10 Inspirational Indian Women

10 Inspirational Indian Women You Need to Know About

1. Laxmi Agarwal: Hers is a story of courage and the will to survive and triumph over fate. Laxmi Agarwal was only 15-years-old when her stalker threw acid on her face, to disfigure her for life. The incident failed to break her, and instead only empowered her to take up the cause of acid attack survivors like herself. She went on to lead campaigns and petitions against the sale of the spurious liquid, following which, the Supreme Court of India ordained the regulation of the sale of acid by the central and state governments. In an act of defiance against society’s reverence for the physical beauty of a bride, Laxmi and her partner Alok Dixit decided against getting married and instead opted to live-in together.
2. Arundhati Roy: Winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 for her debut novel The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy has donned several hats throughout her life. After studying Architecture, she wrote screenplays for a couple of Indian short films and also had a stint in acting. Thereafter, she took to social activism, for which she received critical responses for her espousal of controversial causes. Despite the disputes, Arundhati has a loyal fan following and is much respected for her literary repute and support for environmental and humanitarian undertakings.
3. Mary Kom: The woman who lurched into the international amateur boxing scenario from a remote village in the depths of North East India, Chungneijang Mary Kom Hmangte, better known as Mary Kom, opened the vista of women’s boxing in India. An Olympic participant, she is a five-time winner of the World Amateur Boxing Championship, and the only woman boxer to win a medal in each of the six world competitions. Hailing from a poor family, she made her way up to become a world champion through hard work and determination, having returned to professional boxing after taking a break from marriage and motherhood.
4. Seema Rao: This pretty lady has achieved what no other Indian woman has, so far. Tearing down conventions, Seema Rao is the country’s first woman commando trainer. Also qualified as a professional medical doctor, she possesses an MBA in crisis management. In partnership with her husband, Major Deepak Rao, she has trained over 15,000 soldiers in close quarter battle. To top it all, she is one of only 10 women in the world who are trained in Jeet Kune Do – a form of martial arts developed by Bruce Lee. Is there any surprise that she is known as India’s Wonder Woman?
5. Irom Sharmila: Known as the ‘Iron Lady’, Ir