Meet the Women Extraordinaire – 2015

2015 as been an exciting year for the Women Extraordinaire series. As we come to wrap up the year we want to take a few minutes to THANK YOU, our loyal readers for not only reading our interviews but also sending us great feedback on how these interviews have personally inspired you. We are always glad to hear from you. …

Meet the Woman Extraordinaire – Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza is the most successful Indian female tennis player in history and the most popular female athletes in Asia. Sania has become an icon in her own right.  In 2005 she was awarded the Padma Shri award and Time Magazine named her as “One of the 50 heroes of Asia“. More recently, Sania has been appointed as the UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador for …

Meet the Woman Extraordinaire – Shahnaz Husain

Shahnaz Husain is the Chairperson and Managing Director (CMD) of Shahnaz Husain Group of Companies and is a prominent Indian female entrepreneur, who is best known for her herbal cosmetics, particularly skin care products. In 2006 she was awarded the Padma Shri, a civilian award by the Government of India and in 1996 Success Magazine’s “World’s Greatest Woman Entrepreneur” award. Welcome Shahnaz Husain – …

Meet the Woman Extraordinaire – Pramila Jayapal

Senator Pramila Jayapal is serving her first term in the Washington State Senate and represents the 37th Legislative District. Senator Jayapal has spent the last twenty years working both internationally and domestically as a leading national advocate for women’s, immigrant’s, civil and human rights. She led one of the largest voter registration efforts in Washington state, helping over 23,000 new Americans to …

Meet the Woman Extraordinaire – Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal is India’s ace badminton player. She is the first Indian to win a medal in Badminton at the Olympics. She achieved this feat by winning the Bronze medal at the London Olympics 2012. A brown belt in karate, Saina has won numerous awards including the Arjuna award in 2009, Padma Shri 2010 and Rajiv Khel Ratna Awardee in 2010. Tell us …

Meet the Woman Extraordinaire – Kamla Bhasin

Kamla Bhasin is India’s leading feminist and has been actively engaged with issues related to gender, development, education and several others since 1970. Kamla has worked for the women’s movement for over 35 years and believes words like swami, pati, husband, kanya daan will have to go for an egalitarian society to come. Bio A social scientist by training, Kamla Bhasin has been actively engaged with issues …

Meet the Woman Extraordinaire – Monica Bhide

Monica Bhide is a celebrated food writer, modern Indian recipe creator and a frequent contributor to NPR’s Kitchen Window.  A storyteller at heart, Monica combines her love of family, friends and food – along with personal anecdotes highlighted by her Indian heritage – to help people add an exotic, unexpected and most-welcome new element into their lives. Tell us more …

Meet the Woman Extraordinaire – Mallika Dutt

  Mallika Dutt is an Indian-American human rights activist and the founder of Breakthrough. Tell us more about yourself and what you do? I am the President and CEO of a human rights organization called Breakthrough. We are focused on making violence and discrimination against women and girls unacceptable. We work through centers in India and the United States and address a whole range …

Meet the Woman Extraordinaire – Lakshmi Puri

Lakshmi Puri is UN Women’s Deputy Executive Director and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). A champion of Human Rights, Ms. Puri is passionate about gender equality and the empowerment of women. Tell us more about yourself and what you do? I am UN Women’s Deputy Executive Director and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). I have worked …