On the occasion of International Women's Day on Tuesday, 8 March, President Ramnath Kovind presented the 'Nari Shakti Puraskar' 2020 and 2021 at a special function held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
The awards were presented to 29 women in recognition of their outstanding work for the empowerment of women.
President Kovind presented Nari Shakti Puraskar to Radhika Menon for excellence in Indian Merchant Navy and exemplary courage. She is the first Indian woman captain of merchant navy and had led a rescue operation in June 2015, saving the lives of seven fishermen.
Nari Shakti Puraskar was presented to Thara Rangaswamy by the President for creating awareness about mental disorders. She started a free mobile tele-psychiatry service in Tamil Nadu. ‘Indian Disability Evaluation & Assessment Scale’ devised by her is used to assess mental disorders.
Sruti Mohapatra was presented with Nari Shakti Puraskar for empowerment of the specially-abled. Known as the 'Crusader in a Wheelchair', she founded NGOs working for the upliftment of the specially-abled people in Odisha.
Kovind also presented an award to Padma Yangchan for preserving and reviving the lost cuisine and hand-weaving techniques of Ladakh and promoting it internationally.
Nari Shakti Puraskar was also given to Sathupati Prasanna Sree for preserving minority tribal languages. A professor of Andhra University, she is the first woman in the world to devise scripts for 19 tribal languages.
Tiffany Brar received the Nari Shakti Award for empowering visually impaired rural women. She founded the Jyothirgamaya Foundation and a mobile blind school in Kerala. She has provided training to over 200 blind persons in Braille, computers and other skills.
The President awarded Ushaben Dineshbhai Vasava for her contribution in organic farming. As a tribal activist in Gujarat, she has ensured land entitlements to 500 women. She provides training on fertiliser use & tech-based farming to women farmers.
Some other recipients of the award were Anita Gupta, a social entrepreneur from Bihar; handloom weaver Arti Rana who supported underprivileged tribal weaver women in Uttar Pradesh; and Vanita Jagdeo Borade, the "First Women Snake Rescuer."
Dr Ela Lodh, an obstetrician and gynaecologist who founded the Hepatitis Foundation of Tripura and was deeply involved in raising awareness about women’s health, was awarded posthumously.
Jodhaiya Bai Baiga, a Tribal Baiga art painter; Meera Thakur, a Sikki Grass artist; Saylee, a Kathak dancer with Down syndrome are some of the other winners.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development presents the Nari Shakti Award to women and organisations for their commendable service to empowerment of women and social welfare, and for honouring women as catalysts for a transformative and positive change.
The 2020 awards' ceremony could not take place in 2021 due to the situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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