Hyderabad: In retrospect, 2022 was a dramatic year to say the least -- full of exhilarating lows and highs. The world largely remained grappled by the uncertainties of Coronavirus this year, only to leave us behind with a dense possibility of recession hovering over us. But even amid a plethora of these inconveniences, India turned the chaos into a ladder and managed to retain its mettle.
Women have proven to be the trailblazers this year for India's achievements in a variety of fields -- be it sports, politics, business, art, literature, science, or humanities. From author Geetanjali Shree, who scripted history by winning India's first-ever International Booker Prize for her Hindi novel 'Tomb of Sand', to Muskan Khan, who exhibited laudable bravery as she marched fearlessly against a group of saffron-clad men during Hijab row -- the women of India left their marks all across the world with outstanding contributions in their own fields and capacities.
Politics in India got a positive tinge amid its otherwise hateful anecdotes as Droupadi Murmu became the first tribal woman to take charge as the 15th President of India this year. She served as the Governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021 -- also being the first woman Governor for the state and the first female tribal leader to serve as a Governor in any Indian state. Murmu took the oath of office on July 25, 2022.
Another woman that stirred the political scene in India was Muskan Khan, the Hijab Poster Girl, who hogged the limelight when a video showing her giving a lone fight to a mob of right-wing students went viral on social media. The video showed Muskan, who was wearing a Hijab, being heckled upon arrival at her college in Karnataka by saffron-clad students. Muskan however showed no sign of being scared of the visibly violent mob.
2022 was an unprecedented year for sports in the county and women never left the forefront. Nikhat Zareen, a professional boxer, won a gold medal at the 2022 IBS Women’s World Boxing Championships in Istanbul of Turkey. She also clinched another gold medal this year at the international boxing association (amateur) Women’s Youth and The Junior World Championship in Antalya.
PV Sindhu, the star badminton player, also claimed gold in the Commonwealth Games this year. This was her first CWG gold in women’s singles. The Indian badminton star beat Canada’s Michelle Li in straight games in the final despite battling an injury.
Indian shuttler Manisha Ramadass bagged the BWF Female Para-Badminton Player of the Year 2022 award during a ceremony in Bangkok. Manisha Ramadass, who had also won the gold medal in the women’s singles SU5 category at the para-badminton world championships last month, was nominated for the award, along with two other Indians, Manasi Joshi and Nithya Sri.
Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu secured silver in the Weightlifting World Championships in 200 kg category. It was Chanu’s second medal after having earlier won gold in the 2017 World Championships.
Indian women's hockey team won the inaugural FIH Nations Cup and has been promoted to 2023-24 Pro League, a key event ahead of next year's Asian Games and 2024 Paris Olympics. Gurjit Kaur scored the all-important goal in the sixth minute from the penalty corner as the Commonwealth Games bronze medallists ended the eight-nation tournament with five wins on the trot.
India reached the world-renowned stage this year with its women litterateurs and artists. Geetanjali Shree, Indian author and novelist, scripted history this year by becoming the first Indian to be awarded the International Booker Prize for 'Tomb of Sand', the English translation of her novel 'Ret Samadhi'. The French translation of the book was also shortlisted for the Emile Guimet Prize. Shree writes fiction in Hindi and non-fiction in Hindi and English, while her works have been translated into many Indian and foreign languages. She also works on theatrical scripts in collaboration with the theatre group Vivadi, of which she is a founding member.
Sargam Koushal was named Mrs World 2022, beating contestants from 63 countries to bring the title back to India after 21 years. Mrs World 2021 Shaylyn Ford of the US presented the crown to Mumbai-based Mrs Koushal at a ceremony held at Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino in the US on December 18 this year.
Actress and model Deepika Padukone hit the headlines not just in India, but also globally this year as she officially became a part of the eight-member jury at the Cannes Film Festival. Padukone became a hot topic for her breathtaking style at Cannes. She also set another benchmark by unveiling the FIFA World Cup trophy in Qatar this year.
The field of science and technology also saw pivotal contributions from women this year. Sirisha Bandla, an aeronautical engineer, went to the edge of space as part of the historic 2021 Unity 22 mission -- Virgin Galactic’s first fully crewed sub-orbital spaceflight -- making her the second only Indian woman to go to space. Sirisha is now the Vice-President of Government Affairs and Research Operations for Virgin Galactic, a role that includes working with research customers to fly science and technology experiments on board VG’s SpaceShip.
India being the fastest growing economy if reports are to be believed, the business and economy sector in the country has also been flourishing with women in leading roles across the industry.
A total of six Indian women made it to the Forbes' list of 100 most powerful women of 2022, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (rank 36), Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (rank 72), Nykaa founder Falguni Nayar (rank 89), HCL Tech Chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra (rank 53), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch (rank 54), and Steel Authority of India Chairperson Soma Mondal (rank 67). Nirmala Sitharaman has made it to the list for the fourth time in a row, while Mazumdar-Shaw and Nayar have been included in this prestigious list for the second time.
Meanwhile, three Indian women entrepreneurs were named in the 2022 Asia Power Businesswomen List. The 34-year-old Ghazal Alagh is the co-founder of Honasa Consumer, a company that houses care brands like Ayuga, Aqualogica, The Derma Co, and Mamaearth.
Another woman entrepreneur on the list is Soma Mondal, the first woman to chair the state-run Steel Authority of India Ltd. The organization’s annual revenue has grown by 50 percent with profits surging threefold ever since Mondal took charge of the company last year becoming the first woman leader at the company.
The executive director of Emcure Pharma Namita Thapar is the third entrepreneur honoured on the list. Thapar is not only a powerful businesswoman, but also an author, who runs her YouTube channel titled 'Unconditon Yourself with Namita Thapar'.
Gita Gopinath, the Indian-American chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was promoted as its First Deputy Managing Director this year. IMF said it recognised her exceptional intellectual leadership in helping the global economy and the company to navigate the 'twists and turns of the worst economic crisis of our lives'.
Roshni Nadar Malhotra, the chairperson of Indian tech giant HCL Technologies Limited, was declared the richest woman in the country for the second year in a row with a wealth of ₹84,330 crore, according to the ‘Leading Wealthy Women 2021’ report published by Hurun India in collaboration with Kotak Private Banking.
Even as these successful women continued to light the paths for women across the world through their work, some common women also emerged as extraordinary in the face of conflict. One such woman is Sneha Jawale, a social worker, who raised from the ashes after being a victim of domestic abuse and being abandoned by her parents.
When her parents couldn’t fulfill a demand for more dowry in December 2000, Sneha Jawale’s husband set her on fire. She fortunately survived the attack with severe burns all over her body. After her husband left with their son, she became determined to rebuild her life, as a tarot card reader and scriptwriter – jobs where people didn’t have to see her face. Jawale, now a social worker, was asked to star in a theatre play, Nirbhaya, named after the 2012 Delhi gang-rape victim and based on the experiences of survivors of violence. Performing to audiences around the world helped her overcome her fears.
Kiran -- the feisty mother -- is a tribal woman who took on a leopard with her bare hands and snatched her six-year-old son from its jaws in a bloody fight. The incident was from the Badi Jhiriya village near Sanjay Gandhi National Park in MP’s Sidhi. The Baiga woman chased the leopard and caught up with it just when it sat down with its ‘prey’. She came out of the fight injured, but with the child in her arms. The boy also has deep claw and fang wounds, which shall remain as the memory of his unarmed mother wrestling a leopard.
Like every coin has two sides, there were some women, who were caught in bad limelight for reasons that were deemed wrong by the world, but could have been right for them. Nalini Sriharan, the convict in the infamous Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, was released by the Supreme Court after serving 31 years in prison.
India’s longest-serving woman prisoner, Nalini Sriharan, was one among the six convicts in the 1991 assassination case whose release was ordered by the Supreme Court on Friday, November 11. She was the only accused present alive at Sriperumbudur when Rajiv Gandhi was killed by an LTTE human bomb on May 21, 1991.
Nupur Sharma, a former BJP spokesperson, was caught in the eye of a global and national political storm over her derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad. But before she was unceremoniously suspended from the party membership, Sharma was a rising star in the BJP. She was only 30 when the BJP decided to pit her against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal in the 2015 Delhi assembly elections. She lost by 31,000 votes. In 2020, the BJP appointed her as a national spokesperson. The 37-year-old was often seen on TV debates energetically arguing with her opponents and was often noted for using harsh language. It was during one of these debates that Sharma made inflammatory remarks, which sparked outrage in India as well as the Arab world. In a bid to soothe religious sentiments, the BJP on June 5 suspended Sharma.
