Ria Sharma

Ria Sharma is a social activist and the first Indian to receive the UNICEF Global Goals Awards for 2017.[2][3]

Ria Sharma
Ria Sharma, in 2017[1]
Born (1992-10-13) 13 October 1992
Dahanu, Maharashtra
OccupationSocial Activist
AwardsGlobal Goals Awards, 2017

Sharma is the founder of NGO Make Love Not Scars that works in all aspects of rehabilitation for acid attack survivors in India.[4]

Sharma also founded the world's first rehabilitation centre for acid attack survivors[5] in the world.

Early life and education

Sharma was born in 1992 and grew up in New Delhi. She completed her schooling from Pathways World School in Haryana.[6][7] She graduated from the Leeds College of Art, UK. As a part of her curriculum, she returned to India to make a documentary on acid attack survivors in 2014 at the age of 21.[8]

Make Love Not Scars

In 2014, Sharma founded Make Love Not Scars (MLNS) to support acid attack victims who are mostly women.[9] It actively supports survivors of acid attacks physically and mentally.[2] This is a crowd funded organization where the team organizes campaigns and reach out to volunteers and funders online through social media platform.[8] The organization helps the survivors get jobs to support their families.[10] Sharma made a statement to support acid attack survivors by starting her career by not wearing makeup for a year to stand in solidarity with the acid attack survivors.[11]

She founded India's first rehabilitation center for survivors of acid attacks.[9] MLNS also provides a platform for the survivors to interact with employers and get hired. They display their talents and skills on the portal, and urge organisations to find a suitable employee.[12]

End Acid Sale, a campaign that was started by the organization in mid 2015 aimed at putting a ban on retail sale of acids. The campaign created awareness and a petition drive was launched to help support the cause.[8] The campaign gained global support and became one of India most awarded campaigns.[13] End Acid Sale made history by being the first Indian campaign in 7 years to win the Cannes Gold Lion in Film[14]

In April 2015, The Supreme Court made it mandatory for both private and government hospitals across the country to provide full and free medical treatment to the victims. The treatment would include reconstructive surgery, medicines, accommodation, rehabilitation and aftercare. The government also increased the compensation to 3 lac INR per victim. Till date, 5 victims have been able to receive free treatment under the new guidelines by the government.[8]

Awards

In 2017, Sharma was the first Indian to be awarded the United Nations Goalkeepers Global Award. The award recognizes an individual who has made extraordinary efforts to lead a campaign, group or movement that has served to protect and better the lives of women and girls in a region, country or globally. Make Love Not Scars has been able to create a sustainable growth and momentum with the infrastructure to expand and evolve.[2]

In 2016, Sharma was awarded the British Council's Social Impact Award, for creating a positive social change and improving the life of others.[15]

In 2017, Sharma was awarded the India Today Woman Of The Year for Public Service.[16]

In 2017, under Sharma's leadership Make Love Not Scars was awarded The CNBC TV18 India Business Leader Award(IBLA) under the category "Brand Of The Year".[17]

References
  1. "21-YO Bags The Leadership Award At UN Global Goals Awards For Helping Acid Attack Victims". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  2. "Meet the winners of the 2017 Global Goals Awards". UNICEF. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  3. "Delhi girl who helps acid attack survivors rebuild lives wins UN award - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  4. "Meet The Members | Make Love Not Scars". Make Love Not Scars. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  5. "This 23-year-old woman just opened India's first rehab clinic for acid attack survivors". Public Radio International. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  6. "Pathways". www.pathways.in. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  7. "Ria Sharma | Leeds Arts University". www.leeds-art.ac.uk. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  8. "Founded By 23-Year-Old Ria Sharma, Make Love Not Scars Is Changing The Lives Of Acid Attack victims". HerSaga. 2015-10-24. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  9. "This 23-year-old woman just opened India's first rehab clinic for acid attack survivors". Public Radio International. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  10. "21-YO Bags The Leadership Award At UN Global Goals Awards For Helping Acid Attack Victims". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  11. Perishable (2015-04-18). "365 days without makeup – how is that, Ria Sharma?". WomenNow.in. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  12. "26-Year-Old Delhi Girl Wins UN Award for Her Efforts to Help Acid Attack Survivors". The Better India. 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  13. "Ogilvy's EndAcidSale campaign goes viral". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  14. "Cannes Lions 2016: India comes back with 27 Lions in its bag". www.bestmediaifo.com. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  15. "North Leeds Life Magazine". www.northleedslifegroup.com. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  16. admin (2017-03-24). "India Today Woman Summit 2017 in Delhi - Infoindiadirect". Infoindiadirect. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  17. "Share/Stock Market News - Latest NSE, BSE, Business News, Stock/Share Tips, Sensex Nifty, Commodity, Global Market News & Analysis". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
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