Award for TSE columnist
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, December 14 2013 :
State girl, Urmila Chanam has been awar-ded the Laadli Media and Advertising Awards for Gender Sensitivity 2012-13 .
Urmila Chanam, also a re-gular columnist of The Sangai Express, received the award in a glittering ceremony bejewelled with media stalwarts, Govt officials and dignitaries at Taj Deccan in Hyderabad.
Urmila Chanam was chosen for the prestigious award as a journalist for her work on a topic not spoken much about, be it at home, school or workplace � Menstrual Hygiene Management.
Jubilant on receiving recognition for her efforts she said, "There is complete silence on menstruation." In her article, "We don't talk about it at all," she explores the si-lence and brings out how in the absence of proper sanitation in a household, women and girls compromise to a great extent on menstrual hygiene management, exposing themselves to sexual and reproductive health risks.
She points out, "Only 12% of wo-men have access to clean sanitation towels and means to maintain menstrual hygiene" .
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Last month Urmila represented India on a global forum in the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, ICAAP 11 held in Bangkok, Thailand to speak about the power of sharing knowledge and experiences between Asia and Africa to unify efforts to control the epidemic of HIV globally.
Urmila began her career with UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
A social development professional in HIV/AIDS in Karnataka state, a gender rights activist and journalist, Urmila Chanam writes, besides The Sangai Express, for international sources including World Pulse and Women International Perspective.
She aspires to be the "Voice of the Voiceless" and chooses to write about women and marginalised people who would have not been spoken about, heard or written on.