New Delhi: Indian paediatrician and social worker Kiran Martin, known for her work in uplifting Delhi’s slum communities, has been conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Melbourne, the Asha Community Health and Development Society said in a statement. Martin, founder of Asha, received the honour at a ceremony attended by over 400 graduates.
The degree was conferred by the university’s Presiding Chancellor Professor Lou Harms with a citation presented by Dean of the Melbourne Medical School Professor Jane Gunn, it said.
The recognition highlights Martin’s role in addressing critical issues such as healthcare, sanitation, education, and gender equity for marginalised communities.
Martin founded Asha in 1988 during a cholera outbreak in a South Delhi slum and has since spearheaded initiatives benefitting over one million residents.
She is the first Indian in 14 years and the only Indian woman to have received this distinction from the University of Melbourne, the statement claimed.
She is also the only Indian to receive honorary doctorates from multiple Australian universities within a single year, it added.
In her acceptance speech, Martin expressed gratitude to the slum residents she has worked with, calling them “the true heroes” whose resilience and dreams continue to inspire her work.
