Women:Breaking the barriers

Over the years, women have been facing exploitation and violence at every step of their life. Even if they have reached to the moon, flying fighter planes or ruling the corporate the world, they are still becoming the victim of heinous crimes like rape, molestation, and acid attack. But many women fought against the patriarchal society, defied gender roles and redefined themselves in front of the whole world.  In the 1980s when most Indian women looked on to their fathers and husbands to make decisions about their marriage, life and career, Shatbhi Basu without any actual intentions, was breaking gender stereotypes. As the first woman bartender in India, Basu feels that bartending is something that you should do only if you are seriously passionate about it and not just because you want to break stereotypes. As a young woman, bartending was not the first choice for a 21-year-old Basu. She wanted to be a Chinese cuisine chef. But life has a different plan for her. She ...

Kind Heart, Fierce Mind and Brave Spirit – This defines the first fire woman of India. Today, the article is all about a 37 year old woman, who has changed perceptions. She is not scared of fire and she plays with fire like a Pro. In a country where women are worshipped but tortured behind the doors, Harshini Kanhekar is an inspiration. She is the first woman firefighter in the history of India. Why not? If women can reach the moon, they can play with real fire too.  As a young girl, she always dreamt of joining the armed forces. She studied in a girl school in the city of Nagpur. Did she ever imagine playing with fire? She was not a bright student in school and she admitted it wholeheartedly. However, she was always up for extra-curricular activities. Some people are born to do greater things like saving lives and changing perceptions. Harshini Kanhekar is one of those women, who inspire us to chase our dreams and be fearless. It may seem like a simple job but it is not. I...

Wing Commander Pooja Thakur became the first woman to lead the ceremonial tri-service guard of honour inspected by U.S. President Barack Obama at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Wing Commander Thakur, from Rajasthan, belongs to the administrative branch of the Indian Air Force and is currently posted at ‘Disha,’ the publicity cell at the Air Force Headquarters. She was commissioned into the IAF in 2001. She has been active in para-jumping and adventure sports, Air Force sources said.  Wing Commander Thakur said: “It is a very proud moment for me and the Indian Air Force, to be creating history, to present the guard of honour to the most powerful man in the world” “The message it sends is that we all are equal. In the Indian Air Force, men and women receive the same training. It is not a job, but a way of life,” she added.

The year 2013 put Indians on the global space map when ISRO launched the Mars Orbiter Mission aka Mangalyaan successfully. India, in its first interplanetary mission, became the first Asian nation to reach the Mars orbit and also the first one to do in its first attempt. Amidst all the celebrations and smiles, three women scientists played crucial roles in the mission. Despite the unequal sex ratio in the country, women continue to appear as winners across the multiple male-dominated professions. The Mars Orbiter Mission is just another example of this. Afar , a short film by Breakthrough, is a film about the women behind the Mars mission. The film features Seetha Somasundaram, the Program Director of the ISRO Space Science Program Office, Nandini Harinath, Project Manager, Mission Design, and Deputy Operations Director, Mars Orbiter Mission, and Minal Rohit, Scientist and Engineer, Project Manager, Methane Sensor for Mars.

India has witnessed 10 percent drop in the percentage of working-age Indian women who participate in the labour force. This fact, based on the data from International Labour Organization, 2005 to present, marks the largest drop of any country in the world during the same time span. Indian women are quitting jobs rapidly either because of inability to balance personal and professional life or pressure from family member and in-laws who think married women should leave job after marriage. What is causing this downfall? (a) Lack of support from family members and spouse: Most of the females leave job after marriage. This is sometimes done willfully and most of the times because of pressures from home to leave their profession. (b) Working hours: Often the in-laws or spouse or both have issues with the working hours of married women. They expect women to be back home by 6:30 pm and get involved with the household chores. Staying outside home till late hours is considered ...

From marry well to women are bad drivers, Indian women face a plethora of stereotypes in their lifetime. These 10 can’t be missed! “Marry well. Your life is settled.” “Women are bad drivers.” “Your husband is earning well, you don’t need to work.” These and more – Indian women have to face a plethora of stereotypical tropes throughout their lifetime. It’s amusing to see that even though it is 2018 and although women have proved their mettle in every field — science, technology, sports, administration etc — they are still dealing with such meaningless stereotypes. (1)To make a marriage successful, women have to BEAR IT ALL! This even if the man is at fault. After all ‘pati is parmeshwar‘, no?! (2)Woman – you are not ‘settled’ till you are married and have popped out a child! She might be heading a company or have set foot on the moon, but her life is rendered worthless and her achievements meaningless till she is married and have had a kid. (3)Marriag...

Meet Ishita Malaviya, journalism student-turned-surfer who’s broken almost every stereotype that tries to bind the quintessential Indian woman. As Ishita herself says in India women are expected to get an education, find a job, get married and then make babies. If she was trying to break through societal barriers, Ishita has done that and more!  Ishita was India’s first female surfer, and now she teaches young girls not only how to surf but also to be whoever they want to be.  When Ishita Malaviya began surfing at the age of 18 she was the only female in the water. She had just moved to a small south west coastal town called Manipal, from the big city of Mumbai, to study journalism in 2007, when a chance encounter with a German exchange student saw her lay her eyes on a surfboard for the first time. Back then surf shops didn't exist and the idea of a woman going anywhere near one was taboo. Local people, who believe fair skin equates to beauty, were also not us...

The amazing journey of Shipra Khanna’s life will surely give everyone the motivation to live their lives in their own way and with pride and breaking all the society barriers to follow their passion. We all know Shipra as the celebrity chef who won MasterChef India Season 2 and gave her life a totally new direction towards success and respect. However, this was not how her story started. She was a very under-confident cook as her cooking never went past the walls of her kitchen. She wanted to win MasterChef but not for the prize alone...for the respect more. Before the competition, Shipra was living a life which is still led by a lot of women, unfortunately. Being a slave to her husband and in-laws, Shipra was facing dowry abuses, physical and mental tortures and much more. "Divorce creates a bad impression of the woman in the society and puts an end to the respect and dignity from society for her," said her husband. This was the only threat by her husband that wa...

Gone are the days when Bollywood portrayed women as damsels in distress, whose only job in the movie was to play the pretty romantic interest of the hero. This Women’s Day, we look at seven Bollywood movies that changed the rules of the game and made women central to the plot, portraying them as bold and independent individuals. (1) Neerja Based on the real life story of Neerja Bhanot, the Pan Am airhostess who laid down her own life to protect passengers during an airplane hijack, the movie not just shows the grit and bravery of this young woman, but also the story of her grieving family. In a country, where the ‘girl child’ is often unwanted, this movie is about a family that celebrates its daughter, both in life and death (2) Mary Kom  The story of a boxer, who goes on to became an Olympic Champion, Mary Kom is a biopic that gave inspiration to many. The movie traces Mary's actual life story and shows how she never gave up. With her husband's support ...

Nandita Das is an Indian film actor and director. She has acted in more than 40 feature films in ten different languages.  Das supported the "Dark is Beautiful" campaign in 2013. Launched by Women of Worth in 2009, a campaign that aims to draw attention to the effects of discrimination based on skin color  in India. The campaign urges women and men to celebrate the beauty and diversity of all skin tones, using slogans such as "Stay UNfair, Stay Beautiful.  Das said in 2014: "Even in the [Indian film] industry when a makeup man or a cinematographer would come and say can you lighten your skin a little, especially when you are playing the middle class educated character. Nandita has  has always been working beyond the stereotypical belief of indian society towards the women.Our society has certain racist behaviour towards women .Our society has always set standards for defining the beauty of women.We have endulged ourselves so much into this that it is hard to g...

A girl who has come from a small village of Haryana. Geeta grew up in a family where people give more preference to male child as compared to daughters, the reason her parents always wanted a male child.  Geeta was born in a Jat family to Mahavir Phogat and Daya Kaur in Balali village of Haryana's Bhiwani district. Coming from such a orthodox beliefs and having dreamt of being India's first  women wrestler winning gold medal and representing India in Commonwealth games 2010 was a commendable hardwork done by her. In 2015, she clinched bronze at the Asian Wrestling championship at Doha, which was her last medal performance representing India. This was totally an efforts of a girl and also efforts of a family who has supported her and working with her towards her goal. Geeta has always been passionate about her dreams and has always been dreaming big for India. She has always decided to go beyond the hardships and the stereotypical belief of the people of small villages who...

Women of Amethi have developed a pickle of their own. Women have not only made it, but are also developing it further.  The efforts of Amethi women have been appreciated by Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani. Smriti Irani wrote tweeting the photo of pickle - Amethi Pickle - A brand is born, is growing and growing, by the women of Amethi. All this is happening in the open Prime Minister Skill Center (PMKK) in April 2017. Prime Minister Skill Development Plan (PMKVY) is a major scheme for youth training for skill training. Under this, special emphasis has been given to improving the courses, better education and trained teachers. Training involves changes in behavior, skill and behavior with other aspects.Under this, 24 lakh youths of the country will get the opportunity to get skill training related to different industries. Under this scheme, the youth receiving skill training is also given financial reward by the government. On completion of training, these youths are giv...

Laxmi Agarwal – A  Brave Acid Attack Victim who is presenting hope to all of the Acid-attack Victims In a way, acid-attack is similar to the act of murder. In the murder, the killer normally kills the body of a fellow human, whereas, in an acid attack, the attacked kills the soul of the victim. He not only kills the beauty of the victim, he also kills her dreams, chance of a  normal life, her aims and goals. As the world is changing, the hopes for a normal life are increasing for the Acid Attack victims, as they are accepting their condition and facing the world with a new outlook. Some of them are even becoming the hope for the others. Laxmi Agarwal  is a teen acid attack victim of India. Her petition, signed by over 27000 people, had forced the Indian Supreme Court to take an action against the public distribution and availability of acids.  She is also the director of an NGO named  Chhanv Foundation , which helps the victims of the acid attacks. I...

Not a woman’s job’, ‘society does not accept this’, ‘a woman can’t’ – these are just some of the things women across the world hear every time they try and rise above stereotypes and achieve something new. But, thankfully, there are many women who decided not to pay heed to the no sayers and moved on, breaking barriers and reaching new heights in their quest to fulfill personal dreams and ambitions. From challenging patriarchal mindsets to fighting disability in pursuit of their passions, Indian women have broken glass ceilings and come out on top as only true fighters can. Over the years, women have been facing exploitation and violence at every step of their life. Even if they have reached to the moon, flying fighter planes or ruling the corporate the world, they are still becoming the victim of heinous crimes like rape, molestation, and acid attack. But many women fought against the patriarchal society, defied gender roles and redefined themselves in front of the whole worl...

Flying officer Avani Chaturvedi is the first Indian woman pilot of the Indian Air Force to complete a solo flight in a MiG-21 Bison fighter aircraft. In February, India got its first woman pilot to fly a fighter jet. This is not the only feather in Avani Chaturvedi’s cap. The flying officer, who hails from Madhya Pradesh, is among the first batch of three women officers who were commissioned as fighter pilots in the IAF in June 2016. Chaturvedi  flew solo in a MiG-21 Bison fighter aircraft over Jamnagar Air Base  on February 19 for around 30 minutes becoming the first woman to do so. How was the experience to fly a fighter jet for the first time? Although I am the first woman to fly a fighter jet, there are others in my squadron who have done that before. So I had spoken to others who have done that. I have also had training to fly solo. So it was not a eureka thing. It was planned and a part of the process. But the first solo is something different because you ...

 Not very often does one get to meet a young woman, wearing a hijab and into professional bodybuilding. 23-year-old Majiziya Bhanu from Kerala is breaking stereotypes. Studying to be a dentist, Majiziya Bhanu has already won several laurels for power lifting. But her latest victory even came as a surprise for her. "I was completely shocked when I won in the bodybuilding competition", Majiziya recalls. On February 25th, at the Mr Kerala contest organised by body lifting Association, Majiziya won the best woman fitness physique.  "I got into bodybuilding accidentally. It was my fiance who encouraged me. I was initially hesitant about bodybuilding because I thought I will have to expose my body. But fiance showed me photographs of muslim women with  hijab , into bodybuilding from countries like Egypt. And I thought I can do this too", Majiziya. Awarded the title of the strongest woman of Kerala thrice by the state's Powerlifting Association, It's ha...

Neetu, a resident of Bhiwani village in Haryana was 13 when she was married off to a mentally challenged man. She ran away when her father-in-law tried to rape her within a week after the marriage. But her parents married her off again. Neetu decided to take up wrestling because her family was having financial troubles. She started training at a facility in Rohtak and her hard work paid off soon. She won her first bronze medal at a national event and after that there was no looking back. Neetu has gone on to win medals at many national and international events.Women has always gone beyong the strong stereotypical barrier the society has set for them.women have always been a gem to the society's good .One of such gem is Neetu sarkar who was a victim of child marriage and with such a strong hearted approach she has failed all the obstacles in her life and have had a strong desire to fulfill her desires and goals.She was married with a mentally challenged man and after few we...

Women:Breaking the stereotypical barriers Women:Breaking the stereotypical barriers Life has always been a rollercoaster ride and is all about how you deal with it. Women has always been considered an epitome of braveness and a person with a strong desire to work beyond expectations .One of such examples would be Neerja bhanot ,who was a model and Air hostess by profession and has saved so many lives at the cost of her own lives. Various fields are supporting women by providing her the opportunity to manage her personal life and professional life and let her glow her . Women has always been a confident and bold decision maker and with a brave heart of sacrificing her and keeping her .Behind every successful person there is a women supporting him and encouraging him, be it a mother, sister or wife. Various women has been involved in breaking in such stereotypical barriers and working towards the achievement of their goals.  Radhika Apte, is one of  such example. ...