Binalakshmi Nepram

Deepening Democracy, Diversity and Women’s Rights in Conflict Areas of India

Ms. Binalakshmi “Bina” Nepram is an indigenous scholar and human rights defender, whose work focuses on deepening democracy and championing women-led peace, security, and disarmament in Manipur, Northeast India, and South Asia. She is the founder of three organizations: the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network, the Control Arms Foundation of India, and the Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice, and Peace. She has authored and edited five books, including Deepening Democracy, Diversity, and Women’s Rights in India (2019), Where Are Our Women in Decision Making? (2016), and South Asia’s Fractured Frontier (2002). Her work has garnered international recognition, including the Anna Politskovskaya Award (2018), Women have Wings Award (2016), CNN IBN Real Heroes Award (2011), Ashoka Social Innovators Fellowship (2011), and the Sean MacBride Peace Prize (2010). In 2013, the U.K.-based Action on Armed Violence named her one of “100 most influential people in the world working in armed violence reduction.” Ms. Nepram served as an IIE-SRF Visiting Scholar at Connecticut College in 2018–2019 and at Columbia University in 2017–2018. She is a board member of the International Peace Bureau, the 1910 Nobel Peace Laureate. During her NED fellowship, Ms. Nepram plans to write a research paper documenting the conflict in Manipur and Northeast India, situating the ongoing struggle for peace and justice within the broader context of deepening democracy, rule of law, and gender justice in India and the world.