Chennai-based lawyer-activist Lalitha Natarajan has been awarded the 2023 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labour.
US Consul General Judith Ravin presented the award to Natarajan at a ceremony at the US Consulate General in Chennai on May 30.
Lalitha Natarajan is known for her leadership in combating exploitative child labor in southern India.
As a member of the Child Welfare Committee (North Zone) under the Department of Social Defence, Tamil Nadu, Natarajan ensures that child labor victims receive compensation as per the Child Labor Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Iqbal Masih Award is an annual non-monetary award established by the US Congress in 2008.
It is administered by the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking within the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) of the US Department of Labor.
It is named after Iqbal Masih, a Pakistani child who was sold into slavery and forced to work in a carpet factory.
He was murdered in 1995 at the age of twelve.
The award aims to raise awareness about child labor and honour those fighting against it.
