Campaigner Jasvinder Sanghera CBE was presented with the Robert Burns Humanitarian Award at an intimate ceremony in Burns Cottage, where Robert Burns was born almost exactly 260 years to the day.

The award recognises courage, commitment, inspiration and hands-on humanitarian efforts from people of any nationality, race, age or gender.

Ms Sanghera’s story was deemed by the award judges to exemplify the values that Burns himself stood for in terms of humanity, equality and freedom for all.

Born in Derby, Ms Sanghera’s humanitarian journey began when she escaped a forced marriage by running away from home at the age of 16 – only to find herself disowned by her family.

Her four older sisters were taken individually to India to enter forced marriages. It was after one of her sisters committed suicide to escape the domestic abuse of her marriage that she decided to found Karma Nirvana – an award-winning charity that supports victims of honour-based abuse and forced marriage.

Founded in 1993, the charity operates a national helpline to support victims in immediate danger and currently receives around 800 calls per month. Since its inception in 2008, it has received more than 78,000 calls for service.

Chair of the RBHA judging panel and leader of South Ayrshire Council, councillor Douglas Campbell, said Ms Sanghera stood out as an exemplary humanitarian, putting others first and making a difference.

He added: “Jasvinder has spent more than 25 years standing up for others and making sure they don’t have to go through what she and her family did. She has taken what was a hugely traumatic experience and turned it into a real force for good and a force for change.”