The Week That Was: Indian Women Empowerment News Overview (29 March - 02 April)

By: WE Staff | Saturday, 2 April 2022

Women's empowerment has recently become a popular subject all around the world. Allowing or encouraging women to make their own decisions and making those decisions a reality through any means they wish is the true meaning of women empowerment. The true end goal of empowering women is to provide them the courage to break free from the shackles of restrictive thinking patterns and societal or religious conditioning. Today, we're sharing the most recent week's stories about women, as well as women-empowering events, so take a look.

INDIAN WOMEN'S FOOTBALL TEAM AT INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY MATCHES

 The Indian women’s football team will play two international friendly matches — against Egypt and Jordan — in April, the All India Football Federation said.

On April 5 the match will be played against Egypt and on April 8 against Jordan.

“The senior women’s national team will be playing Egypt and Jordan in two friendly matches, both of which are to be played in Jordan from April 5-8, 2022,” the AIFF said in a release.

ON MARCH 29, NETWORK18 AND TRUECALLER HOSTED A 'CALL IT OUT' EVENT ON WOMEN'S ONLINE SAFETY

Network18 and Truecaller are hosting an event called 'The Call It Out Conclave' on March 29 in New Delhi, just days after the successful launch of the ItsNotOk campaign on Women's Day to raise awareness of women's harassment.

The event, which will take place at the Oberoi Hotel, discussed concerns of online safety and security in today's digital world, as well as the actions made to make the online space safer for women and create a comfortable environment for them to report abuse.

It was attended by celebrities such as Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Bollywood star Raveena Tandon, and Shalini Singh, Special Commissioner, Delhi Police, among others.

Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State for the Ministry of Communications, delivered a special address. The Delhi Police Commissioner, Rakesh Asthana, also delivered a special address.

DEEPTI SINGH FROM INDIA REPRESENTS CHARLOTTE ABROAD

Deepti Singh, 43, was the second runner-up of the contest to earn the title of Mrs. India Universe Earth.

“Women are not defined by their physical attribute. There is more to a woman,” Singh said. “I just want to give [my children] all the opportunities to do whatever they want to do,” Singh said.

“When I say I’m from Charlotte, I want everybody who are associated with me to feel proud,” Singh said. “Last two years when I’ve been trying to make a place for me in the fashion industry, local photographers, business owners have supported me,” Singh said.

2021 BBC INDIAN SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR: MIRABAI CHANU

BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award 2021 was presented to, Mirabai Chanu, the weightlifter.

When she finished second in the 49kg category in Tokyo Chanu became the first Indian weightlifter to win a silver medal at an Olympic Games.

In her reaction to winning the award, Chanu said: "I am currently training in the United States. I will give my best to win gold at this year's Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. Thank you to BBC India for honouring me with the BBC Indian Sportswoman Of The Year award."

FALGUNI NAYAR OF NYKAA IS ONE AMONG THE WORLD'S TOP TEN SELF-MADE FEMALE BILLIONAIRES; REPORT

Falguni Nayar, the founder of Nykaa, entered the top ten list of self-made women billionaires in the world, with a fortune of $7.6 billion. According to a Hurun Research Institute compilation, she is the newest addition to the list of women billionaires.

Nayar, who is 58 years old, debuted at number ten on the list, making him the only Indian to accomplish so. She dethroned Biocon's Kiran Mazumdar Shaw to become India's wealthiest self-made billionaire woman. Nykaa is a woman-led unicorn that sells beauty and fashion products through its website, app, and a number of physical locations.

According to the ranking, there are 124 self-made female billionaires in the world today, with all of them hailing from just 16 countries.

PM AWAS YOJANA EMPOWERED WOMEN, & 20 MILLION GAINED OWNERSHIP RIGHTS, SAID PM MODI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has empowered women in India by granting ownership rights to over 20 million women across the country.

The Prime Minister was speaking at the Griha-Pravesham session for beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, which has built 5.21 lakh residences in Madhya Pradesh. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Chief Minister of Chhatarpur, took part in the programme.

According to the Prime Minister, the Pradhan Mantri Awas initiative has become a symbol of impoverished people's empowerment, women's empowerment, and the strength of the rural economy. Without identifying anyone, the PM criticised Congress, saying that while many slogans were raised to alleviate poverty in the country, the work that was intended to be done was not done.  “Now poverty is being alleviated with the sincere efforts of the government and the cooperation of the poor. Women are becoming millionaires through the Pradhan Mantri Awas. Our government has provided pucca houses to 25 million poor families in the country in rural areas,” remarked the Prime Minister.

WHATSAPP ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF HEALTH AWARENESS CHATBOT CALLED 'BOL BEHEN' FOR YOUNG WOMEN IN INDIA

WhatsApp announced that they will be launching an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based chatbot called 'Bol Behen' (colloquial Hindi for 'Speak, Sister') in India to assist adolescent girls and young girls women with questions about general health and sexual wellbeing in collaboration with non-profit Girl Effect.

In a chat format on the instant messaging app, the app is aimed to deliver content on themes pertaining to women's reproductive health, sexuality, and relationships. Users can communicate with the chatbot in "Hinglish," a language that combines English and Hindi. Users can also ask inquiries on a variety of subjects.

Users can access the Bol Behen chatbot by sending a message to +91-7304496601 on WhatsApp or viewing its profile on the web.

The new chatbot is aimed at adolescent girls and young women in India's Hindi belt who often use low-end devices with inadequate Internet connectivity, according to WhatsApp.