Veeru Kohli
Veeru Kohli (born 1964) was a Pakistani
Personal life
She was born to a poor Hindu scheduled caste agricultural labourer's family in Allahdino Shah village in Jhuddo, Sindh province, and was married at the age of 16 into a family bonded to their landlord.[2][3] She died a widow and left 11 children.[2] Her name is sometimes written as Veero Kohli. She died on 31st Oct 2023[4]
Campaigning
In 2013, she ran as an independent candidate in the Hyderabad provincial elections.[5][6]
She had previously been a slave in southern Pakistan but escaped her captors.[7]
After being forced back into bondage and suffering beatings she stood up to the authorities and gained her freedom,
In 2009 she was given the Frederick Douglass Freedom Award by the Free the Slaves organisation.[2][8]
Azad Nagar
Azad Nagar is the settlement that Veeru Kohli built with help from a local NGO Green Rural Development Organization (GRDO) and Action Aid in 2006. It was planned as a place where freed bonded labourers would live temporarily as they began their new lives. It has 310 families over 4.5 hectares of land. Most of the residents are Hindu.[9]
References
- ^ "Women activists stress need for transformative feminist leadership". The Nation. November 21, 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Veeru Kohli: From bonded labourer to election hopeful", Dawn.com, 24 April 2014.
- ^ a b c A brick-solid activist, Express Tribune, 13 Dec 2015
- ^ "Log in or sign up to view". m.facebook.com. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
- ^ Repila, Jacky (4 July 2013). "Veeru Kohli – the ultimate outsider". Oxfam. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ Green, Duncan (23 July 2013). "Women's Leadership Groups in Pakistan – Some Good News and Inspiration". World Bank. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ Mehmood, Rabia (21 September 2014). "Home of the Free: Starting a New Life in Pakistan's Azad Nagar, A Colony of Ex-Slaves". Aljazeera America. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ Free the Slaves
- ^ "The former bonded labourer who took on the Bhuttos".
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