Sahiyo co-founder Insia Dariwala has received the prestigious Women Have Wings Courage Award for her work to end Female Genital Cutting and bring attention to all forms of child sexual abuse. This award was instituted in 2012 to honor “women of courage who have taken bold risks to ensure a more just and peaceful future for us all”, and has been awarded to 31 women around the world so far.
Insia, a filmmaker based in Mumbai, is not only the co-founder of Sahiyo but also the founder of the Hands of Hope Foundation, which raises awareness about child sexual abuse through visual art and education.
According to her award citation, “Insia is an incredible advocate because she goes where the silence is. In the past few years, she has used her art to ensure that silent issues such as child abuse and FGM/C are brought into the light, discussed, and acted upon. Be it with diaspora communities in the US or back in India, Insia has been one of the faces and the voices of a small group of brave survivors denouncing the practice and calling for its eradication.”
To learn more about Insia’s award, click here.