March 09 2016, 15.30 PM IST || Pocket News Alert
Vodafone Foundation's Tribute to Extraordinary Women and their Achievements
* 50 women achievers including Justice Leila Seth, Sooni
Taraporevala, Kirthiga Reddy, Shovana Narayan, Ritu Dalmia, and Sanjna
Kapoor amongst those featured in the book
* Women of Pure Wonder series has recognized over 150 women
change-makers from across India
New Delhi, 9th March 2016: Sunil Sood, MD & CEO, Vodafone India, along with
guests of Honour , Ms Aruna Sundararajan Secretary- Ministry of Steel, Shri
JS Deepak Secretary Department of Telecommunications, Ms Shyamala Gopinath
Chair CSR committee VIL India board launched the Women of Pure Wonder, a
coffee table book by Vodafone Foundation on the occasion of International
Women's Day. This book, third in a special series focusing exclusively on
women empowerment, chronicles tales of 50 inspirational women from across
the country who opted to take the road less travelled.
The extraordinary deeds of these women, who courageously braved all social,
economic, and familial odds to find success in their chosen field of work,
are an inspiration, to women across the country. Each of these women have
overcome several odds - social, cultural, economic, familial - to emerge as
a game changer in their chosen field - business, culture, arts, civil
rights, media & entertainment, sports, public service etc.
The awe-inspiring exploits of these 50 women have been categorised under
three aptly named sections - Vision, Valour and Victory. From Arunima
Sinha's victory as the first woman amputee to climb Mount Everest; to
Justice Leila Seth - the first woman judge of the Delhi High Court and first
woman to become Chief Justice of a state High Court; to motivational speaker
Kanchan Gaba - untiring blind mountaineer,crusader for the rights of the
disabled and Kolkata High Court judge ; to Meera Shenoy -
Founder-Chairperson, Youth4Jobs, pioneer in skilling, with a focus on
providing employment to disabled youth, women and scheduled castes, the
success stories published in Women of Pure Wonder will act as a beacon of
hope for women of all hues across India.
Saluting the women, their achievements and contributions, Sunil Sood,
Managing Director & CEO Vodafone India, said, "I congratulate all the women
achievers featured in the book and acknowledge the contribution of all women
across India who are redefining womanhood in every sense. Gender disparity
in itself is an acute social challenge in our country. We believe that
mobile technology has a vital role in addressing some of the most pressing
challenges related to inclusion, equality and access. At Vodafone, we are
cognizant of our responsibility and are developing solutions that will
empower women, enabling them to improve the standards of health, education,
work and safety for themselves as well as their families. We are partnering
with developmental sector organisations including NGOs working at the grass
root level with women, to co-create and launch special offerings that
address their felt needs with easy and affordable access to drive digital
inclusion and in line with enabling the larger vision of digital India that
Vodafone India is fully committed to."
. Speaking about the Women of Pure Wonder series and Vodafone Foundation's
efforts towards empowering women P. Balaji, Director - Regulatory, External
Affairs & CSR Vodafone India Ltd said, "With its focus on women empowerment,
Vodafone Foundation aims to share inspirational tales of women from all
walks of life who have demonstrated leadership and paved the way for social
change through the Women of Pure Wonder series. This third edition of the
book follows the success of the first two editions and reveals several
unheard and unknown stories from previously unexplored domains.."
Vodafone Foundation launched first edition of Women of Pure Wonder book in
2013, narrating stories of India's unknown women champions. The second
edition - Women of Pure Strength, illustrated how astutely women can steer
the mast amidst waves of diverse social and cultural milieu.
Published by Roli Books, Women of Pure Wonder will be available at leading
bookstores including and Flipkart and Amazon.
By leveraging mobile technology in the four areas of m-women, m-education,
m-health and m-agriculture, Vodafone Foundation works in partnership with
key charities, development agencies and the community to drive social change
on a large scale in India. As part of social investment programme, the
Vodafone Foundation in India also focusses on disaster relief and implements
the World of Difference programme, a unique employee engagement.
About Vodafone Foundation
The Vodafone Foundation in India recognizes the power of mobile technology
to address some of India's most pressing challenges relating to education,
health, equality and access. We are committed to enable people and
technology to drive innovation, disseminate knowledge, and create shared
value to improve lives.
In countries in which Vodafone operates, a unique footprint of 27 Vodafone
Foundations operate to deliver our social investment programme. These
programmes are directed and chosen by the Foundation Trustees and receive
funding from the Vodafone Foundation in the UK as well as their local
Vodafone company. For more information, please visit
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