Maha activist wins UN Population Award

Mumbai: Women's rights activist Varsha Deshpande , founder of the Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal of India, has won the 2025 United Nations Population Award in the individual category. Deshpande was set to receive the award at the UN's New York headquarters on Friday. The only two earlier Indian recipients of the award in this category have been Indira Gandhi (in 1983) and JRD Tata (in 1992), while HelpAge India won in the institution category in 2020.

A ground-breaking activist with more than 35 years of experience working on gender-based violence and against discrimination, Deshpande, who hails from Western Maharashtra, founded the Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal in 1990 to advance women's rights. "She has worked to empower grassroots women by building their vocational skills, connecting them to vital resources and services, and fostering their financial independence," the UN Population Fund stated in a release.

The UN Population Fund further stated that "at the helm of Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal, Ms. Deshpande has spearheaded numerous programmes, including ones addressing child marriage through the empowerment of adolescent girls and engagement with men and boys; safeguarding the rights of women in the informal sector; and promoting joint property registration to boost women's access to assets. She is a respected member of various statutory bodies established by the Government of India and state-level governments, and has provided instrumental support for the law aimed at preventing gender-biased sex selection in India."

Every year, the Committee for the United Nations Population Award honours an individual and/or institution to recognize their contributions to population and reproductive health issues and solutions. The award was established by the UN General Assembly in 1981 and was first presented in 1983. It is now in its fortieth year. It consists of a gold medal, a diploma and a monetary prize. The Committee for the United Nations Population Award is composed of a quorum of 8 UN member states, with United Nations secretary-general and UNFPA executive director serving as ex-officio members.

The International Union for the Scientific Study of Population won this year's award in the institution category.