International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8 to commemorate the struggles of women seeking equality. We feature some women who have made a mark, have broken the glass ceiling and continue to shine. Of course, there are millions more who have made a difference, have changed their life stories through grit and determination, and have affected change.
Minding her business
Gita Gopinath is Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund. She is the first woman, and the second Indian to hold this post. She is the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University. She is the third woman and the second Indian after Nobel laureate Amartya Sen to be made a permanent member of the economics department at Harvard. She is an Economic Advisor to the Chief Minister of Kerala.
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Sky is the limit
Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh are the first women to undergo fighter pilot training in IAF. They are also the first group of women fighter pilots.
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Dhing Express
Hima Das from Assam holds the national record in 400 m clocked at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. She is the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in a track event at the IAAF World U20 Championships.
Green warrior
Rahibai Soma Popere is a self-made expert in agro-biodiversity, landrace (a local cultivar or animal breed that has been improved by traditional agricultural methods) conservation, and other innovative techniques in paddy cultivation. From Kombhalne village in Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, Rahibai has conserved and multiplied 48 indigenous landraces of 17 different crops including paddy, hyacinth bean, millets, pulses, and oilseeds.
Safety first
Karun Nundy is a lawyer, specialising in Constitutional, Media, Gender, Tech, Commercial and International Law. She has been described by Forbes Magazine as a “Mind that Matters”. She is the lawyer who pioneered the movement for women’s safety and empowerment in India.
Brawn and beauty
A COBRA (COmmando Battalion for Resolute Action) Commando, Usha Kiran is also the youngest female CRPF officer to be a part of COBRA. At the Vogue Woman of the Year 2018, she was the recipient of the Young Achievers Award for exemplary work.
Flying high
Breaking stereotypes, Iram Habib realised her dream to become a pilot and in doing so became the first Kashmiri Muslim woman to have taken this path. Earlier in 2016, Tanvi Raina, a Kashmiri Pandit, joined IndiGo as the Valley’s first woman pilot. Inspired by Iram, 22-year-old Ayesha Aziz, also from Kashmir, became India’s youngest student pilot.
Ringing in her success
Notching up her wins, Mary Kom went on to win her sixth gold in the World Boxing Championships last year. She is now in the No. 1 position in the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA), latest world rankings.
Cooking star
Mumbai-born Garima Arora became the first woman to win a Michelin star. She won the award for her innovative menu at her restaurant Gaa in Bangkok.
Role model
With more than 20 years of service under her belt, Debjani Ghosh went on to the next level, becoming the first woman to head NASSCOM. She has promised to talk up for women in a male dominated workplace.
Compiled by Nimi Kurian