Two Indians, including one from Bangalore, were among the seven young girls honoured with the UN Special Envoy for Global Education’s Youth Courage Award for Education as part of ‘Malala Day’ celebrations. Special awards were given to the girls from around the world for their courage and achievement in promoting the cause of girl’s education.

Among them were two Indians, 24-year-old Ashwini Angadi from Bangalore and 15-year-old Razia from Uttar Pradesh. Malala’s Pakistani friend Shazia, who was hurt when the Taliban shot Malala last year, was also awarded along with girls from Bangladesh, Nepal, Morocco and Sierra Leone.

Ashwini, who lives in Seshadripuram in Bangalore, was awarded for fighting against the odds to study, using that education to campaign for other children with disabilities and enabling them to get the education they deserve.

Born with a visual impairment in a poor rural community in north Karnataka, she fought against circumstances to complete her BA in History, Economics and Music from Maharani’s Arts College, Bangalore in 2012. She overcame the odds, achieved great grades and secured an excellent job with an IT firm, but gave it up to campaign for other children with disabilities.

Ashwini now works for Leonard Cheshire Disability (LCD), an NGO based in Bangalore. She was accompanied to the function by

Sherly Abraham, national coordinator of the Leonard Cheshire Disability. Her father Prakash Angadi runs a hotel and her brother owns a travel agency.

Speaking to Express, B S Venkatesh, associate professor of Economics at Maharani’s College, who taught her for three years, remembers her as a meticulous and passionate student who was an inspiration to even those with normal vision. “Her greatest gift was the ability to motivate visually impaired students in the college. She knew a lot about special voice-based equipment and software that could aid disabled students in their studies. Since they are not commercially available, she knew exactly where to purchase them,” he said.

Ashwini also frequently participates in the college’s UGC Higher Education for Persons with Special Needs programme.

Ravikumar, her college principal, said several visually impaired students who use the computer lab in the college were benefiting from the voice-based software CDs Ashwini provided. He said she also organised workshops for students without visual impairment on the needs of visually impaired students and how people with vision can assist them.

Divya M, national coordinator of the national council at LCD, said, “Ashwini was congenitally blind. She faced a lot of trouble to even complete her basic education. That is why she wanted to do her bit for others like herself,” she said, while adding that Ashwini felt a deep desire to alleviate the position of women and children.

Razia, the other Indian who was felicitated, was honoured for her contribution to children’s education. She is a former child labourer who stitched footballs and succeeded in pulling herself out of exploitation.

She passed her 11th grade against all odds and now works in her community to help pull out children from work and enrol them in schools. Razia helped 48 children in her community get out of work and join a school last year.

Over 500 youths, mostly young girl leaders from around the world, convened at the UN to support Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s ‘Global Education First Initiative’ which aims at ensuring that all children, especially girls, are in school by 2015. (With Sharadha Kalyanam in Bangalore and PTI)