For Jaipur based Jayoti Vidyapeeth Women’s University, that prides itself on its contribution toward development of the women, the ‘Women Icon Awards’, which are awarded to the women, who have excelled in their respective fields, are symbols of recognition of the women power.
An annual event, the Women Icon Awards were started by the University from the very year it was established in 2008. The Conferring of the Awards on seven distinguished women from different fields during the recently concluded ‘Jayoti Utsav 2021’ last month was the 14th year of the Awards.
The Women Icon Awards given by Jayoti Vidyapeeth Women’s University are unique in the sense that the women, who are selected for the same, are from a variety of fields. The post occupied by the individual pales into insignificance and what acquires the center stage is the work.
A proof of the same was the inclusion of Manju Devi, who was the first woman coolie at Jaipur Railway station, in the list of the awardees in 2018. Manju had obviously penetrated what was considered to be a male bastion. The Awards are bestowed on those, who set a milestone in their respective fields.
Another such example is the selection of Renu Sharma, who too chose to demolish a man dominated profession, for the Award. Renu drives e-rickshaws on the streets of Jaipur, popularly known as the Pink City, and also doubles up as a guide for the tourists. Similarly Usha Sharma, a firefighter, too was conferred the award in 2018.
Besides, the University has also conferred the Awards on the women from the Indian Army, Indian Police Service, Journalism, Music, Sports, Literature, judiciary, administrative services. ‘’It’s a recognition of their valuable contribution in their respective field,’’ says Dr. Panckaj Garg, the founder & Advisor of Jayoti Vidyapeeth Women’s University, the only University of its kind in the country.
‘’We feel honored to honor such personalities….the Women Icon Awards are in line with our declared goals and objectives….it is our mission to make the women self-confident, skilled, disciplined and financially self-dependent,’’ he said.
‘’The fact that we have been able to bestow the Awards for the past 14 years without any interruption bears testimony to our resolve and commitment and respect for the women power,’’ he said.
No wonder that the around 80 per cent of the key positions in the University are handled and managed by women administrators. ‘’We strongly believe in the women power,’’ Dr. Garg remarks with a proud smile on his face.
The University’s Mission Course has a compulsory curriculum including Women’s Rights & Law, Self-Defense, Gender Sensitization, Ethics etc. The idea is to provide education for community development leading to Women Empowerment.
Given the importance attached to the all round development of the women through out of the box ideas, it can be safely concluded that one can expect the Jayoti Vidyapeeth Women’s University to set many more milestones in the days to come.
