We are approaching the end of 2017, and in a very few days, we would be entering into the new year 2018. As we have come to an end, I just want to take all our dear readers through the year 2017 again with a snapshot of the all the significant contributions made by women in this year.
Nirmala Sitharaman
Nirmala Sitharaman became the first full-fledged woman defense minister of India in 2017. Prior to this, Indira Gandhi has held this portfolio before, in addition to her responsibilities as Prime Minister of India.
Mithali Raj
The captain of the Indian Women’s cricket team in Tests and ODI, Mithali Raj, is the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket and the only female cricketer to surpass the 6,000 run mark in ODIs. She is the first player to score 7 consecutive 50s in ODIs. Mithali is also the first captain (men or women) to lead India to an ICC ODI World Cup final twice – 2005 and 2017.
Manushi Chhillar
The Indian medical student from Haryana was crowned Miss World 2017. Manushi Chhillar is the sixth Indian winner of the long-running contest.
PV Sindhu
Indian ace shuttler and 2017 Rio Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu won the silver medal in 2017 World Badminton Championship held at Glasgow, Scotland. It was overall Sindhu’s third medal at the World Championships as she earlier had won bronze medals in 2013 and 2014 editions.
Kavita Devi
Kavita Devi made history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to sign with WWE. Devi is an accomplished powerlifter who won gold at the 2016 South Asian Games, representing India. She also has the distinction of being the first Indian woman to compete in a WWE ring, during her participation in the Mae Young Classic.
Captain Anny Divya
Captain Anny Divya is the world’s youngest woman pilot to captain the Boeing 777. She was recruited by Air India when she was just 19. She started to learn to fly a Boeing 737 and later found herself in the cockpit of Boeing 777, flying the largest twinjet in the world.
Apart from the aforementioned list, there a few other women who broke the glass ceiling in the technology sector and also bagging positions in the Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women List for 2017.
ICICI Bank’s MD & CEO Chanda Kochhar (ranked 32); Roshni Nadar Malhotra, executive director and CEO of HCL Enterprise (57); Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (64), Chairman and MD of Biocon; Shobhana Bhartia (92), Chairperson and Editorial Director, HT Media Ltd and Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra at rank 97 made it to the Forbes World’s Most Powerful Women List.