Jasvinder Sanghera

Jasvinder Sanghera
CBE
Born 1965 (age 49–50)
Derby, England
Known for Activism against forced marriages and honour based abuse
Sanghera's voice
from the BBC programme Desert Island Discs, 24 March 2013[1]

Jasvinder Sanghera, CBE (born September 1965)[2][3] is an outspoken campaigner and advocate for the rights of those experiencing forced marriages and honour based abuse. Jasvinder was born in Derby and her parents originate from India, the Punjab. She is the founder of Karma Nirvana established in her front room 1993. Karma Nirvana is now a national and international charity that has been instrumental in developing several refuge centres across the United Kingdom serve as safe-housing for South Asian men and women fleeing forced marriages.[4] When faced with the prospect of a forced marriage herself, she ran away from home,[4] and she tells her story in her true story in Shame, published by Hodder and Stoughton and those of other British victims in her second book, Daughters of Shame.[5] Both books have been translated into various languages including Japanese, Polish, Spanish.

Sanghera's debut memoir, Shame, is one where anecdotes are drawn from her own personal experiences where, when she was fourteen, was shown a photo of the man chosen to be her husband. She depicts a harrowing tale of violence, abuse and ostracism but ultimately, triumph over adversity. She appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show in 2008 to discuss her experiences on the topic of forced marriages and she is now in her 40s, with three children, Natasha, Anna and Jordan.

Prime Minister David Cameron is quoted as stating how Sanghera "turned his head on the issues of forced marriages" and due in great part to her campaigning and relentless lobbying of government to criminalise forced marriage, it was finally announced in the 2012 Queen's Speech to Parliament that Forced Marriage would become a specific criminal offence in England and Wales. To achieve this, the required amendment to the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime & Policing Act outlawing the offence received its Royal Assent on March 13, 2014 and is now law. Without the efforts of Sanghera and Karma Nirvana this landmark change in the law may well never have taken place.

Sanghera has appeared on numerous television specials, such as the 2012 48 Hours special A Family's Honor about the 2009 honor murder of Iraqi American teenager Noor Almaleki , and Sanghera appeared on Desert Island Discs on the UK's BBC Radio 4 on 24 March 2013. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to victims of forced marriage and honour-based violence.[6]

Jasvinder had been awarded several awards in recognition for her contribution in the field of forced marriages and honour based violence including:

Jasvinder has been listed as one of the Guardian's 100 most Inspirational Women in the World

Jasvinder was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of University of Derby for her contribution to knowledge in the field of forced marriages and honour based violence.[3] This has led to providing evidence to several Government Select Committees and acting as an Expert Witness to Courts across the UK and internationally.

Publications

  1. Shame ISBN 978-0340924600 (25 Jan 2007)
  2. Daughters of Shame ISBN 978-0340997826 (6 Aug 2009)
  3. Shame Travels (2011)

References

  1. ↑ "Jasvinder Sanghera". Desert Island Discs. 24 March 2013. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  2. ↑ Sanghra, Jasvinder (2011). Shame Travels. Timeline of Jasvinder's life.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Jasvinder Sanghera - Doctor of the University". University of Derby. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Giles Hattersley (21 January 2007). "The campaigner who still weeps for the mother and father who cast her out". The Times (London, UK). Retrieved 16 June 2009.
  5. ↑ Anna Bawden (14 January 2009). "Public Inquiry: Jasvinder Sanghera, director of Karma Nirvana, which supports victims of honour-based crime". Retrieved 16 June 2009.
  6. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60534. p. 8. 15 June 2013.