Women rights activist Kamla Bhasin passes away at 75

Women rights activist, poet, and author Kamla Bhasin passed away at the age of 75 on September 25, 2021. She was suffering from cancer and pulmonary edema. Bhasin was famous for being a part of ‘One Billion Rising’ campaign in South Asia among other important movements, she was a prominent voice in the field of the women’s rights movement in India and across South Asian countries.

Human rights activist Kavita Srivastava shared the news of Bhasin’s demise. Several people paid their tributes to Bhasin. Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Actor Shabana Azmi, Historian S Irfan Habib, layer-activist Prashant Bhushan, Padmashree awardee Sunitha Krishnan among others tweeted to pay their condolences on the death of Bhasin.

Who was Kamla Bhasin?

Kamla Bhasin born on April 24, 1946, was an Indian feminist activist, author, and poet. She was referred to as a stalwart in the field of women’s rights activism. Bhasin identified herself as a ‘social scientist by training’. In 1970, she began her work on the issues of gender, human development, education, and the media.

In 2002, she resigned from her job at the United Nations (UN) to work on her best-known work ‘Sangat’ which is a feminist NGO that works with underprivileged women from rural and tribal communities.

Bhasin wrote several books and poems on gender theory, feminism, and patriarchy including ‘Kyunki main ladki hoon, mujhe padhna hai (Because I am a girl, I must study). These were translated into more than 30 languages. Bhasin was also the South Asia coordinator of the ‘One Billion Rising’ campaign. She also recited her famous poem Azadi at an event of One Billion Rising in 2013.

In 2017, Bhasin was awarded ‘The Laadli Lifetime Achievement Award’ during the 1^st edition of South Asia Laadli Media and Advertising Awards for her work in women’s development in Asia.