On July 1, Indian-American Serene Singh was recognised with the Diana Award for her social action or humanitarian efforts.
The Diana Award is one of the most prestigious global awards. The Diana Award was established in memory of the Princess of Wales. The award has the support of her two sons — The Duke of Cambridge and The Duke of Sussex.
“This award is more than just an honour. For me, it is an opportunity to connect with passionate and resilient leaders worldwide while also being a reminder of the impact continuing to burn flames of justice and equity has and will always have on others,” 24-year-old Serene Singh was quoted as saying.
Singh, a Rhodes Scholar and Truman Scholar, is a doctoral student at the University of Oxford. She focuses on the treatment of women in the United States criminal justice system.
After her friend died by suicide, Singh started The Serenity Project nonprofit in 2016. Her friend, who was a survivor, had struggled with body dysmorphia before she died.
Singh was disturbed by the fact that a survivor was hardly in charge of her narrative during briefings for gender-based violence. She noticed this while working in the U.S. Senate. This was when she realised the need to help survivors get the power to their stories back into their own hands.
Singh spends a considerable amount of time throughout the year to empower survivors and help them develop ways to love themselves. She engages in various one-to-one sessions with them. Every year, there is a charitable fashion show on the International Day of Self-Love.
Singh said that she represents the nation as the 2020-2021 National All-American Miss for one of the world’s largest pageant systems because her focus on survivors extends beyond her research.
Singh was earlier an intern for Michelle Obama’s Global Girls Alliance. Her passion for spreading awareness on women’s issues and advocating for their rights is unparalleled.
Singh is working on a project in Jharkhand in India to help adolescent girls from villages in the country gain self-defence skills and resources to stay in school.
