Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe is pleased to announce that he has chosen Nirupa Sejpal-Parmar as his selection for the 2009 Woman of the Year Award. The coveted award is presented by the Los Angeles County Commission for Women each year to ten women, five from the community-at-large and one from each of the County’s five Supervisorial districts.

Nirupa Sejpal-Parmar is an active Board Member with the South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency, better known as SAHARA. SAHARA, located in the City of Artesia, was founded by a courageous group of women, and provides services to what is regarded as a very private society, where victims of domestic violence suffer silently within the confines of their culture, with literally nowhere to turn. Nirupa develops innovative programs for the families SAHARA works with, actively pursues funding and grants, and provides treatment in her capacity as a licensed child psychologist.

I do not know of a more persistent and passionate advocate not only for SAHARA, but for the women and children they serve, said Supervisor Knabe. Her tireless efforts, along with the outstanding people of SAHARA, to shed light on what many in their community would rather not acknowledge is truly a profile in courage and service that flies in the face of fear.