If you’re looking for inspiration, here’s a list of 10 inspiring Indian women to follow on Twitter
Harvard Business Review research shows that women have lesser followers than men on Twitter. Set this wrong right by following these 10 inspirational Indian women.
Last year, actress Deepika Padukone was the only woman to feature among the top 10 most followed Indians on Twitter. She was followed by actresses Priyanka Chopra and Alia Bhatt, who ranked 12th and 15th respectively on the list. The list featured 22 Indian women, including Lata Mangeshkar, Sushma Swaraj, Saniya Mirza, Sania Nehwal, Kiran Bedi Smriti Irani, and Barkha Dutt.
The micro-blogging site throws up inspiration every day if you know exactly where to look. We list down 10 inspiring women to follow on Twitter as they break new ground every now and then.
Mithali Raj
She’s not only the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team but also the most famous woman cricketer in India. This 35-year-old cricketer made history by scoring 6,000 runs, the highest in women’s cricket history. Last year, she led her team into the World Cup final. The team didn’t win the championship but won the hearts of millions. Mithali is an inspiration for millions of young women across the world.
Followers: 462K
Sharmila Nicollet
This 25-year-old Indo-French professional golfer from Bengaluru was the youngest golfer to qualify for the Ladies European Tour. Moreover, she won the 2009-10 Order of Merit from the Women’s Golf Association of India. .
Followers: 467K
Poonam Rani Malik
Hailing from Hisar, Haryana, Poonam Rani Malik plays for the Indian women’s hockey team. She made her debut in the Indian hockey team at the age 15 years in 2008. She has been part of two Hockey World Cups -- in 2010 and 2014.
Followers: 401K
Ananya Birla
Singer and go-getter Ananya founded Svatantra Microfinance to help women in rural India access finance. She is also the Founder of CuroCarte, an inventory-based global luxury e-commerce platform and Co-founder of Mpower, a mental health organisation. She has received accolades like the ET Panache Trendsetters of 2016 award for Young Business Person. Svatantra won the Gold Award for Best StartUp (Skoch Financial Inclusion and Deepening Awards, 2014).
Followers: 109K
Meena Kandasamy
This poet, fiction writer, translator, and activist from Chennai has a regular presence on social media platforms. Her writings are mostly centred on anti-caste and women-related issues. She has published two collections of poetry, Touch (2006) and Ms Militancy (2010), and is an occasional columnist with The Outlook and The Hindu.
Followers: 87.3K
Preeti Shenoy
The author of nine bestselling novels, Preeti has - since 2013 - made it into the Forbes List of the 100 most influential celebrities in India. Her best-sellers include Life Is What You Make It, 34 Bubblegums And Candies (English), and It Happens for a Reason.
Followers: 85.5K
Divakar Roopa Moudgil
This IPS officer from Karnataka 2001 batch is famously known for taking away all luxuries in jail from Sasikala. She was awarded the prestigious President’s Police Medal for Meritorious service on January 26, 2016, and the Digital Women Award 2017 for bringing in a digital transformation in the road safety and traffic department as head of road safety and traffic.
Followers: 59.2K
Smita Sabharwal
At the age of 23 years, Smita cracked the UPSC exam and became the youngest officer to take up responsibility as additional secretary at a chief minister’s office in Telangana. She is popularly called the “people’s officer” and known for the “Fund Your City” campaign in Warangal. The campaign appealed to residents to help her build infrastructure in Naxal-affected areas. She has closely worked for the improvement of the health and education department in the state.
Followers: 28.6K
Aditi Gupta
Aditi is the co-founder of Menstrupedia, a website that breaks taboos associated with menstruation and also helps women and girl to stay healthy and active during menstruation. Belonging from a semi-urban town in Jharkhand, Aditi herself faced many taboos during her menstruation. Today, her website runs a Menstrupedia comic and has more than one lakh visitors every day. She has also launched Menstrupedia in South Africa and Philippines.
Followers: 4,436
Ishita Anand
She’s the founder of BitGiving, which is India's first online crowdfunding platform and was started in December 2013. Ishita, who featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 list in Asia, embarked on her entrepreneurial journey at the age of 22. She started out as the design head for her college newsletter DU Beat, when she was at Lady Shri Ram (LSR) College. Under her leadership, Bitgiving has come a long way – it was instrumental in raising $88,000 in funds for India's National Ice Hockey team as well as aid after the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
Followers: 1,555