With each passing year, the contribution of women towards society is escalation with their increased level of confidence, intelligence, and courage making them more determined in almost every sector. Presently, women breaking the age-old traditions and are carving their own niche in this competitive world on par with their male counterparts. Therefore, they have made their marks in varied fields such as education, industries, and politics, from owing a startup to featuring in a popular magazine women have evolved a long way. Let us now meet a few women who created history in 2020.
Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister
Our honorable finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been ranked 41st on the Forbes 17th annual ranking of the World’s Most Powerful Women. She is the first woman in India to hold the portfolio full-time. Nirmala Sitharaman obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics at the Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College. Later acquired a Master of Arts in economics and M.Phil from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi in 1984. Alongside she enrolled for Ph.D. in Economics but was unable to complete it after her move to London along with her husband. In 2006, she joined BJP and was appointed as a spokesperson of the party in 2010, and later in 2014 Nirmala was introduced into Modi’s cabinet as a junior minister and went on to become a Rajya Sabha Member from Andhra Pradesh. Fastforward to 2019, she was appointed as the Finance and corporate affairs minister.
Padala Bhudevi, Farmer
Padala Bhudevi is working towards the tribal women and widow development. She is the Director of Manyam Grains and Manyadeepika Farmers Producer Company. For the commendable contribution, she has been awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar award 2020 from our Honourable President Ram Nath Kovind on International Women’s Day for the noticeable work in helping the tribal women and developing entrepreneurship skills among them. Thus, she has been a role model for women farmers and rural women entrepreneurs. Padala Bhudevi was forced into child marriage at the tender age of 11 and underwent mental and physical torture from her husband and in-laws. This hardship molded her into a strong person making her capable to rise three daughters successfully and has motivated women to indulge in agri-entrepreneurial activities.
Bina Devi, Farmer
Bina Devi is popularly renowned as Mushroom Mahila for encouraging the cultivation of mushrooms. Eventually, she gained respect and became the Sarpanch of Dhauri Panchayat, Tetiabanber block for five years. Bina has trained farmers on mushroom and organic farming, vermicompost production, and organic insecticide preparation. She initially began mushroom farming under her own bed and found it as a great opportunity and further engaged in goat and dairy farming. For the engagement in mushroom farming, she received the Nari Shakti Puraskar award from President Ram Nath Kovind.
Mohana Singh, Bhawana Kanth, and Avani Chaturvedi, IAF’s first women fighter pilots
Mohana Singh, Bhawana Kanth, and Avani Chaturvedi are the first batch of women who got the privilege to become fighter pilots. Soon after the government had decided to create opportunities for women pilot on an experimental basis, these three acquired the opportunity and succeeded in a solo flight conducted in MIG-21. Mohana Singh along with Bhawana Kanth and Avani Chaturvedi was commissioned in the Indian Air Force by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
Karuna Nandy, Lawyer at the Supreme Court
The lady behind framing the country’s much needed Anti-Rape Bill. Karuna Nundy is an Indian lawyer at the Supreme Court. She is renowned for her amazing work in the field of constitutional law and human rights, laws achieving gender justice, and freedom of speech in India. Alongside this, she is the voice of India and she has also represented the Bhopal Gas survivors in the Supreme Court and got them better healthcare systems. Karuna was included in the Economics Times jury in a list of Corporate India’s Fastest Rising Women Leaders. Also, she was listed as one of the Self Made Women 2020 in Forbes Magazine.
Zia Mody, Entrepreneur
Zia Mody is an Indian corporate lawyer and business women who serve as the founding partner of AZB & Partners, one of India’s leading law firms. She is one of the country’s foremost corporate attorneys and has been globally recognized for her legal works. Zia Mody was ranked number two on Fortune India’s List of Most Powerful Women 2020. She has been associated with Tata Group, G.E., Aditya Birla Group, and the Vedanta Group.
Dutee Chand, Athlete
An Indian professional sprinter and current national champion in the women’s 100 meters event. She stood as the third Indian woman to qualify for the Women’s 100 meters event at the Summer Olympics Games. Dutee grabbed India’s silver in women’s 100 meters at the Jakarta Asian Games after 1998. Alongside she became the first sprinter to win gold at the Universiade making it up to 11.23 seconds in the 100 meters race. Dutee is an Arjuna Award winner and the first Indian athlete to openly proclaim belonging to the LGBTQ+ community.
KK Shailaja, Health Minister,Kerala
Shailaja is an Indian politician and current Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Kerala. Her work received high appreciation in the state as she played a major role in controlling the widespread of the pandemic in Kerala and this work was also acknowledged by the United Nations. Under Shailaja’s leadership, the deadly viruses Nipah and COVID-19 were widely lauded. She took initiative to set up teams to enable faster diagnosis and further management of the deadly viruses. For her work, BBC News had featured in the list of Asian women corona fighters and was also featured by Vogue Magazine as a Vogue Warrior and has been named as one of the world’s most influential women 2020.
