The 7 women who handled PM’s social media for a day and the one who did not

“Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world” – Hilary Clinton
March 8 was International Women’s Day and on this day the Prime Minister of India announced that his social media handle, which has millions of followers, will be handed over to 7 women with exceptional achievements and exemplary service to the country.
Under the #SheInspiresUs, these 7 women shared their stories, their journeys in a bid to raise awareness for their respective initiatives. So who were these women and how exactly did they make use of the account of the most followed Indian person on social media? And who is the one who actually turned down the opportunity? Let’s see-

THE WOMEN WHO TOOK THE INITIATIVE

The 7 women chosen for this event were- Sneha Mohandoss, Dr. Malvika Iyer, Arifa, Kalpana Ramesh, Vijaya Pawar, Kalavati Devi and Veena Devi. Let us take a look at their individual stories and message –

Sneha Mohandoss

Chennai-based Sneha Mohandoss is the founder of Foodbank India. In her words- “You heard of food for thought. Now, it is time for action and a better future for our poor. Hello, I am Sneha Mohandoss. Inspired by my mother, who instilled the habit of feeding the homeless, I started this initiative called Foodbank India.”
After a video explaining her initiative, she made some other posts as well, stating in one- “I feel empowered when I do what I am passionate about! I wish to inspire my fellow citizens, especially women to come forward and join hands with me. I urge everyone to feed at least one needy person and contribute to a hunger-free planet.”

Dr. Malvika Iyer

Sharing her story next was Dr. Malvika Iyer, disability activist- “I survived a gruesome bomb blast at the age of 13 that blew off my hands and severely damaged my legs. Yet, I worked and went on to get my PhD.”
Her next post accompanied by a video stated- “Acceptance is the greatest reward we can give to ourselves. We can’t control our lives but we surely can control our attitudes toward life. At the end of the day, it is how we survive our challenges that matters most.”
The recipient of Nari Shakti Puraskar also urged the youth to change their mindset towards disabilities and the disabled stating- “We need to show people with disabilities as role models instead of showing them as weak and dependent.”

Arifa Jan

Srinagar-based entrepreneur Arifa, the founder of Numdhah Handicrafts was the next to share her journey – “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.”
Alongside a video of Arifa introducing herself and talking about her initiative, she tweeted- “When tradition meets modernity, wonders can happen.”

Kalpana Ramesh

Hyderabad-based Kalpana Ramesh is an architect and TedX Speaker who is now working towards creating a water-secure future for the next generation. She wrote- “Small efforts can make a big impact. Water is a valuable inheritance we got. Let’s not deprive our next generations. Contribute by using water responsibly, harvesting rainwater, saving lakes, recycling used water and creating awareness.”
She further posts- “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…”, this post was accompanied by a video of Kalpana explaining her initiative and the process.

Vijaya Pawar

Hailing from the Banjara community of rural Maharashtra, Vijaya Pawar posted- “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 two decades and have been assisted by a thousand more women.”

Kalavati Devi

Kanpur-based Kalavati Devi was the next to share her story and her initiative to encourage cleanliness by collecting funds to stop open defecation in her neighborhood. Here is the English translation of her tweet –
“The place where I lived had filth everywhere. But we were determined that through cleanliness we can change the situation. We decided to spread awareness. Went door to door to collect funds for building toilets. At last, we succeeded.”
To date, Kalavati Devi has constructed more than 4,000 toilets in villages of Kanpur to make the region open defecation free.

Veena Devi

The sarpanch of Mungar village in Bihar, Veena Devi was the last one to share her story of hard work and recognition. She posted- “where there is a will there is a way. Through willpower, we can achieve everything. I started with farming just a kilo of mushrooms under the bed. But not only this small start made me independent, but also gave a new life to my self-confidence.”
Veena Devi introduced Green Revolution in Mungar through tree plantations, water harvesting, and community participation.

THE ONE WHO JUST WANTS TO BE LISTENED

So these were the 7 women who made use of the PMs social media to spread awareness about their initiatives but there was one more- the one who ‘humbly’ turned down the offer to be given access to the social media handle of World’s most followed Indian.
This was Licypriya Kangujam, an 8-year-old climate activist from Manipur who was awarded Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Children Award, World Children Peace Prize and India Peace Prize in 2019. After receiving the invitation from the government to be a part of #SheInspiresUs campaign, she declined it and posted her response via Twitter –
“Please don’t celebrate me if you are not going to listen (to) my voice. Thank you for selecting me amongst the inspiring women.”
And while a lot of people praised her for her stance, she showed she is only focused on her aim of a better future when congress ‘praised’ her in these words-
“PM Modi’s lip service and hypocrisy towards women empowerment has been called out by the brave environmental activist, Licypriya Kangujam. After rejecting his offer, she reminded the PM that listening to her voice is more important than any Twitter campaign.”
To this, the 8-year-old replied- “… you feel sympathy for me. It’s ok. Let’s come to the point. How many of your MPs going to put up my demands in the ongoing Parliament Session both in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha? I also don’t want you to use my name just for a Twitter campaign? Who is listening to my voice?”