Friday 2 December 2011

Women have reached everywhere

I haven’t yet come to terms with this new role of mine, and to imagine three months are already over and it is time for the new issue. Actually, as the deadline for this edit was coming up, I was feeling helpless thinking how I would manage writing it with so many other important things to do. But then here I am writing this. Voila! This is what power women are capable of. Juggling work and home is a cakewalk for them. This being my first proper edit for Power Women, it is my ode to the very concept of power woman!

A woman has always been described as a source of strength. She stands tall even after never ending turmoils. I believe that every woman can make seemingly impossible things happen if she has the will and commitment to do so. Gone are those decades when women were typically involved in domestic tasks, where wifehood and motherhood were regarded as women’s most significant professions. In recent decades women in most societies now have access to careers beyond that of the traditional homemaker. Awareness, education, and life’s struggles have forced them to shed their inhibitions. Great women leaders, artists, scientists, and other professional women have inspired other women to overcome social obstacles. Women have left the secured domain of their home and are now in the battlefield of life, fully armoured with their talent. If on one hand she is at the top of the ladder of success, on the other hand she is efficiently handling the household chores and taking care of her family. She is the new age woman, ‘The Power Woman’.

These women have broken the barriers and have made a difference to society with their outstanding work and other pursuits that touch our lives, in more ways than one. Women started coming out of their shells, in the past decades mostly as reformers. However clichéd it might sound but the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize ‘Mother Teresa’ nonetheless inspired countless volunteers to serve, and with the help of these social reformers women slowly started recognizing their true potential. They started questioning the rules laid down for them by the society. As a result, started breaking barriers and earned a respectable position in the world. Today women have excelled in each and every field from social work to visiting space stations. There is no arena, which remained unconquered even by the Indian woman. Be it politics where names like Sarojini Naidu, Vijaylakshami Pandit, Sucheta Kriplani who were the torchbearer for the women of India. The most important name in the category of women politicians is Late Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the first woman Prime Minister of independent India. She was the one who made the world stop and notice the talent and potential of Indian women.

Women have achieved great laurels for the nation in every sport too. Whether it is cricket or hockey, our country has a national women team for every game. The Indian women cricket team has won Asia Cup of 2004 and 2005 and made the country proud. Some women sports icons of India are P T Usha (Athletics), Kunjarani Devi (Weight lifting), Diana Edulji (Cricket) and Sania Mirza (Tennis). In the past women of India used to write, but their work did not get the recognition. Today they are getting their due Arundhati Roy, Anita Desai, Kiran Desai, Shobhaa De, Jhumpa Lahiri are famous names in Indian literature. Not just in India now these women are recognised all over the world. Arundhati Roy has been awarded with the Booker Prize of 1997 for her work God of Small Things. Kiran Desai has been given Booker Prize of 2006 and Jhumpa Lahiri got recognition in the form of Pulitzer Prize. Women have not just made their mark on earth but they have engraved their name in the whole universe by flying to space. Kalpana Chawla, who was a member of Colombia Space Shuttle, which exploded on its way back, was the first Indian womn astronaut who visited space station. And now following on her footsteps another women of Indian origin Sunita Williams has become the second one to be the member of International Space Station crew.

Women have even made great strides in the corporate world in the last three decades. They are also enjoying the impact of globalisation and making an influence not only in the domestic, but also in the international sphere. Women are doing a wonderful job striking a balance between their house and career. Indu Jain of Bennett Coleman, India’s biggest media house, has even reached billionaire status.. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw started one of India’s first biotech companies, Biocon. Lalita Gupte and Kalpana Morparia, both were the only businesswomen in India who run India’s second-largest bank, ICICI Bank. Anu Aga turned around an ailing company, the engineering firm Thermax Group. Simone Tata built one of the first indigenous cosmetic brands, Lakme, now a unit of Hindustan Lever. Priya Paul became the president of Apeejay Surrendra Group at the age of 24 when her father was assassinated in 1990. Sulajja Firodia Motwani, managing director of Kinetic Motor, has ensured that in the past six years her company has collaborated with firms in Korea, Italy and Taiwan and has helped it grow from a niche moped maker to a manufacturer of a full range of two wheelers and auto components.

Be it any field, women have reached everywhere. So it’s not only Venus but women are conquering Mars too! We should be proud of such trendsetters who have not just carved a name for themselves in their chosen path, but have become the torch bearers for countless others in urban and rural India who want to follow their dreams, reach their goals, and give back to society. I salute these and the countless other “Power Women” who have inspired not just us women, but the entire mankind today.

This issue is on the wonderful women like - Pooja Jain, Divya Modi, Sminu Jindal, Shradhha Suri, Zia Mody, Lara Balsara, Monica Oswal and Himani Modi who have not only inherited their family businesses but are positively impacting it and taking it forward. My best wishes to them and hope more and more women get inspired by such super achievers and make greater strides in life and business!