7 Women Who Took Over PM Modi’s Social Media On IWD2020, Plus 5 Others Who Inspire Us

Meet the 7 women who took over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media as part of the #SheInspiresUs campaign on International Women’s Day, and 5 more who inspire us.

The Indian PM is one of the most-followed world leaders on social media with 53.3 million followers on Twitter, 44 million on Facebook and 35.2 million on Instagram.

Which helped these seven women achievers from across the country today took over the social media accounts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi reach these numbers about their work. They shared their journeys of grit, passion and resilience to mark International Women’s Day as part of the campaign #SheInspiresUs.

This started with the PM sending out greetings on Women’s Day –

Greetings on International Women’s Day! We salute the spirit and accomplishments of our Nari Shakti.
As I’d said a few days ago, I’m signing off. Through the day, seven women achievers will share their life journeys and perhaps interact with you through my social media accounts.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 8, 2020

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So who are these 7 women?

Sneha Mohandoss

Hunger activist and founder of NGO Food Bank

You heard of food for thought. Now, it is time for action and a better future for our poor.

Hello, I am @snehamohandoss. Inspired by my mother, who instilled the habit of feeding the homeless, I started this initiative called Foodbank India. #SheInspiresUs pic.twitter.com/yHBb3ZaI8n

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 8, 2020

The first woman achiever to take over PM’s social media was Chennai-based hunger activist and founder of NGO called Food Bank Sneha Mohandoss.

She shared her message to inspire people to work towards a hunger-free India. While handling PM’s social media Mohandoss urged everyone to feed at least one needy person and contribute to a hunger-free planet.

Malvika Iyer 

Disability activist

Acceptance is the greatest reward we can give to ourselves. We can’t control our lives but we surely can control our attitude towards life. At the end of the day, it is how we survive our challenges that matters most.

Know more about me and my work- @MalvikaIyer #SheInspiresUs pic.twitter.com/T3RrBea7T9

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 8, 2020

The second story was of disability activist Malvika Iyer. She talked about her journey of overcoming personal struggles.

Through the tweet, she explained how she survived a bomb blast at the age of 13. Then she went on to get a PhD with her family’s support. She inspired people to not give up in their life and contribute to fighting for the disabled community’s rights in the country.

Arifa Jaan

Srinagar based entrepreneur

I always dreamt of reviving the traditional crafts of Kashmir because this is a means to empower local women.

I saw the condition of women artisans and so I began working to revise Namda craft.

I am Arifa from Kashmir and here is my life journey. #SheInspiresUs pic.twitter.com/hT7p7p5mhg

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 8, 2020

Srinagar based entrepreneur Arifa Jaan who believes that ‘When tradition meets modernity, wonders can happen’ was the third women achiever to take over PM’s social media on the account of International Women’s Day.

Arifa works in Srinagar with women artisans to revive Namda craft. She believes that traditional crafts of Kashmir are a means to empower local women.

Kalpana Ramesh 

Hyderabad based water warrior

Be a warrior but of a different kind!

Be a water warrior.

Have you ever thought about water scarcity? Each one of us can collectively act to create a water secure future for our children

Here is how I am doing my bit. @kalpana_designs pic.twitter.com/wgQLqmdEEC

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 8, 2020

Hyderabad based water warrior Kalpana Ramesh was the fourth person to handle PM’s social media. Kalpana Ramesh is an architect by profession and a TedX Speaker. She is also a volunteer with Society for Advancement of Human Endeavour and in Hyderabad, she has been helping people to build houses that harvest rainwater.

She shared how she is working towards creating “a water-secure future for our children”. She urged people to understand the importance of water. “Contribute by using water responsibly, harvesting rainwater, saving lakes, recycling used water and creating awareness”.

Vijaya Pawar 

Founder, Banjara Garment SFURTI Cluster, Artisan from Banjara community, rural Maharashtra

You have heard about handicrafts from different parts of India. My fellow Indians, I present to you handicrafts of the Banjara community in rural Maharashtra. I have been working on this for the last 2 decades and have been assisted by a thousand more women- Vijaya Pawar pic.twitter.com/A3X47245E3

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 8, 2020

An artisan from Banjara community, of rural Maharashtra, Vijaya Pawar was the fifth woman achiever in this list.

Through the PM’s account, she shared her journey of not only learning the handicrafts of the Banjara community herself, but also empowering thousands of women for the last 2 decades in her village through her NGO.

Kalavati Devi

From Kanpur, dedicated life to making her village open defecation free

मैं जिस जगह पे रहती थी, वहां हर तरफ गंदगी ही गंदगी थी। लेकिन दृढ़ विश्वास था कि स्वच्छता के जरिए हम इस स्थिति को बदल सकते हैं।

लोगों को समझाने का फैसला किया। शौचालय बनाने के लिए घूम-घूमकर एक-एक पैसा इकट्ठा किया।

आखिरकार सफलता हाथ लगी।

कलावती देवी, कानपुर #SheInspiresUs pic.twitter.com/t9b6deXt4g

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 8, 2020

Kalavati Devi from Kanpur dedicated her life to make her village open defecation free. She did this by building more than 4,000 toilets so far. She was the 6th person to handle PM’s social media under the #SheInspiresUs campaign. 

Veena Devi

Bihar’s Munger village Sarpanch 

जहां चाह वहां राह… इच्छाशक्ति से सब कुछ हासिल किया जा सकता है।

मेरी वास्तविक पहचान पलंग के नीचे एक किलो मशरूम की खेती से शुरू हुई थी।

लेकिन इस खेती ने मुझे न केवल आत्मनिर्भर बनाया, बल्कि मेरे आत्मविश्वास को बढ़ाकर एक नया जीवन दिया।

वीणा देवी, मुंगेर #SheInspiresUs pic.twitter.com/MkfyZ8mnZp

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 8, 2020

The Seventh women achiever to handle PM’s social media was Bihar’s Munger village Sarpanch Veena Devi. She inspired people with her story of starting small scale Mushroom farming to have a livelihood of her own. Soon this work made her self-independent, self-reliant and empowered. 

5 other inspiring women who could have been worthy contenders

This entire campaign not only made these 7 women share their stories and inspire millions of people, but it also made others interact with them.

The Twitter handle of Prime Minister’s Office has 32 million followers. So as most of the women in the list were NGO workers and entrepreneurs who are working for the betterment of the society hence with interaction and such a huge platform this campaign also helped them in boosting their own social media presence.

Apart from these 7 amazing achievers here are 5 women whom we would have liked to see included, who have broken barriers and stood strong by working for the betterment of the society.

Sindhutai Sapkal

Sindhutai Sapkal is an Indian social worker known for her work in raising orphaned children in India. She is affectionately called ‘Mai’, a rural Marathi word for ‘mother’, and is known as the ‘mother of orphans’.

Dr Seema Rao

Dr Seema Rao is India’s first women commando trainer. She has trained Special Forces of India for 18 years without any compensation. 

Nilima Tigga

A woman farmer from the remote Kuru block in Jharkhand, Nilima Tigga is an embodiment of spirit and welfare. She is the President of a federation of nearly 13,000 women from 1,000 SHGs, working for the betterment of education, health, livelihoods, rights and entitlements.

Disha Shah

This 19-year-old women entrepreneur from Chennai has been working towards improving the financial literacy rate among women.

Asha Devi 

Nirbhaya’s mom Asha Devi has been fighting every day since 2012 to get Nirbhaya justice. Hailing from a small town in Uttar Pradesh this lady left no stone unturned to fight injustice. Asha Devi has inspired many women to come out of their shell and fight back against injustice and violence against women.

Image credits – MyGov Twitter page

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