8. She is just 15 yrs, her son is 18 months old
A.S.
9. They also suffer from…
Maternal Mortality
Women Trafficking
Malnutrition
Exploitative Practices
Child Marriage
Dowry
Gender Violence
Child Labor
Eve Teasing
Sexual Harassment
Family Abuse
& a lot more…
A.S.
10. 60 % of the Girls are married before the age of 16
Nearly 60% of the married girls bear children before
they are 18
125,000 women die from pregnancy and related
causes every year
Maternal mortality in India is the 2nd highest in the
world
A.S.
12. It is well known that women and children work in huge numbers in
bidi-rolling, agarbatti-rolling, bangle making, weaving, brassware,
leather, crafts and other industries.
Yet, only 3 % of these women are recorded as laborers.
A.S.
50. Kasturba often joined Gandhiji in political protests.
She traveled to South Africa in 1897 to be with her husband.
From 1904 to 1914, she was active in the Phoenix Settlement near Durban.
During the 1913 protest against working conditions for Indians in South Africa,
Kasturba was arrested and sentenced to three months in a hard labor prison.
Later, in India, she sometimes took her husband's place when he was under
arrest.
In 1915, when Gandhi returned to India to support indigo planters, Kasturba
accompanied him. She taught hygiene, discipline, reading and writing to women
and children.
A.S.
52. Founded the Missionaries of Charity and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979
for her humanitarian work.
For over forty years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying in
Kolkata (Calcutta), India.
By the 1970s she had become internationally famed as a humanitarian and
advocate for the poor and helpless
Following her death she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
A.S.
54. “God can not be everywhere, So he created Mother”
A.S.
55. “Mai” Sindhutai Sapakal Mother of Orphan children.
She has devoted her life for the cause of orphan children. this is not a
change of a day or two, it came after tremendous struggle and up and down in
her life.
In her journey of 32 years 'Mai' has groomed more than 1000 children, now
a step ahead she is proud to have 175 sun-in-laws and 36 daughter-in-laws
She is also working continuously to achieve educational development of
women and girls.
She is rewarded by more than 70 awards for her work by various well
known institutes
A.S.
57. Famously known as known as Bharatiya Kokila (The Nightingale of
India), was a child prodigy, freedom fighter, and poet.
Naidu was the first Indian woman to become the President of the Indian National
Congress and the first woman to become the governor of a state in India.
She joined the Indian independence movement, in the wake of the aftermath of
partition of Bengal in 1905.
From 1915 to 1918 she lectured all over India on welfare of youth, dignity of
labour, women's emancipation and nationalism. After meeting Jawaharlal Nehru in
1916, she took up the cause of the indigo workers of Champaran.
In 1925 she was elected as the President of the Congress, the first Indian
woman to hold the post
In July 1919, Naidu became the Home Rule League's ambassador to England.
A.S.
59. India's first woman photo journalist, 92-year-old Homai Vyarawalla, has witnessed
many historic events and changes during the freedom struggle and after.
Her vast portfolio, soon to be published in a book, has pictures of Mumbai in the
1930s, political leaders, freedom fighters, the Nehru era right up to the time of Indira
Gandhi.
The world saw the optimism and jubilation of a newly liberated country through her
pictures.
Homai Vyarawalla photographed the last days of the British Empire and her work traces the
birth and growth of a new nation.
The story of Homai’s life and her work spans an entire century of Indian history.
A.S.
62. She broke new ground by joining the élite Indian Police
Service in 1972, the first woman in India to do so.
Her humane and fearless approach has contributed
greatly to innumerable innovative policing and prison
reforms.
Besides her professional contributions, two voluntary
organizations founded and supervised by her — Navjyoti,
set up in 1988 and India Vision Foundation in 1994, reach
out to thousands of poor children daily for primary
education; women for adult literacy; provide vocational
training and counseling services in the slums, rural areas
and inside the prison apart from treatment for drug
addiction.
She and her organizations today stand nationally and
internationally recognized, with the latest award being
given by the United Nations — the Serge Sotiroff Memorial
Award for drug abuse prevention.
A.S.
64. Ela Bhatt was born in 1933 in Gujarat, India.
After graduating with a Law degree in 1954, she joined the
Textile Labour Union (TLU) founded by Mahatma Gandhi in
1917.
While working at TLU she observed the conditions of the
disorganised self-employed sector, primarily comprised of
women, and decided to help in 'unionising' them.
A.S.
68. She did her M.A. in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).
She left her position on the faculty of TISS as well as her unfinished Ph. D. when
she became involved in the tribal and peasant agitations in Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh and Gujarat, which eventually led to the organization of the Narmada
Bachao Andolan
Hunger strike
On March 28,2006, she started a hunger-strike to protest against the decision
of the authorities to raise the height of the Narmada Dam. She ended her 20 day
fast on April 17, 2006, after the Supreme Court of India refused the Narmada
Bachao Andolan's appeal to stop the construction of the dam.
Arrested by Police in West Bengal
She was held by the police at Singur on December 2, 2006 before as she
reached to protest against the acquisition of farmland.
Attack on Medha Patkar
On November 8, 2007, her convoy was allegedly attacked by activists of
Communist Party of India-Marxist
A.S.
70. Roy has campaigned along with activist Medha Patkar against the
Narmada dam project, saying that the dam will displace half a million people,
with little or no compensation, and will not provide the projected irrigation,
drinking water and other benefits.
Roy donated her Booker prize money as well as royalties from her books
on the project to the Narmada Bachao Andolan.
Roy has strongly criticised the U.S. led invasion of Afghanistan in reaction
to the September 11 attacks, decrying its undermining of international law
and institutions, disputing U.S. claims of being a peaceful and freedom-loving
nation
A.S.
72. Aruna Roy (61) is an Indian political and social activist.
She is best known for her campaigns to better the lives of the rural poor in
Rajasthan (north-western India) and her long campaigns were instrumental in the
passing of the Indian Right to Information law in 2005.
She resigned from the prestigious bureaucratic service of the Indian central
government (the "IAS") in order to devote her time to campaigns, social work
and social reform.
Roy joined the Social Work and Research Center in Tilonia, Rajasthan, which
had been set up by her husband Sanjit 'Bunker' Roy.
She worked at the SWRC until 1983, then moved to Devdoongri, a village in
the Rajsamand district of Rajasthan in 1987 along with Shanker Singh and Nikhil
Dey.
Together with many people from the area, the three of them helped set up the
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (Workers-Farmers' Unity Union), which they
describe as a "non-party people's organisation" in 1990.
A.S.
73. In 2000, she was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay award for Community
Leadership.
Aruna Roy then requested that the award be given to the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti
Sangathana, but was informed that it was only given to individuals.
While accepting the award she urged the foundation to change its policy, and
now the award is open to organizations also.
She put the award money into a trust to support the process of democratic
struggles. A.S.
75. Nafisa Ali is a social activist from India.
She has accomplishments in several fields. She was the national swimming
champion from 1972-1974. She won the Miss India title in 1976 and was runner-up
at the Miss International contest in 1977.
She is associated with Action India, an organisation working to spread AIDS
awareness. She contested the 2004 Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully from
South Kolkata.
In September 2005, she was appointed the chairperson of the Children's Film
Society of India (CFSI).
A.S.
78. Sudha Murthy (born Sudha Kulkarni, in Karnataka, India in 1950) is an
Indian social worker and accomplished author.
She is known for her philanthropic work through the Infosys Foundation.
Among other things, she has initiated a move to provide all government
schools in Karnataka with computer and library facilities. She also teaches
computer science and writes fiction.
Dollar Sose (Dollar daughter-in-law), a book originally she wrote in Kannada
and later translated to English as Dollar Bahu was adopted as a television
serial in 2001.
She completed her M.Tech. in Computer Science in 1974 from the Indian
Institute of Science, Bangalore, stood first in her class and received a gold
medal from the Indian Institute of Engineers.
A.S.
79. She was also the first woman engineer to be selected in Telco (now Tata
Motors), Pune. She had written a postcard to JRD Tata complaining of the
gender bias in Tata Motors (Telco then had a men-only policy) and she was
invited for a special interview by Tata Motors.
On November 19th 2004, the Raja-Lakshmi Award for the year 2004 was
presented to her "in recognition of her outstanding contribution to social
work" by Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation, Chennai
In 2006, she was awarded the Padma Shri, a civilian award from the
Government of India and received an honorary doctorate from Sathyabama
University.
A.S.
81. Mrs. Gupte was instrumental in transforming ICICI Bank from a
primarily term lending institution into a technology led diversified financial
services group with a strong presence in India's retail financial services
market.
The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence on "The Women
Behind ICICI" for "Business Woman of the Year 2004-2005".
"The Woman of the Year Award" for 2002 presented by the
International Women's Association for her achievements in the corporate
world,
"The 21st Century for Finance & Banking Award" by the Ladies' Wing of
the Indian Merchants' Chamber (1997) and "Women Achievers' Award"
from the Women Graduates Union (2001).
A.S.
83. Tina, in 2002, provided a platform for
`Aseema', an NGO engaged in the rehabilitation
and education of street children.
30 street children displayed their talent
through innovative works of art and craft. The
proceeds from the show went towards helping
`Aseema'
`Harmony' derived its name from the furnishings product division of the Ambani-
owned Reliance Industries.
It was an association of ideas, she says. "The Harmony range of furnishing
fabrics was also an attempt to evolve a harmony, between the aesthetics of
modern day living, fine art and the new generation technology.
Since its inception in 1996, the show has not looked back. The number of
entries, the number of visitors, the quality of work and the fame of the show have
gone up. The exhibition has dealt with different themes — The Spirit of India,
Harmony, the Essence of Life, Art and Fashion.
Two awards were instituted in 1998, the Harmony Excellence Award for the
Emerging Artist of the Year', a sum of Rs 1 lakh, and the `Harmony Heritage Award
for Lifetime Contribution to Art, Culture and Literature' worth Rs 2 lakh.
A.S.
84. The Harmony for Silvers Foundation, founded in 2004 by Tina Anil Ambani, is
a non-government organization working to enhance the quality of life of the
elderly in India.
It envisages India’s elderly as ‘Silver Citizens’—glowing and proud.
Harmony’s mission is to create an environment where silvers, irrespective of
their cultural beliefs, can retain their dignity, self-respect, pride and self-
confidence
Over a period of time, the Harmony for Silvers Foundation intends to
promote sound and forward looking strategies and mechanisms to
enhance the abilities and participation of silver citizens in the overall
development of society.
A.S.
86. Naina Lal Kidwai (born 1957) was the first Indian woman to graduate from the
Harvard Business School. As of 2006, she is the Chief Executive Officer of The
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation India branches.
Fortune magazine listed Kidwai among the World's Top 50 Corporate Women
from 2000 to 2003. According to the Economic Times, she is the first woman to
head the operations of a foreign bank in India.
Naina Lal Kidwai is currently the Group General Manager and Country Head of
HSBC India. She has been awarded with Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian
honours bestowed by the Government of India. The announcement was made by
Rashtrapati Bhawan on 26 Jan 2007
A.S.
88. Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi (born October 28, 1955 in Chennai, Tamil
Nadu, India)
Is the chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo, the world's fourth-
largest food and beverage company.
On August 14, 2006, Nooyi was named the successor to Steve Reinemund
as chief executive officer of the company.
She was effectively appointed as CEO by PepsiCo's board of directors on
October 1, 2006.
According to the polls Forbes magazine conducted, Nooyi ranks fifth on the
2007 list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women.
Nooyi has been named the #1 Most Powerful Woman in Business in 2006
and 2007 by Fortune magazine.
A.S.
90. Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (born 23 March 1953 in
Bangalore) is an Indian entrepreneur. She is the Chairman &
Managing Director of Biocon Ltd. In 2004, she became
India’s richest woman.
As Chairperson and Mission Leader of CII's National
Task Force on Biotechnology she has led several
delegations to USA, Canada, UK, etc. to propel India into
the global super league of biotech trailblazers.
She chairs Karnataka's Vision Group on Biotechnology
and also served on the Board of Science Foundation,
Ireland.
A.S.
92. Shabana Azmi is a film actress as well as a social activist, and her
performances in films in a variety of genres have generally earned her praises
and awards.
Social activism
Shabana Azmi has been a committed social activist, active in fighting AIDS
and injustice in real life.
She has voiced her opinion on a variety of issues.
Among the neglected social groups whose causes she has advocated are
slum dwellers, displaced Kashmiri migrants and victims of the earthquake at
Latur (Maharashtra, India).
After the September 11 2001 attacks, she opposed the advice of an important
religious leader calling upon the Muslims of India to join the people of
Afghanistan in their fight by retorting that the leader go there alone.
A.S.
93. And There are a lot more…
Saluja Motwani
Barkha Dutt
Maharani Gayatri Devi
Sushmita Sen
Brinda Karat
Nandita Das
Kalpana Chawla
Sunita Williams
Menaka Gandhi
Lata Mangeshkar
A.S.
106. नये हाथ से, वर्तमान का रूप सँवारो
नयी र्ूलिका से चित्रों के रंग उभारो
नये राग को नूर्न स्वर दो
भाषा को नूर्न अक्षर दो
युग की नयी मूर्र्त-रिना में
इर्ने मौलिक बनो कक जिर्ना स्वयं सृिन है॥
िो अर्ीर् से उर्ना ही जिर्ना पोषक है
िीर्त-शीर्त का मोह मृत्यु का ही द्योर्क है
र्ोडो बन्धन, रुके न चिंर्न
गर्र्, िीवन का सत्य चिरन्र्न
धारा के शाश्वर् प्रवाह में
इर्ने गर्र्मय बनो कक जिर्ना पररवर्तन है।A.S.