Women Superstars of India

In this concept the students will learn about the famous women in India. The students will be introduced to various Indian women personalities and their achievements.

After reading the concept, students will be able to:

• Know the following:
  • Famous female freedom fighters of India.
  • Famous female sports personalities in India.
  • Female politicians in India.
  • Female entrepreneurs in India.
  • Female scientists in India.
  • Female journalist in India.
  • Famous female cricket players in India.
  • Women activists in India.
  • Famous Indian female authors.

Each concept is explained to class 4 students using descriptions, illustrations, and concept maps. After you go through a concept, assess your learning by solving the two printable worksheets given at the end of the page.

Download the worksheets and check your answers with the worksheet solutions for the concept of Famous Women in India provided in PDF format.

• Women in India are doing excellent in various sectors.
• They have made us proud, whether it is in the field of politics, sports, culture, or science.
• Women’s empowerment in India has been slowly gaining significance after independence.
• Women and men worldwide have worked hard to pass laws in favour of women, their rights, growth, and development.

Some Famous Women Personalities of India:

1. Sarojini Naidu:

• Sarojini Naidu, an excellent orator, and women’s rights activist, was born in Hyderabad, British India.
• She was a social activist who fought for women’s education and later joined the National Congress Party.
• Sarojini Naidu was greatly inspired by Gandhiji and his non-violence theory.
• She worked as the President of the Indian National Congress and became the first Governor of the United Provinces.
• Gandhiji gave her the nickname ‘Nightingale of India’.

2. Indira Gandhi:

• Indira Gandhi was the first and the only female Prime Minister of India.
• Her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was a notable figure in Indian politics.
• Indira Gandhi acted as the President of the Indian National Congress.
• She played a key role in the Bangladesh Liberation.
• Her Sikh bodyguards assassinated her in 1984.

3. Sushma Swaraj:

• Sushma Swaraj, a famous politician and diplomat was born in Haryana.
• She practised as an advocate in the Supreme Court.
• She was an active member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and became the first female Chief Minister of Delhi.
• Sushma Swaraj became the youngest Cabinet Minister in the Government of Haryana at 25 years of age in 1977.
• After two years, she became State President of the Janata Party, Haryana, at 27.
• She was also the first female Spokesperson of a national political party in India.
• She became the minister of External Affairs in 2014.

4. Sania Mirza:

• Sania Mirza is a professional tennis player in India who won six Grand Slam titles.
• She is one of the highest-ranked female players from India.
• She became famous for defeating many prominent players in singles, but due to a wrist injury, she gave up on singles and concentrated on doubles.
• She won numerous medals in the Asian Games and the Commonwealth games.
• She is married to the famous Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.

5. Arundhati Roy:

• Arundhati Roy is a famous author and social activist.
• She is well known for her novel ‘The God of Small Things’, which won the prestigious Man Booker Prize.
• She is also a political activist and fights for several environmental causes and human rights issues.
• She spent her childhood with her mother, who was a teacher and lived in Kerala.
• Early in her career, she used to write screenplays for movies.

6. Kiran Bedi:

• Kiran Bedi was born in Punjab, India.
• She is a social activist turned politician who is the first woman in India to join the Indian Police Services.
• As a teenager, she used to be a professional tennis player.
• After joining the police, she played a key role in the anti-corruption movement and worked hard to reduce crimes against women.
• She also launched several campaigns against drug abuse.
• She has written a few books and hosted a show named ‘Aap Ki Kachehri’.

7. Indra Nooyi:

• Indra Nooyi is a famous Indian-American business executive born in Chennai, India.
• She completed her bachelors from Madras Christian College, and later moved to the United States of America to pursue a Master’s degree in management.
• She worked as the Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo.
• She was named in the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.
• As a teenager, she used to play cricket and had a deep passion for music.

8. Sudha Murti:

• Sudha Murti is a famous social activist married to the Infosys co-founder, N.R. Narayana Murthy.
• She is renowned for her contribution to Kannada and English literature.
• She worked for Karnataka Government Schools and introduced computer labs and libraries for students.
• She is the chairperson of Infosys Foundation and also worked as a member of the Gate’s Foundation.
• She worked for rural development and established many orphanages for children.
• In 2006, she received Padma Shri from the Government of India.
• She is an engineer by profession and joined TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company.
• She has also acted in a few Kannada movies.

9. Barkha Dutt:

• Barkha Dutt is a popular Indian television journalist who became famous for reporting from conflict-stricken areas.
• Dutt’s mother was an eminent journalist who inspired her to choose this profession.
• She started her career as a columnist for a few newspaper agencies.
• Dutt became famous when she started reporting on the Kargil War in 1999.
• She reported from the locations where the conflict occurred and gained recognition for an interview, she took with Captain Vikram Batra.
• She also covered conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
• She received Padma Shri from the Government of India for reporting on the Tsunami.

10. Mithali Raj:

• Mithali Raj is an Indian cricketer who plays as a right-handed batsman.
• She was born in Rajasthan, India.
• She captained both the test and ODI teams of the Indian Women’s National Cricket Team.
• She is a right-arm bowler and has a record of achieving the highest runs in ODI cricket.
• Due to her accomplishments in cricket, she received many awards like the Arjuna Award and the Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna Award by the Government of India.
• She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2015.

11. Tessy Thomas:

• Tessy Thomas is an Indian space scientist known as the ‘Missile Woman of India’.
• She was born in Kerala, India, and from childhood, she started developing an interest in space launching programmes.
• She excelled in mathematics and physics and later studied Armament Technology at a reputed institute in south India.
• She worked on several projects for the development of ballistic missiles.
• She also collaborated with Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam on some notable projects.

12. Kalpana Chawla:

• Kalpana Chawla was an astronaut born in Haryana, India.
• She did her Bachelors in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab, India.
• Later she moved to the United States of America to pursue a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering.
• She started working at NASA and got selected for her first space mission.
• Her second space mission was tragic because the spaceship was destroyed, causing all its members' deaths.
• After her death, she was honoured by various educational departments of the Government of India.

13. Gunjan Saxena:

• Gunjan Saxena is an Indian Air Force officer and a former helicopter pilot in the Indian Air Force.
• She is the first woman who flew in a combat zone.
• During the Kargil War in 1999, she evacuated more than 900 troops from the conflict zone, including injured and deceased soldiers.
• She was born in an Army family in New Delhi, India.
• After the Kargil War, she received ‘Shaurya Veer’ from a civilian organisation in Uttar Pradesh.
• The Bollywood film Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl is based on her life.

New Words

Did You Know?

In 1924, the only Olympic event women were allowed to participate in was ice skating. Fifteen women participated in that event.

Shakuntala Devi was a famous mathematician. She was highly accurate and fast at calculations, which is why she received the title ‘Human computer’. Later in her life, she also worked as a Mathematics teacher.