By IANS,
New Delhi: One was awarded for fighting against her own disability, another for helping others fight their odds. On International Women’s Day Tuesday, the women and child development ministry saluted the spirit of ordinary women doing extraordinary work and being a beacon of hope for many others.
The Stree Shakti Puraskar 2010 were given away by Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath.
Pottabathini Padmavathi of Andhra Pradesh was awarded the Rani Lakshmibai award for not allowing her disability to become a hindrance and instead harnessing her energy positively to learn music and become an artiste.
Thagu Maya Bardewa of Sikkim was awarded for helping those in distress like orphans, widows and destitutes.
Rathnamma of Karnataka was awarded for her extensive work in raising awareness on child labour and eradication of dowry, early marriage, untouchability and sexual harassment.
Monika S. Garg, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from Uttar Pradesh, was awarded for her women empowerment work through promoting their participation in government programmes.
Congratulating the winners, Tirath said: “We are now gearing up to mainstream women’s concerns in all development programmes through the National Mission for Empowerment of Women.”
For a quick reference, a compilation of all welfare schemes by the ministry was also released in the form of a booklet.