Rotary Club of Madras celebrates International Peace Day

Chennai: The United Nations established, September 21 each year as the “International Day of Peace”. World Peace is high on Rotary International’s agenda as well.  Through various programs and projects, Rotary Clubs foster International Understanding & World Peace.

It is both individual and a collective responsibility as a humanity to foster peace. The  Rotary Club of Madras invited Dr Kriti Bharti to speak to its members.Dr Bharti  actively champions the rights of women and children, freeing them from the clutches of 'Child Marriage'. She is a crusader who “annulled” India's first Child Marriage. As on date, she has annulled over 50 child marriages and prevented more than 1750 of them. 

President Ravi Sundaresan of RCM said Keeping in mind the importance of World Peace  wher Women are playing a Key role, our club decided to focus on the Girl Child and Child marriage.Rotary Club of Madras salutes the valour of Dr. Kriti Bharti and commends her efforts in promoting peace by addressing human rights violations & bringing about social justice.

Dr Bharti spoke at length on how old and irrational thinking has hurt the progress of Girls in today's India.The Government is also keen in ending this kind of evil. Bharti's own traumatic childhood, abandoned by her father even before she was born and then being poisoned as an unwanted girl child, has encouraged, and motivated her in this crusade. 

Few people take on child marriage perpetrators for fear of lengthy & complex court cases and the stigma associated with divorce. None of this deters Dr Bharti. Recognising that the girls are often banished from their families and communities after annulment, she takes them through a rehabilitation program with necessary training to help them lead successful, independent lives. 

In 2012 her Saarthi Trust made history by annulling the first child marriage in India. And 10 years later, in 2022, Dr Bharti was honoured with the Global Youth Human Rights Champion Award by the Geneva Center for Human Rights & Global Dialogue, GCHRGD  as a Human Rights Champion.

This award is especially significant since Dr Bharti is the sole Indian to have made it to the prestigious list global winners. The GCHRGD is an international organization that selected eight human rights activists on various parameters out of hundreds of entries from around the world.  

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