The Week That Was: Indian Women Empowerment News Overview (11-17 September)

By: WE Staff | Saturday, 17 September 2022

"Empowering women is essential for India's development. The time of viewing women as 'homemakers' is over; women now need to be seen as nation builders! In January 2014, Gujarat's then-chief minister, Narendra Modi, tweeted. Womenentrepreneurindia is aiming to empower women by spreading news about it and inspiring many women through daily updates about it. 

WomenEntrepreneurIndia has put together a list of recent events that are important to women's empowerment in recognition to Modi's commitment towards women empowerment on his birthday.

Australia India Business Council Ltd. Makes History with All-Women Leadership Team

Jodi McKay, a former leader of the opposition in New South Wales, and Ravneet Pawha, vice president (global alliances) and CEO (South Asia) at Deakin University, will serve as the executive directors of the Australia India Business Council, which was established to promote bilateral relations between India and Australia. The appointment of Ms. McKay and Ms. Pawha as National Chair and National Vice Chair, respectively, of the Australia India Business Council Ltd. (AIBC), comes at a crucial juncture in the history of relations between Australia and India, as the two nations have just agreed on an interim free trade agreement and are currently engaged in negotiations for an Australia India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement. The respective Prime Ministers of both nations at the time—Bob Hawke and Rajiv Gandhi—created AIBC in 1986.

Swiss Pharmaceutical Company Launches an Initiative in India to Reduce Maternal Mortality

In an effort to eradicate avoidable maternal deaths, at a gathering held at the Swiss embassy, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and the Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India launched an initiative.

In order to put an end to unnecessary maternal mortality, the programme "For Every Mother in India" seeks to mobilise a wide range of stakeholders across the nation, including policymakers, government agencies, development partners, academics, medical specialists, and civil society.

By 2030, it also hopes to prevent post-partum haemorrhage (PPH), the main cause of maternal deaths, by providing two crore women and their families with sustainable access to room-temperature stable (RTS) carbetocin, a medication used to treat excessive post-partum bleeding.

Women Public Representatives to get Exclusive day to Speak in the U.P Assembly

The Uttar Pradesh assembly has decided to set aside a day during the Monsoon session, which is scheduled to begin on September 19, for female public representatives to address issues that concern them.

Speaker Satish Mahana made a decision in this regard, which is seen as a significant step towards the empowerment of women, after being informed by female MLAs during an interaction that they were not given the proper opportunities to speak in the House.

Following the question period on the designated day, "all women members will be given an opportunity to speak on the issues they want to," Mahana added.

The assembly is authorised to have 403 members, yet there are only 47 women among that number. It has also previously had subpar representation. Women members from all parties are therefore supportive of the speaker's action.

Publishing House AdiDev Press Publishes Books that vividly Depict the Inspirational Stories of Sportswomen

The publication of a quartet of books featuring the remarkable lives of four South Asian sportswomen, including PT Usha and Bhakti Sharma, was announced by the publishing house AdiDev Press on Tuesday.

Pervin Saket, a writer and poet from Pune, is the author of the beautifully illustrated box set titled "Women in Sports." It features the mountaineer Arunima Sinha, the open-water swimmer Bhakti Sharma, the sharpshooters Chandro and Prakashi Tomar, and the athlete PT Usha on the topics of "Adaptability," "Resilience," "Transformation," and "Trust."

The set is a part of the publishing company's 'Learning To Be' collection, which also includes board books on the biographies and philosophies of Indian saints and trailblazing women in science.

LIXIL's SATO Brand Collaborates With UNICEF to Speed Up Access to Sanitation And Hygiene In India

The world's top children's charity, UNICEF, and LIXIL, a manufacturer of innovative water and housing solutions, have announced the expansion of the "Make a Splash! 3.5 million people, especially women and children will benefit from a cooperation with India to create a functional sanitation and hygiene ecosystem. In order to increase the accessibility, affordability, and quality of viable sanitation goods and services, SATO, a subsidiary of LIXIL and a provider of affordable toilets and handwashing solutions, will lead initiatives. SATO will collaborate with UNICEF to mobilise communities and create sanitation markets in the states of Bihar and Odisha.

This growth builds on the first three years of the partnership's success, which saw 2.9 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania benefit from better sanitation and hygiene.

Dalrada Financial Corporation announces the Appointment of Anuradha Biswas to its Board of Directors

Anuradha Biswas has been added to the board of directors of Dalrada Financial Corporation, a pioneer in technology, clean energy, precision manufacturing, and the healthcare industry.

The Dalrada Board of Directors has welcomed Anuradha Biswas, the founder and CEO of Prakat Solutions.

Anuradha Biswas founded and serves as the chief executive officer of Prakat Solutions Inc., a Dalrada subsidiary that was founded in 2009. Prakat is a cutting-edge technology firm that previously won Startup City's Best Start-up award. Prakat has been highlighted in a number of media outlets as a driving force behind the development of an accessible computing environment for individuals with impairments.

Australia-India Partnership to Support International Expansion of Female Cyber Entrepreneurs

A new Australia-India exchange programme promises to assist Australian women company owners in growing their enterprises in India. These women use vital and cyber technology.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Government of Telangana, India, fund the CyberTech Women Entrepreneur initiative, which is operated by accelerator inQ Innovation Global and the female start-up incubator Women Entrepreneur Hub (WEHub).

In the WEHub campus in Hyderabad, India, six Australian women will be housed, and inQ Innovation will host six Indian women at the Sydney Startup Hub. To assist them pitch to investors, the six-week programme includes workshops and one-on-one mentorship. The deadline for applications is September 30, 2022.

NCW hosts a Roundtable Discussion on Women's Empowerment in India and the role of CSR as a Catalyst

A roundtable discussion on "Women Empowerment in India and CSR as a Catalyst" was convened in Mumbai by the National Commission for Women and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with participation from standard industrial bodies and the heads of significant corporate foundations. The consultation's goal was to comprehend and organise the use of CSR funding to ensure the total development of women. The discussion topics included, among others, the significance of CSR in attaining the SDGs, women's empowerment, and CSR: Creating Collaborative Spaces.

Ms. Rekha Sharma, Chairperson of the NCW, Mr. Ashank Desai, Co-Chairman of the CII National Committee on CSR, Ms. Meeta Rajivlochan, Member Secretary of the NCW, and Ms. Rumjhum, Co-Chairperson of the CII National Committee on CSR presided over the meeting. CSR directors from 32 corporate entities participated in the consultation.

In a first, Female Pilots to Fly Chinook Supply Missions

At a time when India and China are locked in a protracted border dispute, the Indian Air Force has for the first time assigned two female combat pilots to its frontline Chinook helicopter units that are crucially supporting the army's deployments close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), including transporting light howitzers, in the northern and eastern sectors, officials familiar with the development said on Friday.

Before being transferred to CH-47F Chinook units headquartered in Chandigarh and Mohanbari in Assam, respectively, Squadron Leaders Parul Bhardwaj and Swati Rathore were flying the Russian-made Mi-17V5 helicopters, according to one of the officers quoted above who requested anonymity.