In response to COVID-19
Trisha Shettyhas joined the Lancet-Chatham House Commission as a Health Commissioner on Improving Population Health Post COVID. The commission has been set up with the aim to contribute to international efforts to improve and safeguard the health of populations equitably post COVID-19 by identifying key actions for international, national and local actors that will synergistically
* prevent pandemics
* reduce non-communicable diseases
* protect natural environments
The commission – funded by Wellcome – will run for 18 months, from October 2020 to April 2022, culminating in a ''Lancet'' Commission Report to be submitted for publication by April 2022.
In 2021, Shetty also joined the Global Advisory Board of UNLEASH alongside Mr. Nandan Nilekani, co-founder, Infosys and Ms Nena Stoilkovic, Under-Secretary General, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. UNLEASH is a non-profit founded in 2016 with the aim of developing solutions to the SDGs and building capacity for young people from around the world.
In April 2022, Shetty joined former Prime Minister of Sweden, Mr. Stefan Löfven alongside Mr. Jan Eliasson, Former Deputy Secretary-General of the UN and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sweden, Ms. Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Australia and Anna Sundström, Secretary General, Olof Palme International Center to launch the Common Security 2022 report to mark the 40th anniversary of Olof Palme's Independent Commission on Disarmament and Security Issues. Shetty was part of the High-Level Advisory Commission that consulted on the drafting of the report.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shetty, Trisha
1990 births
Living people
Indian women activists
Activists from Mumbai
University of Mumbai alumni
Columbia University alumni