Award for Kung Fu Nuns for empowering women, conserving environment

New Delhi, March 8 The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Tuesday honoured the Kung Fu Nuns with the International Women's Day Award at a ceremony here for their extraordinary achievements in the field of women empowerment, disaster relief, environmental conservation and breaking societal barriers.

Several dignitaries comprising Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and women commission chief Swati Maliwal were present on the occasion.

In 2016, the DCW established the International Women's Day Awards to honour inspirational people who have displayed untiring commitment towards the cause of women and girls.

In the past, the commission awarded several women officers from ISRO, the Indian Air Force, the Indian Army, Air India, bike riders of the BSF and the CRPF, public servants, sportspersons and other agents of change.

This year, the award was bestowed upon the Kung Fu Nuns and the commission hopes that their stories serve as an inspiring model of empowering women and girls.

Breaking a centuries-long social order favouring men in leadership, the Kung Fu Nuns are taking on kindness in its fiercest form empowering themselves and others to serve the world.

"We are honoured to be recognised for our efforts, and this award will help us spread our message of empowerment and further strengthen our mission to help women and girls to be their own heroes," Jigmet Yangchan Ghamo, a Kung Fu Nun, told .

The Kung Fu Nuns teach martial arts to promote self-defence to young girls in their communities, where reporting violence against women is a rarity.

Their 5,200-km 'Bicycle Yatra for Peace' from Nepal to Ladakh in India took over three months, as they stopped in hundreds of villages for environmental education and to speak out against human trafficking.

After the catastrophic Himalayan earthquakes of 2015, they refused evacuation to deliver critical aid to neglected regions.

They run free health clinics, and to date, the nuns have helped restore sight to over 1,500 Himalayans. They also respond to calls for emergency animal rescue and have removed thousands of pounds of plastic litter.

The Kung Fu Nuns were Vaclav Havel Humanitarian Prize finalists in 2021, Asia Society's Game Changers recipients in 2019 and Atlantic Council's Unsung Heroes in 2020.

Last year, UNESCO International Centre for Martial Arts conferred their Martial Arts' Education Prize to the Kung Fu Nuns.

In 2012, they performed at the Olympic Park before the Olympics in London, the United Kingdom, upon invitation. Since then, they have performed in many places for thousands of people, and their exhibitions draw hundreds of thousands of spectators to their performances.

Kung Fu Nuns is now a household name in many Himalayan regions, and even with over 800 Drukpa nuns in the ranks, there is a long waiting list of women and girls who want to join them.

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