Manju Manikuttan
Manju Manikuttan | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1976 Kerala, India |
Occupation(s) | Beautician and social worker |
Organization | Navayugam Samskarika Vedi Dammam |
Spouse | Padmanabhan Manikuttan |
Children | Abhinav Manikuttan, Abhirami Manikuttan |
Awards | Nari Shakti Puraskar |
Manju Manikuttan (born c. 1976) is an Indian beautician and social worker. She rescued lot of expatriate workers, who faced legal, health and work related issues in Saudi Arabia. She was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar, the highest award for women in India, in 2019.
Life
Manikuttan was born and raised in the Ernakulam district[1] in Kerala.[2] After marrying Padmanabhan Manikuttan and having two kids (Abhinav and Abhirami), she moved to Khobar city of Saudi Arabia in 2011, along with her expatriate husband, and started working in a beauty parlor as beautician.[3]
Her life was changed when she met Safiya Ajith, famous social worker and Vice President of the expatriate Indian organization Navayugam Cultural Forum in Saudi Arabia. Ajith encouraged her to enter social service and she became an assistant of Ajith, in solving the issues of ladies in the deportation centre. After one year, Ajith died due to cancer. Navayugam assigned Manikuttan to take the responsibilities handled by Ajith. Manikuttan took the whole responsibilities of the ladies' deportation centre and was actively involved in solving the cases of women inmates. Her husband Padmanabhan Manikuttan is helping her in all her social activities.
Manikuttan solved hundreds of cases of women, who came to Saudi Arabia to work as housemaids, domestic workers, hospital workers, beauticians, etc. and ended up with issues with their sponsors, health, legal & labour problems, and visas. She helped hundreds of women to go back to India, after finishing all legal formalities. The Indian Embassy recognized her as a committed social volunteer and gave her authorization to interfere in any Indian women workers' related cases. Ladies deportation authorities and Saudi officials had a very high opinion about her and they helped her in many complicated labour and visa cases, which needed their special help.
She was given the Nari Shakti Puraskar award for her social work in 2019. This was given by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi on International Women's Day in 2019.[4] It is an Indian "national award in recognition for exceptional work for women's empowerment".[5] She met the minister Maneka Gandhi and afterwards she met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She was the only expatriate woman who received the award that year.[1]
In 2020 the New Indian Express reported the example of "Chandrika" who had left India for Saudi Arabia to work as an accountant in a hospital. When she arrived she discovered that she had been misled and the job she was assigned was as a housemaid. Chandrika stayed in the job for five months but finally her employer took her to the airport. Her situation led to a fight and she could have been arrested. However, Manikuttan was summoned and she took her back to her own home where she stayed until a new route home could be organised.[3]
Her work as a volunteer is part of the work of the Navayugam Samskarika Vedi organization. Presently she is the Central Committee vice president of Navayugam. Over the years she has worked for hundreds of expatriates who are generally housemaids recruited from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.[3] She is supported in her work by the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, and Saudi authorities including the Deportation Centre in Dammam and Navayugam. She has won many awards from various organizations, establishments and NGOs for her social work. She still continues her social work in Saudi Arabia.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Mohammed, Irfan (2019-03-20). "India president confers Manju with Nari Shakti Puraskar award". Saudigazette. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
- ^ "Ministry of Women and Child Development". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
- ^ a b c "This beautician gives Khaddamas a ray of hope in desert kingdom". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
- ^ "Malayali volunteer gets Nari Shakti Puraskar | Kochi News - Times of India". The Times of India. TNN. Feb 25, 2019. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
- ^ "Nari Shakti Puraskar - Gallery". narishaktipuraskar.wcd.gov.in. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
- v
- t
- e
- K. V. Rabiya
- Chinna Pillai
- Kinkri Devi
- Manasi Pradhan
- M. Venkaiah
- Bina Sheth Lashkari
- T. Radha K. Prashanti
- Vartika Nanda
- Seema Sakhare
- Lucy Kurien
- Saurabh Suman
- Basanti Devi
- Suparna Baksi Ganguly
- Meena Sharma
- Priti Patkar
- Uttara Padwar
- Polumati Vijaya Nirmala
- Vasu Primlani
- Sujata Sahu
- Jyoti Mhapsekar
- Sumita Ghosh
- Anjali Sharma
- Krishna Yadav
- Shakuntala Majumdar
- State of Rajasthan
- Chhanv Foundation
- Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (MHIP)
- Sadhana Mahila Sangha
- Shikshit Rojgar Kendra Prabandhak Samiti
- Tripunithura Kathakali Kendram Ladies Troupe
- Amruta Patil
- Amala Akkineni
- Anatta Sonney
- Anoyara Khatun
- B. Codanayaguy
- Bano Haralu
- Deepa Mathur
- Divya Rawat
- Ilse Köhler Rollefson
- Janki Vasant
- Kalpana Shankar
- Kalyani Pramod Balakrishnan
- Mumtaz M. Kazi
- Nandita Shah
- Pallavi Fauzdar
- Pamela Malhotra
- Qamar Dagar
- Reema Sathe
- Ringyuichon Vashum
- Sangita Iyer
- Smita Tandi
- Sumitra Hazarika
- Sunita Singh Choken
- Subha Varier
- Tiasa Adhya
- V. Nanammal
- Zuboni Hümtsoe
- Gargi Gupta
- Sindhutai Sapkal
- Gauri Maulekhi
- Navika Sagar Parikrama
- Malvika Iyer
- R Umadevi Nagaraj
- Thinlas Chorol
- S. Siva Sathya
- Bharti Kashyap
- Beti Zindabad Bakery
- Mittal Patel
- Sabarmatee Tiki
- Jayamma Bandari
- K. Syamalakumari
- Vanastree
- Lizymol Philipose Pamadykandathil
- Chirom Indira
- Urmila Balawant Apte
- Deepika Kundaji
- Purnima Devi Barman
- Anita Bharadwaj
- Ambica Beri
- Pushpa Girimaji
- Avani (organization)
- Shrujan
- C.K. Durga
- Rekha Mishra
- Mehvish Mushtaq
- Karuna Society for Animals and Nature
- One Stop Centre, Raipur
- Millet Network of India
- State of Punjab
- Madhu Jain
- Jetsun Pema
- M.S. Sunil
- Sheela Balaji
- Anuradha Krishnamoorthy and Namrata Sundaresan
- Gita Mittal
- A. Seema
- Anshu Khanna
- Anu Malhotra
- Anuradha N. Naik
- Chetna Gala Sinha
- Darshana Gupta
- Devaki Amma
- Didi Contractor
- Gowri Kamakashi
- Hekani Jakhalu
- Ipsita Biswas
- Iti Tyagi
- Kagganapalli Radha Devi
- Kalpana Saroj
- Lalita Vakil
- Madhuri Barthwal
- Manju Manikuttan
- Meenakshi Pahuja
- Mini Vasudevan
- Munuswamy Shanthi
- Neelum Sharma
- Nomita Kamdar
- Pamela Chatterjee
- Pragya Prasun
- Priyamvada Singh
- Pushpa N. M.
- Rahibai Soma Popere
- Rajani Rajak
- Reshma Nilofer Naha
- Rhea Mazumdar Singhal
- Ruma Devi
- Seema Mehta
- Seema Rao
- Sister Shivani
- Smriti Morarka
- Snehlata Nath
- Sonia Jabbar
- Sujatha Mohan
- Sunita Devi
- Twinkle Kalia
- Urmi Basu
- One Stop Centre, Lucknow
- Millet Network of India
- Qasab-Kutch Craftswomen Producer Co. Ltd.
- Social Welfare & Nutritional Meal Programme Dept, Tamil Nadu
- Anita Gupta
- Ushaben Dineshbhai Vasava
- Nasira Akhter
- Sandhya Dhar
- Nivruti Rai
- Tiffany Brar
- Padma Yangchan
- Jodhaiya Bai Baiga
- Saylee Nandkishor Agavane
- Vanita Jagdeo Borade
- Meera Thakur
- Jaya Muthu, Tejamma (joint)
- Ela Lodh
- Arti Rana
- Sathupati Prasanna Sree
- Tage Rita Takhe
- Madhulika Ramteke
- Niranjanaben Mukulbhai Kalarthi
- Pooja Sharma
- Anshul Malhotra
- Shobha Gasti
- Radhika Menon
- Kamal Kumbhar
- Sruti Mohapatra
- Batool Begam
- Thara Rangaswamy
- Neerja Madhav
- Neena Gupta