Usha Chaumar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978 (age 46–47) Deeg, Bharatpur district, Rajasthan, India |
| Occupation(s) | Social worker, President of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation |
| Known for | Advocacy against manual scavenging |
| Awards | Padma Shri (2020) |
Usha Chaumar (born 1978)[1] is asocial worker fromAlwar,Rajasthan, India. She is the President of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, the non-profit arm ofSulabh International.[2] In 2020, she received thePadma Shri honour from theGovernment of India for her contribution in the field of social work, particularly in raising awareness againstmanual scavenging.[3][4][5]
Born inDeegh village nearBharatpur, Rajasthan to aDalit Valmikin family, Chaumar began manual scavenging at the age of 7, along with her mother. She manually cleaned human feces without any precaution. Chaumar was married at the age of 10 and moved to Alwar into her husband's family at the age of 14 while continuing to do manual scavenging work.
In 2002, at the age of 24, she met the founder of Sulabh International,Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, when he visited her village to speak with the manual scavengers. Under his guidance, she joined the NGO,Nai Disha, for an alternative sustainable lifestyle. Presently, she is the President of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation (SISSO), the non-profit arm ofSulabh International.
In 2020, she received thePadma Shri honour from theGovernment of India for her contribution in the field of social work, particularly in raising awareness againstmanual scavenging.[6]