Hero gives away award money to rescued sexworker

From a real hero to a greater hero. One of recipients of the CNN-IBN Real Heroes '09 award, Anson Thomas has handed over his entire prize money of Rs 5 lakh to a former sex worker he'd rescued in 1991.

The award was a recognition well deserved by the 37-year-old foot soldier from Mumbai, a saviour of sorts for the nameless faces up for sale at Mumbai's red light district Kamathipura every night 

For the last decade and a half, Thomas has been on a mission to rescue the sex workers .

He fights the brothel owners, convinces the unrelenting authorities and conducts raids and has so far rescued over 65 minors.

Thomas said, “This award is something I was given for my work. How can I keep it for myself. I'm giving the Rs 5 lakh award to a sister, a lady we'd rescued in 1991. I've asked her to buy a house for herself and her family with it."

MILIND TORAWANE

A village school and no teachers in sight. If that's the script for a story called 'education in rural India', the backward, tribal-dominated Narmada district in Gujarat is fast re-writing this, to their advantage.

The local tribals call it the “angutha” (thumb) solution to the problems of the “anguthachhap” (the illiterate) – a fingerprint biometric attendance system introduced in the district and taluka offices, including schools. Though teachers chose to stay away from village schools and literacy rates dipped, those in power hardly took note. But not Milind Torawane, 34, an IAS officer and the Narmada district development officer (DDO). He is the architect of the ‘biometric’ revolution that is bringing about a drastic change in the education system in the district, which has a low literacy rate and fmale literacy is worse.

While the system will be implemented in all the 680 schools of the district by February, officials admit it holds enough promise to bring about sweeping changes in the education system in Gujarat. “Over Rs 20 crore is spent on teachers’ salaries annually in Narmada district alone. If I succeed in reducing absenteeism by 10 per cent, we will save Rs 2 crore,” says Torawane.

CREATING POWER PUFF GIRLS

She formed the world’s first all-woman Jamaat. Now, Sharifa Khanam is aiming for another first: A mosque just for women

For Daud Sharifa Khanam, 41, the only goal was to empower Muslim women so that they can fight for their basic needs, be it emotional, physical or material.

But, she had no idea what she was in for. “I did not expect this response. I wanted to sensitise Muslim women about basic human rights. But, once they savoured freedom and power, they told me: ‘Now that we have come out, give us power,’” says Khanam, who thought of separate Jamaat (gathering) when she found women getting sidelined in the existing Jamaats and “male chauvinism ruling the roost.”

“We still face threats. But, at the same time we know that many Jamaats have begun respecting us and also recommending cases to us,” she adds.