Women's Rights Activist, Poet and Author Kamla Bhasin Passes Away

DELHI: Noted women's rights activist Kamla Bhasin breather her last on Saturday after battling cancer for many years. She was 75 years.

The poet and author were one of the vocal proponents of feminism in India and the entire South Asian region.

She emerged as one of the leading voices of women's rights in the 1970s and has since been actively propagating women's rights across South Asia.

As an author, her book Sangat: A Feminist Network and her poem 'Kyunki main ladki hoon, mujhe padhna hai' will be remembered by all women's rights activists for perfectly displaying the correct emotions on challenges faced by women in contemporary South Asian society.

Kamla Bhasin was also the coordinator of the One billion Rising of Women campaign in South Asia, had said, "Since 1948 governments across the world have affirmed support to the 'Universal Declaration' and committed to a statement on 'inalienable human rights' and we are going by the letter and spirit of that and asserting year after year that all human beings are equal." One Billion Rising, a global campaign for an end to violence against women and girls, has spread to 207 countries since its start in 2013. The campaign celebrates the 'Power of Love' in ending violence. Stating that the OBR is not just about the rights of women, girls, boys, and men, she said but also about Dalits, minorities, trans-persons and other hidden groups".

Bhasin wrote several books on gender which includes 'What is Patriarchy', published in 1993. In 2020, she also wrote the books 'Satrangi Ladke' and 'Satrangi Ladkiyan'.

Her death has been mourned by many. Her contemporary women's rights activist Kavita Srivastava said Bhasin "celebrated life whatever the adversity". "Kamla Bhasin, our dear friend, passed away around 3 am today 25th Sept. This is a big setback for the women's movement in India and the South Asian region. She celebrated life whatever the adversity. Kamla you will always live in our hearts. In Sisterhood, which is in deep grief," Srivastava wrote on Twitter.

Also read: OBR campaign to raise awareness of violence against women

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