Women's Day 2023: Powerful Indian Women Who Were ‘Firsts In Their Fields’ And Etched History

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From politics, science, cinema, and sports to astronomy, science and technology, Indian women have embraced the power of womanhood and have set a benchmark in every profession.

The road to equality still remains long- be it sexuality, class or race, but the dynamics are slowly changing. The freedom to make choices and to live a life unhindered by negative stereotypes, prejudices and roles, will change the socio-economic condition of women for the better.

March 8 is observed as International Women's Day 2023 and therefore, here is a quick rundown of those powerful women who were the 'firsts in their fields' to mark their name through stellar achievements to create history.

Women's Day 2023: 10 Powerful Indian Women Who Were 'Firsts In Their Fields' And Etched History

1. Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi

She is the first Indian female physician/doctor in the year 1887 who was trained in Western medicine. She is also the first woman to travel to the USA. She was originally named as ‘Yamuna' by her parents and was born in Mumbai on 31 March 1865.

2. Arati Saha

Arati Saha was one of the prominent long distance swimmer and she became the first Indian and Asian woman to swim across English Channel in the year 1959. She was 19 at that time. She was from a middle class family in Kolkata in 1940. Also, in the year 1960, she became the first woman sportsperson to be awarded Padma Shri.

3. Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun who became the first Indian woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She is the founder of Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic, which is a religious congregation. She had devoted all her life to social work.

4. Indira Gandhi

Indian politician and statesman, Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi became the first woman Prime Minister of India and served from 1966 to 1977. In 1947, under Mahatma Gandhi's guidance, she worked in the riot affected areas. She became the first woman to receive the Bharat Ratna award in 1971. She is the daughter of Pt Jawaharlal Nehru.

5. Kalpana Chawla

An Indian born- American astronaut and aerospace engineer. She was the first female who reached in space in 1997. She was a mission specialist and a primary robotic arm operator. Her second flight was on STS-107, the final flight of Columbia, in 2003.

6. Shila Dawre

She is India's first female auto rickshaw driver, which was a heavily 'male-dominated' zone in 1988. Pune based Dawre wants to now start an academy for women interested in becoming trained auto drivers. She is recorded in the Limca Book of World Records as the first female auto-rickshaw driver in the country.

7. Reita Faria Powel

Reita Faria Powel is an Indian model, doctor. In 1966, she became the first Asian woman to win the beauty pageant Miss World 1966 . She wanted to help people since her childhood, so pursued her studies in the field of medicine and became a doctor.

8. Justice M. Fathima Beevi

She became the first female judge in the Supreme Court of India in 1989. Beevi formally started working in the field of law on 14 November 1950. However, it took her about 39 years to become a judge in the SC. She worked as an advocate in the lower judiciary in Kollam, Kerala.

9. Bachendri Pal

An mountaineer, she became the first Indian woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest In 1984. In 1993, 1994 and 1997 she led an expedition with a team comprising of only women in 'Indo-Nepalese Women's Mount Everest Expedition,' 'The Great Indian Women's Rafting Voyage' and 'First Indian Women Trans-Himalayan Expedition.' Her biography is available in 18 different languages.

10. Pratibha Patil

Pratibha Patil became the first woman President of India on July 25, 2007. She held office from July 2007 to July 2012. Prior to her election as the President of India, she was the Governor of Rajasthan from November 8, 2004 until June 21, 2007.

11. Anjali Gupta

Anjali Gupta is the first female flying officer in India and Air Force to be court martialled. She served in air force from 2001 to 2006. She used to work for the Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment unit in Bangalore. She was first posted at Belgaum in 2001. Born in Delhi, Anjali completed her Masters of Philosophy in Sociology from the Delhi University.

12. Durga Banerjee

Durga Banerjee was the first Indian female commercial pilot and captain of Indian Airlines in the year 1966. She was interested in ships and flying since she was a child. She was also the first woman ever to fly the 'Tornado A-200' aircraft.

13. Kiran Bedi

A police officer, Kiran Bedi, joined Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972 and became the first woman officer in India. She the highest rank police office. Bedi also became the first woman who was appointed as the United Nations Civil Police adviser in 2003.

14. Sania Mirza

A professional tennis player, Sania Mirza became the first ever Indian woman to win the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) title in 2005. She had been a six-time Grand Slam champion, a former world No. 1 in doubles and a four-time Olympian. Later in 2015, she also became the first Indian female to be ranked no. 1 in WTA's double rankings.

15. Sarla Thakral

Sarla Thakral was 21, when Thakral got aviation pilot license in 1936. She became the first Indian woman to fly an aircraft. She was a mother of 4 year old daughter, when she took her first flight. Sarla was the first woman pilot to obtain 'A' license.