Mato's Blog

Tomorrow is International Women’s Day and for this reason I want to publish a blog post with a list of accomplished, able, charismatic, and adorable women.

Women are not well represented in leadership positions and their accomplishments are often ignored or reported with a rather skewed perception from a men’s prospective. This blog here in an unimportant and remote corner of the internet jungle will not change that but if I can inspire a few souls, it was at least worth the effort.

This is a list of women role models. The list is for sure incomplete, it is based to a great part on information from the internet which can be inaccurate. As always I’m grateful for any suggestions and correction! Rather accidentally I start with women from India, I hope that I will have time to assemble lists from other regions soon.

Anita Mazumdar Desai
A novelist, three times shortlisted for the Booker Price.
http://kirjasto.sci.fi/desai.htm
http://ekikrat.in/Anita-Desai

Arundhati Roy
14 years ago Arundhati Roy took the literary world by storm with her novel “The God of Small Things”. Since then she has become her country’s harsh critic and a fearless activist.
http://www.weroy.org/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/arundhatiroy
http://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/arundhati/
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?267040

Dr Chaitali Sengupta
Was a Systems Architect at Texas Instruments and is CTO of SNRLabs. She is the author of various research papers and has been included in MIT Technology Review Magazine’s “Top 100 innovators under 35.”
http://www.ece.rice.edu/aboutece/halloffame/hof_sengupta
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041001/asp/calcutta/story_3823872.asp

Dr Jaya Arunachalam
Founder-President of ” Working Women’s Forum”, microfinance pioneer and Padma Shri awardee.
http://www.workingwomensforum.org/wwf_ourfounder.htm
http://www.bebrave.in/nominee/dr-jaya-arunachalam
https://microsite.accenture.com/vaahini/centre-stage/Pages/crusader-uninterrupted.aspx
http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/41/and_then_we_started_a_movement/

Dr Pam Rajput
A women rights activist. She founded the “Women’s Studies Centre” in 1987.
http://southasia.oneworld.net/Article/poverty-is-not-static
http://southasia.oneworld.net/todaysheadlines/women-in-india-for-climate-justice

Dr Sarojini Sahoo
Is a feminist writer and associate editor of the journal Indian AGE. She has an MA and PhD degrees in Oriya Literature, and a Bachelor of Law from Utkal University.
http://sarojinisahoo.com/
http://sarojinisahoo.blogspot.com/
http://www.orissadiary.com/personality/writer/sarojinisahoo%20.asp
http://womensissues.about.com/od/feminismequalrights/a/FeminisminIndia_2.htm

Ela Bhatt
Founder of SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association). SEWA has organized over one million women to fight for labor rights and recognition.
http://www.tolerance.org/activity/ela-bhat
http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/global/ebhatt_int1.html
http://www.theelders.org/elders/ela-bhatt
http://www.sewa.org/

Humpy Koneru
Is a chess grandmaster. From 2002 through 2008, Humpy held the record as the youngest woman ever to become a grandmaster.
http://www.iloveindia.com/sports/chess/players/koneru-humpy.html
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-06/chess/28659532_1_hou-yifan-koneru-humpy-zhu-chen

Gita Sahgal
Is a writer and journalist on issues of feminism and racism. She was head of Amnesty International’s Gender Unit but was suspended over a controversy about another Amnesty member, whom she considered as supporter of the Taliban.
http://www.variant.org.uk/16texts/WAF.html
http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_gita-sahgal-talks-about-human-wrongs_1350529
http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/deniz-kandiyoti/soft-law-and-hard-choices-conversation-with-gita-sahgal
http://wn.com/Gita_Sahgal

Kavita Ramdas
Senior Advisor, Former President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women. She serves on the Board of Trustees at Princeton University, her Alma Mater.
http://www.globalfundforwomen.org/kavita-n-ramdas
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008179.html
http://www.womensbuilding.org/content/index.php/kavita-ramdas
http://www.ips.org/mdg3/womens-reproductive-freedom-ensures-our-survival-kavita-ramdas-explains-why/

Kiran Bedi
Is a social activist and a retired high ranking Indian Police Officer. She was the host and TV judge of the popular TV series “Aap Ki Kachehri” and has founded the NGOs Navjyoti (for welfare and preventive policing) and “India Vision Foundation” (prison reformation, drug abuse prevention and child welfare)
http://www.kiranbedi.com/
http://living.oneindia.in/celebrity/other-celebrities/kiran-bedi.html
http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-heroes/kiran-bedi.html
http://www.kiran-bedi.blogspot.com/

Krishnammal Jagannathan
Together with her husband Sankaralingam she carried on Gandhis vision of social justice and sustainable human development. In 1981, the couple founded LAFTI (Land for the Tillers’ Freedom) which negotiates land redistribution, organizes village committees and businesses. LAFTI also spearheaded a movement against prawn farms.
http://www.lafti.net/
http://www.rightlivelihood.org/jagannathan.html
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/8/indias_soul_krishnammal_jagannathan_awarded_right
http://anithawrites.blogspot.com/2010/04/krishnammal-jagannathan-dalit-rights.html

Madhu Purnima Kishwar
Is the Senior Fellow at CSDS (Centre for the Study of Developing Societies) and founder of Manushi – a Journal about Women and Society. She has written or edited several books.
http://www.csds.in/faculty_madhu_purnima_kishwar.htm
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main15.asp?filename=hub123105inthechair_6.asp
http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/how-millions-miss-the-boom-20090424-ahev.html
http://kashmir.forumakers.com/t244-an-open-letter-to-yasin-malik-madhu-purnima-kishwar

Medha Patkar
Is a social activist and known for her role in the movement “Narmada Bachao Andolan”.
http://www.narmada.org/medha.html
http://www.goldmanprize.org/node/152
http://www.sawnet.org/whoswho/?Patkar+Medha
http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/09/stories/2011020957521400.htm

Ruth Manorama
Is an organizer of and advocate for Dalit women (untouchables). She has a Master’s degree in social work and headed several NGOs (National Alliance of Women, NFDW, Women’s Voice).
http://www.rightlivelihood.org/ruth-manorama.html
http://www.betterworldheroes.com/manorama.htm
http://www.dalit.de/details/dsid_aktuelles_RuthManorama_Interview.pdf
http://ultraviolet.in/2007/12/27/on-caste-and-patriarchy-an-interview-with-ruth-manorama/

Sindhu Joy Chakkungal
Is a communist politician and student leader from Kerala. She was arrested several times and put into jail. She is Vice President of SFI (Students Federation of India).
http://sindhujoychakkungal.blogspot.com/

Vandana Shiva
is an environmental activist and writer. She was trained as a physicist and has a Ph.D. in philosophy. She has written more than 20 books and over 500 articles and scientific papers. She is one of the leaders of http://www.ifg.org/. She is a critic of industrial agriculture (“The Green Revolution”) and Monsanto.
http://www.vandanashiva.org/
http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/vandana-shiva-alternatives-to-monsanto-in-india
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/02/23
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/8/a_debate_on_geoengineering_vandana_shiva

I didn’t include Sarojini Naidu, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Indira Gandhi, President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and celebrities like Shobha De for various reasons.

http://ultraviolet.in/