‘Just a girl with a pen’

By Barbara Wood

Special to The Almanac

Atherton’s Sophia Nesamoney, 17, was presented the “Girls for the Last Girl” award by the anti-sex trafficking group Apne Aap and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on the U.N.’s International Day of the Girl Child on Oct. 11 in a ceremony at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

Here are excerpts from Sophia’s acceptance speech, given at a reception after the U.S. premiere of the sex-trafficking movie “Love Sonia,” by “Slum Dog Millionaire” director Tabriz Noorani:

“Thank you for inspiring me with your bravery and compassion,” and “also for believing in the power of stories to transform hearts and lighten lives,” Sophia said.

Sophia talked about Asma, a 17-year-old she had interviewed in a shelter for abused women who had been sold to sex traffickers by her stepfather when she was 14. “She is not free,” Sophia said. “Asma has been wounded, betrayed even, yet she remains fearless.”

Asma showed Sophia scars on her shoulders and chest, telling her: “They hit me and burned me every day. …They wanted to remind me I was powerless, and no one would ever hear my screams.”

“As a writer,” Sophia said, “my dream is that some day no human being will be bought or sold. And that no girl or woman ever fades into the background or becomes another statistic of what happens when we don’t take action.”

“Silence blinds and deafens us. Silence is injustice,” Sophia said, noting that 270 girls or women go missing in India every day.

“I’m just a girl with a pen and a set of eyes and ears, and I think that’s all we need to have to make a big difference,” she said. “Our eyes, ears and voice are the most powerful tools we possess.”

“I believe that real change can only begin when we give young women like Sonia and Asma a chance to tell their stories,” she said.

Sophia recalled that Asma told her: “I will never forget you, for you have given me hope. No one else has cared enough to listen to my story.”

After the event, Apne Aap board member Mona Sinha said in an email that the organization had been delighted to honor Sophia. “In selecting the recipient, we look for young leaders who share our vision of leaving no girl behind. Sophia has shown deep empathy in her work with prostituted women and their children she has written their stories and elevated their voices in a very meaningful way,” she said. “Her courage and her passion shine through her work and she is a bold example of our hope in the next generation to create a more just world.”

Sophia recently learned that she will receive another award in March, when the American India Foundation will give her its inaugural “Youth of the Year” award. Foundation chair Lata Krishnan told Sophia in an email announcing the award that she will be recognized for “the incredible commitment you have demonstrated in the community for the underprivileged.”

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• See related story — Giving voice