Anu Peshawaria, author, lawyer, social activist, and legal advisor in San Francisco, CA, was presented with the Award of Excellence by the India Vision Foundation in appreciation of her service and dedication in spreading social awareness and upholding immigrants’ rights.
Anu Peshawaria is an Indian American Lawyer, an expert in US Immigration, served as the First Legal Advisor to Ministry of Overseas Indian affairs, Embassy Of India Washington DC. She is the author of Lives on the Brink…Bridging the Chasm between two great nations, India and United States. She conducts educational workshops through her foundation Seva Legal Aid to create awareness of this huge problem. Anu is also a former national tennis champion and represented India at Wimbledon
On this occasion her book was released by General of India, Mr N. Parthasarathi. The ceremony took place this Saturday at Raja Sweets and Indian Cuisine in Union City, CA.
Speaking at the event Ms Caballero said “California is honored to have attorney Anu Peshawaria live and work in our state. Our diverse state welcomes immigrants from countries all over the world who bring with them their customs and traditions. Anu Peshawaria, as a legal advisor and counselor of community affairs for the Embassy of India, has studied, talk to and represented women from India who have immigrated to the United States with their husbands. Through her work she has documented their isolation, dependence and mental and physical abuse so far from home, family and support systems. Her book is a revelation and a call to action; one we must heed if we truly want to be the land of equal opportunity for all.”
The book was released by Mr N. Parthasarathi, Consul General of India. On the occasion he said “Anu is the first and only legal advisor appointed by the Ministry of Overseas Indian affairs, Government Of India to the Embassy of Indian Washington DC as well as Consulates in San Francisco, Houston, Chicago and New York. She is a legal expert in Immigration and Women’s issues and after seeing the plight of those affected by physical and emotional abuse decided to stay back in United States to dedicate her life to their service.
In Lives on the Brink Ms. Anu Peshawaria, an expert practitioner in the field distils her vast knowledge and experience to focus on these sensitive issues that remain a hidden epidemic in our societies. She succinctly shows the way to those affected by reassuring them, that they are not alone, help is available if they need and these are not just personal problems but affects the society as a whole. I am confident that her book will be useful not only to those who are affected but help the society understand the depth of such social evils and thus prevent many potential victims from abuse.”
Also speaking was Tara Mudaliar, a domestic violence victim. She said: I have been fighting my case in the US for 6 years. As of today I have been able to get supervised visitation to my son for 2 hours a week after I went through unbearable suffering and spent thousands of dollars to remain in this country. I am grateful to Attorney Anu Peshawaria for having spent so much time on my case without charging any money and sending me a counselor with whom I could share my problems! I am very happy that she has written a book which contains my story and I hope and pray that people like her succeed in elevating the pain and suffering of women like me. I hope the law makers in India and US get her message so that they can help us get justice!
Lives on the Brink offers some wise preventative measures a woman can take. It is also for the parents of such prospective brides and grooms. The book covers an important aspect of what immigrant women should expect when they come to the United States. An extensive section of the book lays out the international agreements that the United States and India have signed and need to consider signing to help counter the abuses wrought by the disparity of the marriage and family laws between these two nations. Anu Peshawaria has dealt with many such problems and helped hundreds of women navigate the complex American Immigration Laws.
The book is an eye opener for all those intending to travel to America to marry, live, or work.
Speaking at the occasion Anu Peshawaria said “Domestic violence in South Asian community is seriously under reported because we have seen many women who never get as far as the formal institutions. We Indian women are inculcated to keep such matters to ourselves. It is extremely difficult to overcome this tendency, especially when you find yourself in a strange land with unfamiliar people. It is extremely crucial for both India and US to look into ‘International Laws” on this subject and wake up to this call before its too late.”
According to a recent survey in the Boston area, 40.8% of South Asian women reported having been physically or sexually abused by a male partner in their lifetime. Over 2 out of 5 South Asian women report being victims of domestic violence. This is much higher than the rate among the general U.S. population (28% according to UNICEF, 2000). Nearly 90% were immigrant women.
Also present on the occasion were a host of other dignitaries such as State Senator Ellen Corbett the majority senate leader in California, Mr Ash Kalra, Anu Natarajan, and Dr Ramesh Japura.
For more details on Anu’s work please contact Fritz Mockler at Seva Legal Aid at fritz@anuattorney.com