I Nominate Kirthy Jayakumar for the World Pulse Spirit Awards

Kirthy Jayakumar is an inspirational leader whose vision is infectious and very remarkable in today's world. Kirthy is such a firebrand who conducts her work with such precision and passion. She has such great value for women in the World Pulse community and often shares her work with the community. She has a remarkable way of connecting her work with the women like the initiative that she launched to honour the late Sister Praise. I have had the privilege to speak with her at some World Pulse partner events like the Mozilla Festival, RightsCon, the She Transforms Tech Webinar, and Log On Rise Up event with Equinix and Vodafone Partners. We both shared our stories and echo the voices of our World Pulse sisters with such joy and sense of responsibility. And Kirthy always leave the room electrified with her powerful words.

She always has such inspiring and encouraging words to affirm me and my work which is always so humbling. And she celebrates women and world pulse with such grace that you would be so happy to be her sister. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Kirthy launched the FemiList 100 – a list of 100 women from the Global South working in the fields of peace, security, development, law, advocacy, activism, and foreign policy. Her organization – the Gender Security Project shared the FemiList to celebrate the International Women’s Day 2021 and her organization nominated me in this distinguished list. In the description of the award, they said my selection was a powerful endorsement of my hard work, dedication, and commitment to making futures sustainable for the communities I support. Along with the World Pulse 21 Women to Watch released at the same time, I cherish those awards to date. Kirthy was also awarded 1 of Apolitical’s 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy in 2021 and she stood out in that list as a World Pulse Ambassador which exemplifies the World Pulse Spirit.  

Kirthy had a very deep way to connect with fellow World Pulse Ambassadors during the pandemic. I recall when I was ill at some point last year, Kirthy reached out to me directly to check on my health. I truly appreciate that commitment to sisterhood. And this is why I nominate Kirthy for the World Pulse Spirit Awards.