MARCH

In a typically patriarchal
society in India,women have
come a long way.
They have shed their inhibitions and have stepped out making a
mark with their brilliance be it governance, running top corporate
houses or crusading against civil rights or sports. With greater
acceptance from the society more and more women are rewriting
the rules of the game and matching men shoulder to shoulder in
every field. As this issue clashes with Women’s Day, POINT OUT
salutes some of the leading lights — women of substance, who
excelled in their professions and are running governments and
enterprises successfully and are looked upon not only by women but
the entire youth as role models.
lPOLITICIANS
» SONIA GANDHI
AICC president and UPA Chairperson
Sonia Gandhi is the President of
All India Congress Committee
since 1998. The Italy-born
widow of former Prime
Minister late Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia, was
adjudged one of the most influential
women in the world by Forbes
magazine in 2004. She represents
the Rae-Bareli Lok Sabha seat in
Parliament and has been elected as
Congress president for the fourth time.
As chairperson of United Progressive
Alliance, Sonia also has her say in functioning of Congress-led
UPA government. After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi an she
had refused to take charge of the Congress but she acceded to party
leaders plea in 1998 when the Congress fared very poorly.
» SUSHMA SWARAJ
BJP leader & leader of opposition in Lok Sabha
A
six-time Member of
Parliament Sushma, is the
leader of opposition in Lok
Sabha and a senior BJP
leader. A former Union minister
she was Delhi’s first woman Chief
Minister. A law graduate from
Punjab University and a practicing
Supreme Court lawyer, Sushma
Swaraj started her political career
with the ABVP in 1970s and held
several ministerial positions. As a
parliamentarian, she was the first woman to have won the
outstanding parliamentarian award and was also the first
female spokesperson of a political party when she was BJP
spokesperson.
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