Women can soar high up in the sky with their courage and determination, and can be the source of inspiration for the entire world with their outstanding achievements. Since times immemorial, women have overcome odds and challenged difficulties. The history of Indian women is full of pioneers, who have broken gender barriers and made the world sit up and take note.

Year after year, strong, intelligent, determined women from across India, make their mark around the world in varied fields—from arts and science to sports. Here is a list of some real-life heroines who have brought honor to the country with their stellar achievements.

Hima Das – The Dhing Express

The daughter of a rice farmer, Hima Das, the recip[ient of ‘Arjuna Award’, became the poster-girl for Indian athletics. She is a star sprinter who has recently been appointed as the Deputy Superintendent of Assam Police. Hima Das won India’s first ever track gold medal at the IAAF World U-20 Athletics Championships in Tampere, Finland when she clocked a speed of 51.46 seconds. She is nicknamed Dhing Express’ referring to the town near her native village in Assam. She won 5 gold medals in 20 days. The historic gold medal has launched her into the limelight, but her journey wasn’t easy. Her unshackled hope and confidence motivated her throughout her journey and she went on to become an international star.

Mary Kom – The Great Indian Boxer

India’s strongest daughter, known as ‘Magnificent Mary’, is one of the top sportswomen and will remain a proud mentor to boxing lovers forever. Belonging to a very middle-class family where boxing is considered unsuitable for women, Mary Kom hid her passion and practiced secretly. She is the only female boxer who has won a medal in each of the six World Championships and the only Indian woman boxer who qualified for the 2012 Olympics. Mary Kom became the first Indian woman boxer to win a gold medal in Asian Games in 2014. She is the only female boxer to achieve the coveted No. 1 position in the International Boxing Association (AIBA) after becoming the World Amateur Boxing champion.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw – The self-made woman billionaire of India

The daughter of a brewmaster found no companies willing to offer a brewing job to a woman. Thus, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw started her venture- Biocon in 1978. She is currently the Chairperson and MD of Biocon Limited- India’s largest biotechnology company.  Conferred with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, She is ranked 60th on the Forbes list of most powerful women in the world, and is the richest self-made woman billionaire of India. She is the Chairperson of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.

Indra Nooyi – Former CEO of Pepsi

Famous Business Executive, Indira Nooyi was named as one of the best CEOs in the World and has also been awarded the Padma Bhushan. She is the 2nd woman to become a board member at Amazon. She has consistently been ranked among the World’s 100 most powerful women.

Kalpana Chawla – A star that shone brightly

Inspiration to every girl child, Kalpana Chawla was the first Indian woman who reached in space. As a mission specialist and a primary robotic arm operator, she went into space in 1997. Born in Haryana in a poverty-stricken family, Kalpana had always been fascinated by the stars. Her story is one of determination, true resilience, and a testimony to the fact that no dream is too far if a person puts his all efforts to chase it.

The Yoga Champions of India

 Yoga is part of India’s rich heritage and proud daughters of India presented this fact before the whole world in the World Yoga Championship. Kirti Insan, Swapnil Insan, Lavjot Insan, Karamdeep Insan, and Neelam Insan bagged gold and silver medals and brought the laurels to the nationwith the guidance of their True spiritual master and coach Saint Dr, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan. They bagged a plethora of medals – 16 medals in the 3rd Asia Yoga Championship held in Kuala Lumpur and 22 medals viz. 9 Gold, 7 Silver, and 6 Bronze in the 25th World Yoga Championships held in Paris.

Saina Nehwal – Woman of grit

Saina Nehwal became the first Indian woman to win a medal in Badminton at the 2012 Olympic Games. The Government of India honored her with the Padma Bhushan – India’s third-highest civilian award. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Arjuna Award were also conferred on her by the Government of India.

Priyanka Chopra – A small city girl that became a global icon

Global Icon, Priyanka Chopra is unknown to none.  Her Confidence and resilience to win have established her as a successful and one of the most influential people in the world.

There is a long list of her achievements and the number of projects she has done to empower women. Belonging to a very simple middle-class family, she started her journey when she won Miss World in 2000. Today she is known across the world as a brilliant actress, philanthropist and a successful entrepreneur.

Tessy Thomas – The Agniputri

Hailed as “Agniputri” and the “Missile woman of India,” Tessy’s passion for missile technology made her the first woman to head an Indian missile project. With the successful launch of the Agni-V missile project, she achieved a career milestone. However, the journey wasn’t without its share of obstacles. Born in a family with four sisters and a brother, and to a mother who was not allowed to work, she has decisively broken the glass ceiling to make her mark in a traditionally male dominated institution.

Young achievers of India

Daughters have a great caliber to achieve anything in life.  If given the right wings to fly, they can conquer the world.

Honeypreet Insan, broke Jackie chan’s record by performing 36 different, credits, all by herself, in the film “Hind Ka Napak Ko Jawab”, becoming a wonderful role model to the world.

Sweetluck Insan is a super talented kid. She made her name in Guinness World Record and Asia Book of record when she was just seven years old.  Since childhood, she has actively participated in humanitarian activities.

Pearlmeet Insan, registered her name in the India Book of records when she was just seven years old. She recited the whole periodic table in just 38 seconds and made the country proud.

Conclusion

Women make significant contributions that are important to the nation and without which the society cannot thrive. On this International Women’s day, let us pledge to give them equal opportunities to grow, view