Champion of gender justice

For her contribution to the field of gender justice, Dr Nayreen Daruwalla, director with the Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action (SNEHA), Bombay, was awarded the Karmaveer Puraskar and declared Noble Laureate for 2012-13 by the Indian Confederation of NGOs (nongovernmental organizations). The award was presented to her at a function held at the St Mary and Jesus Convent in Delhi on November 26, 2012, she informed Parsiana over the telephone.
The 47-year-old social psychologist has over 22 years of experience in the management, training, research, counseling and mental health, and community development projects in the social work sector, reveals Dr Shazneen Limjerwala in an email sent to Parsiana. Being associated with SNEHA since its inception, Daruwalla has been instrumental in developing its counseling and crisis intervention program for survivors of violence.
The Ahmedabad born social worker told Parsiana that she came to live in Bombay after marriage. In 1991 she accompanied her husband to Nigeria, where she worked as a school counselor. Later, the couple moved to Durban in South Africa where for three years Daruwalla worked with an NGO providing succor to abused women. "It was the time of apartheid, and most of the victims of rape and abuse were white women,” she recalls. On her return to Bombay in 1999 she joined the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, working on a research project for a year, before moving to SNEHA in 2000 where she has remained ever since.
Daruwalla’s involvement in community organization activities has given her practical knowledge of community dynamics and expertise in working with different constituencies in urban slum communities, notes Limjerwala’s email. The social worker has managed large teams and collaborations, including grants from the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and CREA, a feminist human rights organization based in New Delhi. She has also networked with government bodies and NGOs to modify sensitive health and legal policies for women and children facing violence, the email reveals. In addition, she has done research on domestic violence and violence against marginalized women to underline the need for mental health and social work interventions.
This sterling contribution has brought Daruwalla recognition with the Pearls Wave foundation awarding her the Real Woman Honor, 2012 for changing the lives of many women. The following year the Ushta-te Foundation presented her the Social Service Award 2011.