Davinder received a Certificate of Recognition on September 10, 2023 from the San Diego Youth Sikh Society (SDYSS). The certificate was presented at the "Teeyan Da Mela" event in San Marcos at the San Marcos Community Center. Teeyan Da Mela is an event that reflects the celebration of flourishing and blissful married life. Newly married and young unmarried girls get together to celebrate the beginning of rainy season. They perform dances and in essence it is a festival that celebrates women.
This was such an accomplishment for Davinder to receive this recognition, especially from her own community! Davinder is Sikh and her family stems from the Punjab, but since Davinder spoke up about forced marriage in her book "Forced to Marry Him: A Lifetime of Tradition and the Will to Break It" which touched on her own arranged marriage which was really a forced marriage, she knew it could anger many in the Sikh community and just even Indians in general. Instead, Davinder was touched to see that because of her writing the book and telling her truth, she was awarded this recognition for speaking up and being an inspiration.
The Certificate of Recognition is shown below and shows the following: Certificate of Recognition Presented to Davinder Kaur: "San Diego Youth Sikh Society is honored to recognize you as Woman of the Year 2023. The courage with which you faced your challenges and overcame them is inspiring for everyone in the community".
This just shows that we have to speak up and tell our truth. We can't be fearful of those who we might upset, as there will always be many who are grateful that the truth is shared and are further inspired by it.
This festival was a wonderful festival with many great performances given by young children as well as younger women. It was a woman only event.
