Varsha Deshpande
Varsha Deshpande | |
|---|---|
 Deshpande in June 2026 | |
| Occupations | advocate, women's rights activist |
| Spouse | Sanjiv Bonde |
Varsha Deshpande is an Indian advocate and women's rights activist known for her work against female foeticide. She founded the Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal and the Lek Ladki Abhiyan, through which she has conducted more than 50 decoy operations against illegal sex-selective abortion. In 2025, she became the third Indian to receive the United Nations Population Award for her contributions to gender equality.
Personal life
Varsha Deshpande was born in Belgaum, Karnataka, and pursued education in law. She moved to Satara, in Maharashtra, after her marriage to Sanjiv Bonde.[1]
Career
After her undergraduate studies, Varsha Deshpande started a mini-library called Pratishabda, aiming to bring together literature written by women and about them. She began her career as a teacher of the English language at a local school.[1] She founded Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal in 1990 to work on gender justice and the empowerment of marginalised women through grassroots mobilisation, education, and legal reform.[2] The organisation began by surveying women in Satara whose husbands had left them, and seeking support for them.[1]
Deshpande has been called an authority on the Pre-Conception Pre-Natal Diagnostics Technique.[3] She and her team would initially file cases against doctors and practitioners who violated the law, which was subsequently formalised as Lek Ladki Abhiyan initiative in 2004.[4] She and her team had carried out more than 42 sting operations against maternity homes and centers that conducted abortions based on sex determination by 2014,[3] and by September 2024, the number of these decoy operations was more than 50.[1] She has also worked on preventing child marriages.[5]
In May 2016, she alleged that Shah Rukh Khan and his wife had violated the PCPNDT act in determining the sex of their son AbRam. Her complaints were dismissed by a lower court, and then her request for seeking documents related to the baby boy was turned down by a magistrate. She subsequently moved to the Bombay High Court seeking documents collected by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) related to the surrogacy process before AbRam's birth. MCGM reported nothing untoward, and the High Court reserved its orders.[6]
Awards
On 10 July 2025, she received the United Nations Population Award in an individual category for her work in promoting gender equality.[2] She became the third Indian to receive this award, preceded by Indira Gandhi and JRD Tata.[7]
References
Citations
- 1 2 3 4 Warkad 2024.
- 1 2 "Varsha Deshpande honoured with 2025 U.N. Population Award for advancing gender equality". Hindu. 12 July 2025.
- 1 2 N, Ganesh (18 September 2024). "Fighter for the cause of unborn girls in Maharashtra". India Today. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
- ↑ Dsouza, Krystelle (27 September 2025). "One Advocate's Three-Decade-Long Fight Against Female Foeticide Exposed Rogue Doctors With 56 Decoy Ops". Retrieved 20 June 2026.
- ↑ Mascarenhas, Anuradha (12 July 2025). "Varsha Deshpande from Satara wins 2025 UN Population award for championing gender equality in India". Indian Express. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
- ↑ Deshpande, Vinaya (19 May 2016). "Shah Rukh Khan seeks quashing of petition in surrogate baby case". Hindu. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
- ↑ "Maha activist Varsha Deshpande becomes third Indian to get UN Populations Award". Times of India. 12 July 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
Sources cited
- Warkad, Ravina (1 September 2024). "Against All Odds: With over 50 successful decoy operations, this woman's fight against female foeticide has become her calling in life". Indian Express. Retrieved 19 June 2026.