To celebrate the International Women’s Day, Inspiring Indian Women (IIW) hosted the She Inspires award 2020 along with Honourable MP Padmashree Mr Bob Blackman, Honourable MP Ms Joy Morrisey and Honourable MP Virendra Sharma at the iconic House of Parliament on 3rd March 2020 to acknowledge the contributions of ordinary women on International Women’s Day.
Organised in the Committee Room 14 at the House of Commons, winners were chosen through nominations and self-nominations from women across the globe. The short-listed finalists were all given a certificate of honour.
Several dignitaries graced as Guests of honour: From the High Commission of India in UK Ms Vishakha Yaduvanshi– First Secretary/ Special Advisor to the High Commissioner, Padmashree Kalpana Saroj , Bollywood Singer Ms Hamsika Iyer , Dr Mattur Nandakumara Executive Director, Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Dr Arpita Ray Obstetrician, Gynaecologist Lead Clinician, Bourn Hall, Colchester, Purnima Rawal Former PC, the first Hindu longest serving woman in the Met Police, Ms Sue Curr –Mental Wellbeing Mindset & NLP Practitioner, Imambay Kamara –Global humanitarian ambassador, Founder and president of Disabled International Foundation. Ms Arunima Kumar– Artistic Director Arunima Kumar Dance Company, Ustad Bismillah Khan award for Kuchipudi, Mr Rajesh Vanzara – High Profile Lawyer from India and well connected to Bollywood/ Entertainment Industry, Mr.M.K.Gore Managing Director Of Kamani Tubes Ltd.
Also present were Preeti Puja Kashyap from Prime Communication publications Delhi, Dr Neha Sharma, Bengali Actress Sraboni Chatterjee, TV Actress Rashmi Sachdeva.
Others amongst the judges were Ms Trupti Patel, a graduate in Civil Engineering, the first woman to become the Hindu Faith representative and Trustee to the Interfaith Network UK, Ms Krishna Pujara , CEO of Saheli & President of UK India Business Council of WICCI (Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry), Lakshmi Kaul, Head & Representative, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) UK and Director – Nainika Tikoo Memorial Trust , Dr Seema Anand – Mythologist, practising storyteller and Doctor of narrative practices, Jane Frankland, CEO of Cyber Security Capital, an award-winning entrepreneur, best-selling author and change agent.
The award invited free nominations from women all over the world. It had 13 categories and went through two stages. Preliminary round had 24 judges who shortlisted 50 finalists. The finalists were then sent to various 12 prominent individuals who had contributed or had remarkable achievement in that field.
The winners of She Inspires Awards 2020
Bright Artist (Art, Music, Drama, Media, Creative, age 3-20)
*Pehrr Ramrakhyani
*Charvi Jain
*Gia Soni
*Varshini Bharadwaj
*Yaesha Patel
*Kyna Bedi
*Ishwari Pandey
Best Entrepreneur
*Mallika Murali
*Naina Bhattacharya
Bright Artist (age 40+)
*Sunita Khedekar
Bright Artist (21-40) –
*Shruti Chatur Lal Sharma
Defied the Odds (Spirited Fighter)
*Monika Bhudia – Joint winner
Defied the Odds (Spirited Fighter)
*Shruti Yadav – Joint winner
Differently Abled Rising Star
*Payal Trivedi – Joint winner
Differently Abled Rising Star
*Sheenal Patel – Joint winner
IIW Beauty with Brains
*Dr Sribhavani Rakesh
Welfare or Social Worker (Determined to help the community)
*Anuradha Pooran – Joint winner
Welfare or Social Worker (Determined to help the community)
*Lena Chauhan – Joint winner
Wonderful Homemaker
*Priya Prabhu
Outstanding Educational Role Model
*Monika Gupta
Popular Choice Award
*Dr Sridevi Rajasekaran
Special Mom
*Muthuvadivu Yalmuruganathan
Dharma Dubey Awards (Special awards in loving memory of Rashmi Mishra’s Late Mother)
*Ms Dayakaur Magan Chauhan
*Ms Hamshika Iyer
*Ms Grace Pinto
*Ms Rita Abraham
*Ms Parin Somani
*Ms Alamara Awan
*Ms Caroline Makaka
*Ms Minal Jaiswal
*Ms Sita Latha
Runners up to various categories were:
Best Entrepreneur
*Pooja Mittal & Samneet K Samrai
Best Professional
*Dr. Deepali Gupta (Varanasi)
*Dr. Reena Arora (Delhi)
Bright Artist (age 40+)
*Ashwini Kalsekar & Chiragi Solanki
Defied the Odds (Spirited Fighter)
*Adrija Biswas, Ritu Sharma & Lavanya Ratish
IIW Beauty with Brains
*Sanya Sharma
Outstanding Educational Role Model
*Indu Barot
Popular Choice Award
*Dr. Soumya Lanka
Special Mom
*Jaswinder Rall (Cancer Fighter) & Nishaa George ( Single Mom, Singer, Dancer , Beauty Queen )
Welfare or Social Worker (Determined to help the community)
*Raina Bhattacharya and Reena Sharma Kalia (Life in London Trust Charity)
Bright Artist (Art, Music, Drama, Media, Creative, age 21-40)
*Pracheeti Dange
The buzz of happiness and giggles surrounding the atmosphere was infectious. The ceremony recognised Sheroes from the age of 3 to 80. It left indelible memories in the heart of those who attended.
Sanjayita Mehta, Bhanu Sistla and Sonal Sher were the hosts of the day. The historic largest hall of the Palace of Westminster where it was held was jam packed with few even standing out.
The message was loud and clear, “I am a strong woman. I don’t sit around feeling sorry for myself, nor let people mistreat me. I don’t respond to people who dictate to me or try to bring me down. If I fall, I will rise even stronger because I am survivor/Fighter and not a victim. I am in control of my life and there is nothing I can’t achieve.”
All photographs copyright and used by kind permission of C.K. Naidu.
Inspiring Indian Women (IIW)
Inspiring Indian Women Group is a not for profit organisation, started with the vision to reach out and inspire each other with their success stories. It aims to help and promote Indian culture across the globe and provide a healthy platform for Indian women to motivate and support others.
