| Dr.Sunitha Krishnan | |
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Sunitha Krishnan |
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| Born | 1972 (age 39–40) |
| Alma mater | St. Joseph's College, Bangalore, 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 in 1972, is an Indian social activist and chief functionary and co-founder of Prajwala, an institution that assists trafficked women and girls in finding shelter. The organization also helps pay for the education of five thousand children infected with HIV/AIDS in Hyderabad.[1] Prajwala’s “second-generation” prevention program operates in 17 transition centers and has served thousands of children of prostituted mothers. The NGO’s strategy is to remove women from brothels by giving their children education and career opportunities. Krishnan and her staff train survivors in carpentry, welding, printing, masonry and housekeeping.[2]
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Born in Bangalore, she did her Ph.D. (Social Work), MSW (Psychiatric Social Work) and B.Sc. (Environmental Science).
Sunitha Krishnan works in the areas of as anti-human trafficking, psychiatric rehabilitation and social policy. She was invited to speak at TEDIndia 2009 at Infosys Campus, Mysore.[3]
"She brought the house down in Mysore today.(TED Video) And by that, I mean that she broke hearts and moved people to action. The audience listened painfully to some of the stories of the more than 3,200 girls she has rescued, girls who had endured unimaginable torture and yet, somehow, nevertheless found the will to heal and thrive. She spoke of the need for everyone to overcome silence about the phenomenon of human trafficking, the modern form of slavery, and for us not only to offer our love and compassion to its victims, but to be willing to accept them in our communities. She admitted that rescuing girls is never a very safe business, sharing that she can no longer hear out of her right ear, and that she has been beaten up during interventions more than a dozen times. Her strong voice and powerful body language ensured that no one could claim to have misunderstood her points." — The Shambhala Sun Report, TED 2009[4]