In Honor of International Human Rights Day, A Documentary Featuring Indian Sex Workers Mobilizing for their Rights

Sixty-one years ago today, the United Nation General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document which contained world governments’ promise to ensure dignity and equality for all.
But today, women and girls are too often excluded from this promise, and are particularly vulnerable to human rights violations, especially women and girls of color, poor women, rural women, indigenous women, and sex workers.

In honor of this special anniversary, and in an effort to highlight grassroots efforts to ensure the inclusion of women and girls in the promise the Universal Declaration, check out this fantastic new IWHC short documentary highlighting the mobilization efforts of sex workers in rural India. The video was shot and edited by my ever-amazing co-worker Audacia Ray on her recent trip to India. It comes as the result of collaboration with SANGRAM, an organization based in based in Sangli, Maharashtra that is becoming an increasingly strong advocate locally, nationally, and globally for health policies and programs that are responsive to the real-life needs of local communities. You can read more about SANGRAM here.

Brooklyn, NY

Lori Adelman started blogging with Feministing in 2008, and now runs partnerships and strategy as a co-Executive Director. She is also the Director of Youth Engagement at Women Deliver, where she promotes meaningful youth engagement in international development efforts, including through running the award-winning Women Deliver Young Leaders Program. Lori was formerly the Director of Global Communications at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and has also worked at the United Nations Foundation on the Secretary-General's flagship Every Woman Every Child initiative, and at the International Women’s Health Coalition and Human Rights Watch. As a leading voice on women’s rights issues, Lori frequently consults, speaks and publishes on feminism, activism and movement-building. A graduate of Harvard University, Lori has been named to The Root 100 list of the most influential African Americans in the United States, and to Forbes Magazine‘s list of the “30 Under 30” successful mediamakers. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Lori Adelman is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Partnerships.

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