5 Amazing Women To Look Up To On #Women’sDay
Instead of the customary wishes, we thought we’d talk about some women who are fighting labels, breaking glass ceilings and conquering the world!
It’s Women’s Day, and we’re wondering how to begin talking about it. We’re all expected to demand progress, equality and opportunity. Brands and organizations of today are left in a righteous turmoil, scrambling to address the countless different reasons why it isn’t a happy women’s day.
We applauded #UnhappyWomensDay, which spoke passionately about the lack of women supporting women, emphasizing that it was paramount for a more peaceful and equal society. We praise One for their #GirlsCount campaign, that highlighted the fact that poverty was gender-based and most underprivileged women are worse off than men. We joined Women’s March, whose campaign encouraged us to turn our profile pictures red to raise our voice for women’s rights. We appreciated #UnitedbyHalf by United Colors of Benetton that demanded equal pay for women.
These were brilliant campaigns that inspired us. However, this time, we thought we’d give the world a break and instead cherish the women who’ve accomplished great things, despite the odds and a million reasons that stop us from wishing a happy women’s day. Here are five amazing women (in no particular order) whose girl power we’re looking forward to witness in the future!
1. Sindhuja Rajaraman
At the age of 14, while her peers worried about grades and homework, Sindhuja became the world’s youngest CEO (according to the Guinness Book of World Records) in 2012! Based in Chennai, she took after her dad, who runs an animation training centre, she founded Seppan Entertainment.
Sindhuja began learning animation when she was 10 and would rush to her dad’s centre to practice every day after school while her friends would look forward to playtime.
As she grew up, she developed a keenness to create employment and encourage animators to stay and work in India instead of going abroad. That’s when Sindhuja opened her own company. She switched to homeschooling to focus on her venture.
Today, Sindhuja is in her third year at a design college and strongly believes that there are oodles of untapped talent in the Indian animation industry. She is excited to expand her venture to create more opportunities after her graduation.
2. Bhavna Arora
Over a year ago, Bhavna left her job in banking to focus on a pressing issue; making India a safe place for women. And we agree! It’s time Indian women didn’t have to think twice about their outfits or before taking a cab at night.
For a year, Bhavna spent a year researching crime against women and collaborating with security experts to create a feasible solution. And now, Dror, a community-based safety app for women is almost a reality!
Dror will help women send distress signals, find safe zones, get localized support and do smart tracking for a safe commute. To design, build and test the system before launching it to the public, Bhavna began raising funds, with a goal of Rs. 10 lakh on March 6th, 2018.
Her unique solution created enough buzz overnight on social media to help her raise more than Rs. 2.5 lakh by the next day! Way to go, Bhavna! The thought of tossing every fear and restriction they’d forced on themselves has every woman on the edge of her seat, eager to try out the app soon.
3. Priti Patkar
India has one of the largest population of trafficked humans around the world, and efforts to combat the statistics are scanty. Moreover, getting women and children safely out of red light areas is one of the most dangerous and difficult tasks a social worker can take on. Which is why we think Priti Patkar, founder of Prerana, deserves a spot on this list.
Priti has dedicated over 30 years to finding newer, more effective initiatives for victims of trafficking. In 2014 alone, she saved 30,000 women victims of trafficking. She pioneered the world’s first night care shelter in a red light area, first institutional placement programme for victims and formed the first network of trafficking organizations! She also headed India’s first programmes to provide education and healthcare to children in red light areas, which were documented by Washington University as one of the world’s best seven interventions.
Her programmes are so well known that Scarlett Johansson’s personal trainer came down to join one of them and taught 15 girls! Even the award-winning director, Nagesh Kukunoor who made a movie on trafficking (“Lakshmi”) joined in. We’re definitely looking forward to more innovative solutions from Priti in the future.
4. Pooja Harsha
Kickboxing is one of the more “brutal” sports that don’t see many women win medals in India. At the end of 2017, however, India’s national kickboxing team at the World Association for Kickboxing Organization (WAKO) was appointed a new coach — a young woman from Mysore. Pooja is only 27 and she’s the first south Indian woman to become the coach for the national team.
Pooja had previously trained under the Vice President of WAKO, Vadim Ukrainstev from Russia and Manuel Nordio from Italy.
As she trained in her teens, most people Pooja knew would discourage her, claiming it was a sport for men. But these comments never held her back.
Now the coach, she’s eager to encourage more girls and women to take up the sport. We can’t wait to see more Indian women enter the arena and bag medals under her wing!
5. Brinda Nagarajan
In 2016, Brinda, who hails from a conservation Tamil family, quit her comfy high-paying corporate job in Bangalore to move to a remote village in Uttarakhand!
Disturbed by the lack of awareness in menstrual hygiene in villages like these, Brinda now spends her time trekking through the mountains of the state, befriending locals, learning their way of life and slowly gaining their trust to address the tabooed subject.
These taboos are ingrained in their religion and culture, like a myriad others in India’s rural regions. Often, Brinda fears being shunned or thrown out for daring to speak of it, let alone hope to spark a change.
Moreover, the lack of road connectivity and toilets, the raw natural dangers of landslides, venomous snakes, subzero temperatures, and many other factors challenge her willpower as well.
But Brinda is game for the process, undeterred by how slow it may turn out to be. She has been accepted as one of the locals now; she’s learnt their songs, their culture and even dresses like them.
Currently, she is working on a book on menstrual hygiene and also holds workshops to spread menstrual awareness and for the manufacturing of sustainable sanitary napkins! Though her upcoming book addresses the rural audience, we’re sure many concerned individuals in any community await its launch.
These are only five we’ve handpicked out of hundreds that never cease to leave us awestruck every single day with their tireless efforts towards a better society. While we hope the fight for equal pay, equal rights, safety, freedom and a million other things never stops until the world builds a peaceful society for every gender, let’s save this #WomensDay to celebrate the victories along the way!
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