Here is a list of 10 Indian women who were first in their fields and become a true motivation to the female of the coming generation.
Tessy Thomas
First woman to head a missile project.
The Missile Woman of India – Tessy Thomas broke the glass ceiling in the missile project where she became the project director in 2009 for the Agni-IV missile in DRDO and successfully tested it in 2012. Currently, she is the 5th woman to hold the position of Director General of Aeronautical Systems.
Fatima Beevi
First female supreme court judge
A judge from the Kerala High Court made history after she was appointed as the first female Supreme Court judge in 1989. Fatima Beevi also became the first Supreme Court woman judge in Asia and the first Muslim woman to create a benchmark at such a higher position in the Indian judiciary.
Arunima Sinha
The first female amputee to climb Mount Everest.
A national-level volleyball player, Arunima had to get her leg amputated below the knees after an accident in 2011 when some thieves tried to push her out the train. But the incident did not cripple her dreams and aspirations, in 2013 she became the first female amputee to climb Mount Everest.
Reita Faria Powel
First woman to become Miss World.
First Asian women to win the title of Miss World in 1966, at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, United Kingdom, who beat other 51 candidates racing to win the title. Reita Powel is an Indian model, physician, and beauty queen, she was a medical student when she won the crown and also the first Indian woman to wear a swimming suit at a beauty pageant.
Kalpana Chawla
First woman to reach Space.
Becoming the first Indian woman to reach space in 1997 – Kalpana Chawla was an Indian American Astronaut.
“On one of the night passes, I dimmed the lights in the flight deck and saw the stars. When you look at the stars and the galaxy, you feel that you are not just from any particular piece of land, but the solar system.” – Kalpana Chawla
Kiran Bedi
First Female IPS Officer
A retired Indian Police Officer, former Tennis Player, and Social Activist, Kiran Bedi, was the first female IPS officer who started her service in 1975 and the same year led the Delhi contingent of all-male at the Republic Day Parade.
She has also served as the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry for five years. Kiran Bedi has also implemented some new approaches of working as an IPS towards trafficking, narcotics, and VIP security system.
Shila Dawre
First woman auto-rikshaw driver
Shunning the stereotypes of men driving auto and wearing the khaki over the regular salwar kameez in 1988 – Shila Dawre becomes the first auto-rickshaw driver. Although the profession is quite challenging for women, she managed to overcome and make an earning out of the male-dominated profession and at the same time encouraging other women to make their existence in the fields even if society tells them that they do not belong here.
Anna Malhotra
First Female IAS officer
Becoming the first woman to hold the prestigious position – Indian Administrative Service Officer in 1972, Anna Rajam Malhotra served under seven different Chief Ministers as well as Rajiv Gandhi. Anna Malhotra has also accompanied former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on a tour of eight nations and assisted in the construction of India’s First Computerized Port.
“She was a great lady, and she was my role model. Whenever people appreciated me, they used to say my actions resembled hers a lot.” – As stated by IAS officer Santha Nair.
Harita Kaur Deol
First women pilot to fly solo in IAF.
Lieutenant Harita Kaur Deol became the first woman to fly solo in an Avro HS – 748 aircraft when she was only 22 years old and created a milestone in IAF by flying at a height of 10,000 feet. She was among the first seven women cadets appointed into the Indian Air Force as short Commission Officers in 1993.
Priya Jhingan
First Indian woman to join Indian Army.
Commissioned in the Indian Army in 1993, Lady Cadet No. 1 and Silver Medalist – Major Priya Jhingan become the first female to join the Indian Army. After completing her graduation, she wrote a letter to the Chief of Army Staff, General Sunith Francis Rodrigues, requesting to pave the way for women in the armed services.
“It’s a dream I have lived every day for the last 10 years,” – Major Jhingan.
