Gupta wins Clinton Global Initiative Citizen Award
Grass roots activist takes the big stage....
Wed, September 23, 2009
Ruchira Gupta, the anti- sex trafficking activist who started Apne Aap, will be awarded a whopper of an award by President Bill Clinton tomorrow. When we met with her in India for our documentary “Holy Cow" she told us: “What we want to do is actually eradicate sex trafficking and the exploitation inside prostitution...The good news is that the women are willing to fight. Six years ago, when I came into this brothel, they were so timid and they were so scared, they were not willing to even talk to each other. They did not let outsiders in, and today, six years later, you can see the laughter and the joy that they have.”
Everyone from the Clinton Global Initiative to Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn (who featured Ruchira’s work in their new book Half the Sky) seems to be talking about the truth that empowering women and girls is the most important action that can be taken in the world right now. Let’s hope this tipping point, tips - and our cups runneth over. Congratulations to Ruchira Gupta and for more about her important work check out www.apneaap.org
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No surprise to me! We met her when the Divas went to India a few years ago.....when Holly cut the ribbon at the first school in a brothel generationall communigy. Ruchira is a most remarkable woman - and next I predict a Nobel Peace Prize. Fyi: her org Apneaa App has a US office to receive donations which are tax deductible. So I put that out there for those who would like to contribute to a most important and wonderful org. Congratulatoins Ruchira.