Gita Sahgal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gita Sahgal
Sahgal speaking in London, July 2017
Born	1956/1957 (age 68–69) Bombay, Bombay State, India
Citizenship	United Kingdom
Alma mater	School of Oriental and African Studies
Occupation	Writer Journalist Film director Human rights activist
Parent(s)	Nayantara Sahgal (mother)
Relatives	Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (grandmother) Jawaharlal Nehru (great uncle)

Gita Sahgal (born in 1956 or 1957) is a British writer, journalist, and filmmaker. She is also a strong advocate for human rights, especially for women. Her work often focuses on important issues like feminism, religious extremism, and racism.

She helped start and has been an active member of several women's organizations. She also led the Gender Unit at Amnesty International. This group works to protect human rights around the world. Sahgal has always spoken out against the unfair treatment of women, especially by religious groups.

In 2010, she was suspended from Amnesty International. This happened after she spoke to The Sunday Times newspaper. She criticized Amnesty for working closely with Moazzam Begg. He was the director of a group called Cage. This group helps men held at Guantanamo Bay. Sahgal called Begg "Britain's most famous supporter of the Taliban".

Amnesty International said she was suspended for not sharing her concerns internally. Many people supported Sahgal, including writer Salman Rushdie. They criticized Amnesty for its connection with Begg. Begg disagreed with Sahgal's claims about his connections to extremist groups. He said he did not consider anyone a terrorist unless they had been found guilty of terrorism.

Gita Sahgal left Amnesty International on April 9, 2010.

Early Life and Education

Gita Sahgal's great-uncle, former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru

Gita Sahgal was born in India. Her mother, Nayantara Sahgal, is a famous novelist. Gita was raised as a Hindu. Today, she says she is an atheist. She is also related to important Indian leaders. Her great-uncle was Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. Her grandmother was his sister, Vijayalakshmi Pandit.

Gita first went to school in India. In 1972, she moved to England. She studied and graduated from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. She went back to India in 1977. There, she started working in the civil rights movement. This movement works for equal rights for all people. In 1983, she moved back to England.

Her Work and Activism

Fighting for Women's Rights

In 1979, Gita Sahgal helped create Southall Black Sisters. This is a non-profit group in West London. It helps women from Black and Asian communities.

In 1989, she also helped start "Women against Fundamentalism". This group has criticized Great Britain. They believe the country protects only Christian religious laws. Sahgal thinks this makes it harder for immigrant religions. It can lead to more division and push immigrants towards extreme religious views.

Standing Up for Human Rights

Gita Sahgal was against the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies. She also spoke out against the unfair imprisonment and torture of Muslim men. This happened at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. She told Moazzam Begg, a former detainee, that she was "horrified" by the way he and others were treated.

Promoting Secularism

Gita Sahgal is the executive director of the Centre for Secular Space. She is also an honorary associate of the National Secular Society. These groups work to keep government and public life separate from religious control.

Films and Writings

Gita Sahgal has written many articles and produced films. In 1992, she helped edit a book called Refusing Holy Orders: Women and Fundamentalism in Britain. She also wrote parts of this book.

In 2002, she produced a film called Tying the Knot. This film was made for the U.K. government. It aimed to help British people who were forced to marry against their will. Sahgal said she was not against arranged marriages. However, she was against them if people were kidnapped or abused.

Sahgal also made a film called Unprovoked. This film was for a TV show called Dispatches. It told the story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia. She was a woman from Punjab, India. She came to the UK for an arranged marriage. Sadly, her husband abused her many times.

Additionally, Sahgal produced The War Crimes File. This British documentary film was about terrible acts during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

Select Writings

Books and Chapters

• Refusing holy orders: women and fundamentalism in Britain, co-editor with Nira Yuval-Davis, and contributor, Virago Press (1992), WLUML (2002)
• Looking at class: film, television and the working class in Britain, "Chapter: Struggle Not Submission", Rivers Oram Press, 2001
• Feminist postcolonial theory: a reader, Chapter: "The Uses of Fundamentalism", with Nira Yuval-Davis, Taylor & Francis, 2003
• The situated politics of belonging, "Chapter: Legislating Utopia? Violence Against Women: Identities and Interventions," SAGE, 2006

See also

In Spanish: Gita Sahgal para niños

• List of Indian writers
• Mandakranta Sen
• Sithara S.