Social issues like gender stereotypes, seeking equality, diversity have always been very complex problems, and have too many strands attached to them. We can’t expect different results employing the same solution over and again. Probably that’s where design thinking comes into the picture, which is widely being used by NGOs and social agencies. To understand more about it, Watch a conversation with Rea Eldem, #Berlin on #WahWoman( link given below) who has extensive experience in handing gender equality, diversity issues, and brought transition through design thinking.
Menopausal women are the fastest-growing workforce demographic’, according to a statistical analysis report. The average age for a woman to go through menopause is 51, or broadly, the age bracket is 45-55. Ironically, it coincides with a critical career stage when women are most likely to move into top leadership positions. So, it has, by and large, become an essential concern for corporates as well that can’t be ignored anymore. Clarissa Kristjansson a Corporate Menopause Transition Expert, shared some useful pointers on WahWoman (www.wahwoman.in) related to the menopausal transition phase. Thank you, Clarissa!
My name is Nishrin Rupawalla, a Language Trainer for Expats but I pride myself on being called a Cultural Trainer, Influencer, and Mentor.
From a corporate 9-6pm job, motherhood transpired this shift as I couldn’t bring myself to leave my son for such long hours , I took up an offer from a soft skills training institute where I realized my passion lied in teaching interacting , training people , but like a silver lining , one day I was assigned a class with two French students who knew not a word of English and I knew not a word of French, now the option which lay before me was to either take up this challenge or quit but never giving up being one of my strong trait a new journey of my life begin.
Everyday being a challenge as I had to plan my own syllabus, understanding the nuances of the language, and preparing for each class depending on their needs, accent, levels, and expectations.
I sailed through as the number of expats increased day by day, till I realized I was expecting my second child and had to quit due to pregnancy issues, but as they say Never lose hope, just when you think its over, God sends you a miracle. Post 3mnths, my students came to see me and said Teacher we are waiting for you and the next day I was in class with my baby in the rocker, was not easy juggling between two toddlers, working on the content, not knowing how far I would go as I had no form of advertisement.\
I knew it was going to be hard but not impossible because I believed in me and my passion, along with the classes and toddlers I pursued my studies, completing my masters in English and B.Ed, leaving no leaf unturned, students grew through the word to mouth, today I take pride in teaching 134 students from 32 countries across the world in the span of 12 years
Today it’s not only about teaching English Or Hindi, its about sharing cultures, it is about spreading my traditions and cultures, where we celebrate each festival and talk about its importance, making them aware and celebrate the beautiful cultures and tradition of my country, its about helping them to settle and take away good memories of their stay in my country, helping them maneuver and sort out any issues they face in settling in an unknown country.
From their Language trainer, I have become their mentor, cultural influencer, their friend, we are a family of women from different countries who come together to celebrate each others birthdays and be there for each other
Success is not built on failures, its built on frustration, Sometimes its built on Catastrophe, a change it brought in me in understanding Women better and understanding myself better
During this pandemic, I have been mentoring them to sail through this Pandemic and have started my youtube channel Fantastic Tips By Nishrin on Positivity, English, etc
My name is Preetii Kochhar, a model by passion and an actor by determination, a social media influencer, and a business executive of Digital marketing company.
I was born in an upper class yet conservative family in Pune, much loved and cared, due to this I learned to value my freedom when I discovered I had a passion to work in the Glam world.
Sometimes you have to go through the darkness to get the light”. Appreciate the Darkness”. Being a Mother it was tough to find time for my passion but slowly I started devoting time for myself and found a balance between work and family which is very important for a successful Person. Getting my first photoshoot in a reputed international magazine was a dream come true. I have done celebrity shoots, ramp Walk, Anchoring for various events. I have won Mrs. India’s international most beautiful skin tittle, Invited in pageants as Jury and Guests of honor. With lots of dreams and hope, I’m here to achieve my dreams, my career. Age is just a number, there is always a possibility to rework, reinvent, and design your life.
Throughout this journey from oppression to freedom, from being a housewife to a celebrity Model, my family especially my husband supported me all along, and help me realize that I have the spark and Zest in me. To reach the aim it’s important to have confidence within your self and believe that you are capable of it. There will always be people who will not believe in you and try to steal your dreams. Believe in the magic of believing “YOU ARE WORTH IT!!”
Soon going to have many projects and capture all the golden opportunities and achieve my dreams, Thanks for reading.
When your mobile flashes the name of your old best friend from school and college it feels like a breath of fresh air!
“You are a Mausi now,” said Abby, “it’s a girl!”
As they say, images are very powerful. Her life reeled out in a flash in front of me. Abhilasha (we always called her Abby) was full of optimism. Her personality was an amalgamation of beauty, intelligence, playfulness, and boldness. But at the same time sensitivity towards the delicate subjects that made her one of the most popular girls in the school as well as college. Boys used to compete to get her attention but she was in her own world with her bunch of friends happily, living her dreams. Many years after we graduated and got married, I received a call from Abby. Her effervescent smile and careless laughter are still etched in my mind. But that day she sounded very different from the Abby I knew. On the surface, her life was like a dream come true for any girl, a successful career, and marrying the man of her dreams. No one could fathom anything might be wrong and that’s where I was wrong! In her own words, she was struggling BIG time and was on the verge of total breakdown!
She casually mentioned nothing stresses her out as much as the family. Abby got married to Vaibhav, our class fellow, who had a different persona. He was shy, tall, dark and a man of few words and I guess that’s what attracted Abby to him. It was definitely a clichéd case of opposites attract. A meritorious student fell for an average Joe. The entire college knew they were madly in love with each other and would do anything to be part of each other’s life. After graduating both started working in reputed MNCs in the same city to keep their flame alive. Both families were educated and liberal and readily agreed to get them married. And everyone thought they lived happily ever after! But that was not the case with this love story. Things started to turn from rosy to grey. She started facing taunts and comments from her in-laws about the way she cooked, dressed, or even she addressed her husband like she must call him “AAP” instead of Tum (mind you these were the same people who were okay with Abby before the wedding!)
And as soon as Vaibhav went abroad for a small work assignment, things turned ugly. She was tortured mentally as well as physically and it was a clear case of domestic violence. It was baffling to know how a super confident girl can be a victim of domestic violence. The reason was persistent criticism of her looks, dressing sense, cooking skills; in short her being. And the love of her life was speechless in front of his parents. He simply ignored her situation by staying neutral even if he felt she was wrong. And one day after being persuaded he changed his neutral stance and hit her, the reason was SALT in daal! After narrating this incident to me Abby was crying uncontrollably and I didn’t console her. I said to her that the first thing she needs to do is take her life in her own hands. “That’s why I called,” she said. The next day at work we devised how she has to start her life again. She was very clear that she didn’t want to divorce Vaibhav as she knew he was not a bad person and still loved her. First, she booked a place in a working women’s hostel and moved next week, and then our tele sessions started.
As a friend who was a therapist she did various therapies like writing therapy which included penning down all her feelings about her situation and of course about her REAL relationship with Vaibhav. Since she was into painting, Art Therapy was an obvious choice, along with yoga, she did everything which I suggested and slowly and steadily old Abby started shining like her own self. Even though Vaibhav apologized for his behavior, Abby took time, initially, they used to talk to her over the phone only once a week but after three months when Abby was asked to meet for tea date, which she agreed. Vaibhav was surprised to see his Abby, she was an old version of herself who laughed carelessly and had a shine in her eyes. He felt as if they were in college dating again.
With time both of them realized it was lack of communication which had turned their dream into a nightmare!
After a few sessions with both of them together we created a framework where they could restart their life together again with ground rules that had to be followed by both parties. The most surprising part of this situation was that Abby’s parents didn’t have a clue about their daughter’s ordeal. She made me promise not to share anything with them which I had to agree with. It took a year for both Abby and Vaibhav to reconcile and start living together. It’s now almost three years since both Abby and Vaibhav are together and have welcomed their daughter today! In this journey, I have been in touch with them regularly to check up on how things were. Today both have great careers. At home, they have a live-in maid from Vaibhav’s native place who cooks according to their family’s palate. I remember Abby’s remark shortly after moving in together-
“Now, I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change, I am changing the things which I cannot accept!”
As a friend, I am over the moon for becoming a Maasi after a decade and as a therapist, I am happy that with my suggestions my client was not only able to save her relationship and begin a new chapter but also that she is able to do so with a regained confidence, self-respect and most importantly without compromising on her own dreams and ambitions.
Sarah Motiwala this name is building a Great Fashion Empire long before setting a foot over the ramp of Brand Ambassador of a Supermodel India.
When Sarah walked randomly on the ramp & won the title of Mrs. Pune 2018 at that time she was already a mother of two kids & set an example for many women around and opened their path toward the modeling & fashion industry.
Right from a sweet girl – bright student – ambitious girl – beautiful wife – responsible mother to a supermodel India brand ambassador, this long, tough & successful glamorous journey of a Sarah make her a Role Model and a True Inspiration for all young girls around.
I would like to reach out to my quotidian life account for everybody out there. I would like to share my struggles and fiascos that I had to go through to obtain my first Mrs. Asia crown, 2019.
My life only revolved around my fitness and my house management. At first, it was quite difficult for me to simultaneously keep a track of both of my duties as another, as a wife, and also as an artisan achieving her purpose. But soon, I was used to my daily routine and got the hang of it.
It took me a lot of time to realize my true identity and also to flow out my confidence. In the end, I would like to thank my family and acquaintances to help me through my tough times and to motivate me to move ahead and to never stop. I would continue to be inspiring and aspire.
While working as a choreographer, Zumba instructor, freelance model, Pageant Judge Sarah is now working on her acting skills and will soon appear in many web series and serials as an actress to motivate the girls.
Every achievement of Sarah is proving that “Success is Journey & Not a Destination.”
& sensational Sarah is not stopped .. She is continuously working in her career on woman empowerment by motivating many girls and women via many programs & Social media. Finally, Sarah reveals a simple rule of her success “A Winner Never Stop Trying.”
