Pranab Mukherjee, the Indian president, on Thursday conferred Padma Shri to Anuradha Koirala at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.
The Nepali social activist received India’s fourth highest civilian award for she has dedicated her life to helping the victims of sex trafficking. The 67-year-old has rescued over 12,000 women from sex trafficking through her organization Maiti Nepal.
Padma honours that are conferred in three categories – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri – are given in various disciplines and filed of activities like art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering to Indians and sometimes to foreigners as well. The list of Padma awards recipient that was announced on the Indian Republic Day on January 26th this year, had 89 names including cricketer Virat Kohli, wrestler Sakshi Malik, gymnast Dipa karmakar, singers Kailash Kher and Anuradha Poudwal among others.
Some of Koirala’s other international awards include the Courage of Conscience Award from The Peace Abbey in Massachusetts in 2006, the CNN Hero of the Year award in 2010, and the Mother Teresa Award in 2014.
Her Maiti Nepal family has made a tribute video for her spectacular contributions in last 25 years. Watch it here.
