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Former Bollywood actress Somy Ali, who has been part of noteworthy films such as Chupp, Mafia, and Teesra Kaun? walked away from the glamour world more than a decade back. She says that she wanted to do something for the betterment of society after that. “I finished my studies in 2007 and soon realized that the only thing which would make me happy is the ability to make others happy. I wanted to help others escape from abusive situations, especially women and children. I wanted to help the victims of sexual, verbal, and physical abuse.
When talking about how she moved her base to the US after her exit from showbiz, Sony says,
“I had moved to India from Miami, where my entire family stays, and so I just moved back. I had just got out of a bad relationship here and had no reason to stay in India. I have never finished my education and I wanted to come back and finish it. I plunged myself with my school activities and went on doing higher studies as well. I really worked hard, sometimes studying more than 8 hours a day. My education helped me form goals for myself and I started feeling good about the future.”
Somy, started her organization No More Tears and they have rescued more than 30,000 victims since its inception. “So basically, No More Tears is a second responder organization which helps the victim get justice after the crime occurs. We act as advocates for the victim and help them survive. We have a lot of services. Like for example, we had this 12-year-old girl whose stepfather raped her and impregnated her. So, I helped her get an abortion. There was also this girl who had been brought to the US from India after an arranged marriage and was being physically abused for five years. Her neighbor called us and we took her to our safe house, bought groceries for her, and also filed a restraining order against her abuser. We also help women become financially independent and also help them educate themselves. We have had survivors who have become doctors, teachers, nurses, and even victim advocates through NMT’s programs. It is a 24/7 job as abuse has no days off. What makes us unique is that we all volunteer our time. Like I do not take a salary from NMT,” she says.
