90 PROFESSIONAL WOMAN'S MULTICULTURAL MAGAZINE WWW.PROFESSIONALWOMANMAG.COM
COVER STORY
As if Padma couldn't be any more of a role mod- el, she is also an Artist Ambassador for immigrants' rights and women's rights for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and a Goodwill Ambassa- dor for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). "All the experience and knowledge I gained through starting the EFA with my co-founder has helped me to be a better ambassador for both the BDMV!boe!uif!VOEQ!xjui!dpoefodf/!Fwfszuijoh!J! learned at the EFA, I use in my work with these two organizations." The activist is also passionate about mental health and advocates for survivors of sexual assault and abuse. At age seven, her life changed forever when she was sexually molested, and then raped at age 16. Padma kept her rape a secret for 30 years, until she wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times titled, J!Xbt!Sbqfe!bu!27!boe!J!Lfqu!Tjmfou/! "I wrote an Op-Ed for @nytimes about something terrible that happened to me in my youth, something that happens to young women every day. We all have an opportunity to change the narrative and believe survivors," Padma wrote on her Twitter page. Through her piece, Padma wanted to let other sur- wjwpst!lopx!uifzsf!opu!bmpof/!Ifs!csbwfsz!up!tqfbl! about her trauma serves as an inspiration to survivors of sexual abuse to tell their story and raise awareness. "Identifying the problem and speaking up about it jo!b!tbgf!tqbdf-!xifsfwfs!uibu!jt-!jt!uif!stu!tufq!up!ej- minishing its power over you," she said. "Our world is not built for people who want to speak up and do the right thing. There are many systems in place that have not supported our collective well-being or safeguarded a woman's safety. It can feel lonely and exhausting to speak about any kind of trauma with wfsz!mjuumf!cfofu/!Cvu!jo!psefs!up!gsff!poftfmg!pg!uif! yoke of trauma on one's future, one has to identify the trauma outright and say what happened or what is happening to you out loud. And do not underestimate the help of support groups, even online ones." Uijt!pqfo.ifbsufe!jovfodfs!bmtp!bewjtft!up!ubml! to someone right away, and not just anyone, but someone who is capable of receiving the information you're about to give them and can help you or help zpv!oe!ifmq/ "None of us do it alone," she said. "And to me, the stu!tufq!jt!up!usz!boe!tbz!pvu!mpve!xibu!jt!uspvcmjoh! zpv! up! tpnfpof! fmtf/! Jg! zpv! dbou! oe! uibu! qfstpo! right away, then write down everything you can think of surrounding what's troubling you. If the trauma is recent, these details will also be helpful to law en- forcement." Not surprisingly, Padma's efforts don't stop here. She has a laundry list of accolades, including 32 Fnnz! bxbse! opnjobujpot-! uif! 3129! Lbsnb! bxbse! from Variety , the 2016 NECO Ellis Island Medal pg!Ipops!boe!uif!3132!Bewpdbuf!pg!uif!Zfbs!Bxbse! by the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA). In fact, the pioneer also stresses the importance
PHOTO BY LARRY BUSACCA/GETTY IMAGES FOR TIME INC /PEOPLE
Catch part of our exclusive interview with Padma here!
Previous Page