Know All About 4 Indian Women That Made India Proud

Source: Wooden Street

 

Indian women have been fighting for freedom for generations now. Freedom for equality, freedom against violence, freedom for equal pay are just some battles women fight daily. Today women are achieving positions of great power in various fields. There are women out there who have gone above and beyond to achieve their dreams. 

Be it sports or politics, business or science, these women have attained the unattainable. Be it sports or politics, business or science, no one can stop a woman from excelling and reaching great heights. Here are four Indian women who inspire us every day with their determination and willpower.

1. Mary Kom 

Source: The Economic Times

Mary Kom belongs to the Kom tribe of Manipur in India. She is the first Indian female boxer to earn an Olympic medal and the winner of the World Amateur Boxing Champion five times. She is the first female boxer to claim six world titles.

Mary spent her childhood days in the fields, taking care of her siblings and attending school. Her family battled poverty for a long time and Mary knew she had to help her family. As a child, she became interested in sports. It was Dingko Singh winning a Gold medal at the Asian Games that inspired Mary towards boxing. 

Mary started her training in Imphal under Coach K. Kosana Meitei. She won the state boxing championship in 2000 and has worked hard since then. In India where women are still struggling for basic rights, Mary’s success is a catalyst for the country’s women. She has proved that hard work and determination go a long way. 

Her achievements are recognized all over the globe. Mary believes that as a woman, “Don’t let anyone tell you are weak because you are a woman.” She is a perfect role model for India’s youth. The movie Mary Kom documents her life experiences. Some of Mary Kom’s Achievements include:

1. Padma Shree by the Indian Government(2006)

2. Pepsi MTV Youth Icon of the Year by MTV India(2008)

3. Gold medal(48 kg category) at Asian Cup Women’s Boxing Tournament(2011)

4. Padma Bhushan Award by the Government of India(2013)

5. Gold medal in Flyweight(51 kg category) at the Asian Games(2014),

Four times winner of Asian Women’s Championships and much more.

2. Dr. Seema Rao

Source: Femina

Dr. Seema Rao is India’s first woman Commando trainer. Rao is the embodiment of strength for Indian women. She is the only woman who has trained over 20,000 Indian soldiers without getting paid for it. She has trained navy commandos, air force commandos, special forces, guards, paramilitary, the QRT, and others for 25 years.

Dr. Seema’s father Prof Ramakant Sinari, a freedom fighter used to tell her stories of rebellion and strength. She says, “I was certainly inspired by his stories of rebellion and strength.” She learned martial arts, MMA, and Israeli krav maga. She has professional training in scuba diving, sailing and yachting, mountain climbing, jungle survival, and skydiving. These courses made her understand problems faced in different climatic conditions.

She along with her husband Major Deepak Rao trained Indian soldiers for more than two decades. They had to sell their gold and fixed deposits to survive and one time they were bankrupt. Rao continued to train the troops without any safety gear despite near-death experiences. The couple has received three Army Chief citations for their conviction.

Rao received the Nari Shakti Puraskar Award (2019) and was ranked in the 2019 Forbes India W-Power Trailblazer list. She has devoted her time to women's empowerment post-retirement. Rao believes that more women are keen on joining the forces as:

“No one can stop a woman from excelling and reaching the heights in her field.”

3. Kiran Bedi

Source: Teahub

Kiran Bedi was the first woman to join Indian Police Service (IPS). She is a social activist who introduced prison reform in India. Antiterrorist specialist, narcotics officer, administrator are a few roles she has served.

Kiran did her master’s in political science with a law degree (1988). Her Ph.D. focuses on domestic violence and drug abuse under social science. In 1972, she joined the service as an IPS officer. Apart from this, Bedi is a famous tennis player and has won Lionel Fonseka Memorial Trophy, along with All-India Hard Court Tennis Championship (1974).

Bedi is an incredible author with more than 20 books under her name. She writes in both English and Hindi. A few of them are: I DARE, It’s Always possible, Galti Kiski, and Yeha Sambhav Hai.

Kiran Bedi became the first Indian woman to be appointed as United Nations police advisor. She has worked as a social activist to employ primary education. For this, she has established Navjyoti and the Indian Vision Foundation. Over the years she has been recognized as:

1. President’s Police Medal (1979) – For her remarkable courage in preventing violence

2. Ramon Magsaysay Award (1994) – For Government service.

3. Pride of India (1999) – Commitment towards human welfare.

4. United Nations Medal (2004) – Outstanding service.

5. L’Oreal Paris Femina Women Award (2014)- For her social impact in India.

For the last five years (2016-2021) Kiran Bedi served in the Puducherry union territory as lieutenant governor. Now she is writing books and fighting for social causes. Kiran Bedi is a role model for Indians because of her honesty, bravery, integrity, and perseverance. 

Being a tennis player, an IPS officer, author, a Lieutenant, and a social activist, Kiran Bedi motivates us to take charge of our life. We should stop fearing the impossible and make the right choices for our future selves.

 

4. Dr. Tessy Thomas

Source: 100 Extraordinary Women

Dr. Tessy Thomas is the first Missile Woman to head a missile project in India. She has done her ME in Guided missiles (1986) and Ph.D. in Missile Guidance (2014). Tessy joined the IAT Pune and the Guided Missiles in 1986. She associated herself with Agni Programme from its developmental flights while designing the guidance scheme for long-range missile systems. 

For this, she was granted Agni Self Reliance Award in 2001. She was as Project Director for AGNI-4 and led the long-range AGNI-5 system. She is a fellow of FNAE, FIE, ISAMPE, IEEE, ASI, and many other fellowships. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh regarded Dr. Tessy as a “woman making her mark in a traditionally male bastion and decisively breaking the glass ceiling.”

Over the years she has been the recipient of many awards. Some of them include:

1. DRDO Agni Award for Excellence in Self-Reliance (2001)

2. DRDO Scientist of the Year Award (2008)

3. Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration Academics and Management (2012)

4. National Design and Research Forum for Engineering Design (2009)

5. Smt. Chandan Mohanbhai Patel Industrial Research Award for Women Scientists by VASVIK (2009)

6. Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya Award (2016)

 

Conclusion

We, women, have to understand our potential and work to achieve our goals. We have to empower ourselves to build the future we want. We are the untapped reservoir full of talent that the world needs today for a brighter future.

Written by Garima Jain