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Prime Minister interacted with Nari Shakti Puraskar winners in the capital on March 8. 15 Women achievers from various parts of the country including Leh, Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh shared their trials, struggles and how they achieved their goals with the Prime Minister.
The achievers includes 103 Year old Ms Mann Kaur, who started athletics at the age of 93 and went on to win 4 Gold Medals in Field and Track events at World Masters Athletic Championship, Poland.
Arifa Jan from Jammu & Kashmir who is the founder of Numdha Handicrafts is responsible for reviving the lost art of Numdha handicrafts. She shared her experience in training more than 100 women in Kashmir and reviving the dying handicraft.
Indian Air Force’s first women fighter pilots Mohana Singh, Bhawana Kanth & Avani Chaturvedi also shared their experiences. The trio was induced into IAF fighter squadron after Government of India decided to open fighter stream in IAF for women on experimental basis. They became the first Indian women pilots to take a solo flight in a MIG- 21 in 2018.
Padala Bhudevi a tribal woman farmer and rural entrepreneur from Andhra Pradesh, Bina Devi from Munger Bihar who is fondly known as ‘Mushroom Mahila’ for popularizing mushroom cultivation also shared their experiences in farming and marketing with the Prime Minister.
Kalavati Devi a lady mason from Kanpur district in Uttar Pradesh is a driving force towards reducing open defecation in the district. She is responsible for building 4000 + toilets in villages in and around Kanpur. She shared her experience with the Prime Minister on how she has gone door to door to create awareness about the ills of open defecation and how she travelled for multiple hours to villages across Kanpur in her effort towards reducing Open defecation.
Chami Murmu from Jharkhand, a passionate environmentalist who formed more than 2800 groups with over 30,000 women has shared her experience in planting over 25 lakh trees in barren land.
98 year old Kathyayani Amma from Kerala shared her experience how she passed the IV standard equivalent exam under Kerala Literacy Mission’s Akasharalaksham Scheme in August 2018. She bagged the first rank and scored 98% marks.
Addressing the gathering the Prime Minister said that the Nari Shakti Award winners have made great contribution in building the society and inspiring the nation.
He said the country could not have achieved the open defecation free status without significant contribution from women. Similarly he said malnutrition issue can also be resolved with greater women participation.
Prime minister also touched upon the issue of water conservation and highlighted that the Jal Jeevan Mission needs a greater participation of women.
He congratulated the achievers and said that they are a source of inspiration to the whole country.
7 women achievers share their stories through PM’s social media accounts
In a unique social media initiative, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi handed over his accounts on various platforms to seven woman achievers from different fields to share their life journeys and messages on the International Women’s Day.
From a farmer to activists working in the fields of sanitation, disability rights, water conservation and fighting hunger to somebody dedicated to reviving Kashmir handicraft industry, women used Modi’’s accounts — which enjoy a huge following, to share their stories and spread their messages.
Known for his imaginative communication initiatives, the Prime Minister handed over his accounts on platforms like Twitter and Facebook to these women, saying they have done great work in a wide range of sectors and their struggles and aspirations motivate millions.
“As I’d said a few days ago, I’m signing off. Through the day, seven women achievers will share their life journeys and perhaps interact with you through my social media accounts. Let us keep celebrating the achievements of such women and learning from them,” he said in his tweets.
The seven women were drawn from different parts of the country and came from varied backgrounds.
The women chosen to use PM Shri Narendra Modi’s accounts included Sneha Mohandoss, who works to eradicate hunger, Malvika Iyer, who survived a gruesome bomb blast that blew off her hands and damaged her legs when she was 13 and is now a motivational speaker, disability activist and model, and Arifa Jaan from Kashmir who promotes traditional crafts of Kashmir.
Others were Kalpana Ramesh, a water conservator, Vijaya Pawar, who promotes handicrafts from the Banjara community of rural Maharashtra, Kalavati Devi of Kanpur, who collects money to build toilets, and Veena Devi, who is from Munger in Bihar and made her name by growing mushrooms under her bed due to lack of space.
While sharing their stories and messages from Shri Modi’s personal handle, these women also responded to some of the message they received.
Modi government empowered the women: JP Nadda
The Prime Minister’s outreach to women with the innovative exercise drew praise from the BJP with its National President Shri JP Nadda saying that the Modi government has not only empowered women but has also brought to fore their glorious works.
The prime minister is one of the most-followed world leaders on social media with 53.3 million followers on Twitter, 44 million on Facebook and 35.2 million on Instagram. The Twitter handle of Prime Minister’s Office has 32 million followers. By sharing their stories the glorious works of our women came to the fore. Shri Nadda said the world will take inspiration from these seven women.