The Empowered Woman play online

The Empowered Woman is a platform I have created for women, mostly from rural areas across India, to provide them exposure to a range of career choices through inspiring interviews that I have personally conducted. These discussions with high-achieving women, who have beaten the odds, are being translated into multiple Indian languages and are intended to motivate rural Indian women to pursue their dreams and aspirations.

I live with my family in Bangalore, in a neighborhood that lies on the fringes of a low-income village. When I step out, I see individuals working in the hot sun, women carrying loads on their shoulders while also trying to provide for their childrens needs. They work continuously in the fields, barely making enough to cover the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Questions creep into my mind - when are they able to care of themselves? When do they take care of their health, their wellbeing? Do they have access to the required facilities?

It was when my mom first took me to visit a centre for battered women nearby, did I discover the limited knowledge of hygiene and health that women living in rural areas actually possess. It then hit me I had never realized why the staff in our neighborhood would resist going to a hospital even for a general check-up. I remember my mom trying to convince some of them to schedule annual health visit. They would always be very reluctant, as it meant taking a day off and losing a days wages.

I began to think, what if there was a way these women could learn about self-care and hygiene without having to take time off and travel long distances? Could I put together a single platform on which the information they required was accessible? These questions drove me to set up this platform, to inspire women in rural areas to take care of themselves, and to realize that anything was possible for them.

Over the past few years, I have also volunteered at a center for battered women, where each person engages in activities that will enable rehabilitation into society. As would be expected, there is always a sense of hesitation and trepidation in their minds. I want these women to see other women who have made a difference in the world, other women whom they can look up to, and realize that they too could follow in those footsteps. I have compiled stories of women from all over India who have stood up for their dreams, and have strived hard against all odds to reach the pinnacle in their respective fields. With the statistic that an equal number of men and women in rural India own mobile phones, I realize that these women would have easy access to this website.

My wish is that these women and thousands of young girls will take advantage of this platform, and will find the motivation that they have been looking for. I hope to see a positive impact, and that one day they will be able to become role models for others to look up to.