Today’s young women are caught between generations, forced to choose from women who were housewives and those who had a full-time career. What they lack are role models of women who embody the principles of empowerment.
Here are 5 women of Indian origin, who became role models of empowerment when they decided to carve a niche for themselves in a man’s world.
Mother Teresa
There is perhaps no more amazing Indian woman than Mother Teresa (now St. Teresa of Calcutta). Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, she is recognized as one the most selfless human beings in the world. In her honor many charities have been started in her name in over 123 different countries.
These charities work as hospices, homes for the dying, homes for those with HIV/AID and many other difficult diseases. Mother Teresa herself worked, walked, held and cried over the people that no one else would touch themselves.
She brought into light the suffering of many and challenged countless thousands to answer the call to defend the helpless in society. Mother Teresa was known for saying that the hunger for someone to love them is more difficult to overcome than the need for bread to feed their body.
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Aishwarya Rai
Ms. Rai won the Miss World crown in 1994 and has been on the rise ever since. Aishwara certainly is glamorous and possibly one of the most beautiful working mothers today.
Madame Tussaud has fashioned a wax statue of her which is showcased in London. Even the Netherlands love her, where she has her very own tulip bearing her name.
Rai is the ambassador for the Eye bank association in India’s nationwide promotional campaign. This campaign is to raise awareness for eye donations in Indiana. She has been greatly involved in campaigns to help eradicate polio in India.
In other news Rai has gotten involved with the International Year of Microcredit, in an effort to raise awareness of the UN’s poverty alleviation efforts.
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Kalpana Chawla
She will always be remembered as the first Indian-origin woman to become an American astronaut. She was onboard the tragic flight of Columbia that ended in an inflight explosion February 2003.
For her service to the United States she was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Chawla served on one other previous space flight also in the Columbia space vessel.
Many of the projects that Chawla worked and participated in can be found in various technical papers and journals.
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Indra Nooyi
India-born she attended IIM Calcutta and the Yale SO Management. Nooyi rightfully claimed the world’s attention when she became CEO of the world’s second largest corporation, PepsiCo.
Forbes has named her 4th on the 2008 and 2009 most powerful women in business. She has been named one of America’s Best Leaders.
Nooyi has 2 daughters and has been ranked and the 3rd most powerful Mom in the world.
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Indira Gandhi
She served as the third prime Minister of India. She gained notoriety as she continued to serve for 3 consecutive terms, and then went on to serve an unprecedented fourth term. She was the only Prime Minister to declare a state of emergency to “rule by decree”.
To the end she was has also been the only prime minister to have been placed in prison for her decisions. Her arrest gained her great sympathy and popularity of many people.
Her life was cut short by her very own bodyguards in retaliation for ordering the army to enter the most famous Golden Temple to remove insurgents inside the temple.
© Naaree.com
