Women empowerment has become one of the most common topics of discussion in every philanthropic activity. It is true that women need extra efforts in society to achieve some goals that are comparatively easy for men. But more than that, they require motivation. They need examples so that they could follow the same path to success.
Enough talking is done, let’s get on the topic. Two Government-owned organizations, Indian Railways, and Air India have recently made history with an all-women crew driving a train and flying a plane over the north pole. Let’s go through their stories that may set an example for thousands of women in years to come.
Railway’s Story :
On January 6, 2021, a 3 women crew, Akanksha Ray, Udita Verma, and Kumkum Suraj Dongre, piloted a goods train from Mumbai division in Maharashtra to Gujarat. This incident was historic as this is the first time an all-women crew driven and piloted a goods train in the Western Railways. Akanksha Ray, who is an MBA graduate from Indore, was the goods guard, while Kumkum Suraj Dongre was the loco pilot, and Udita Verma was the assistant loco pilot.
The journey was not very long, only from Vasai in Palghar district of Maharastra near Mumbai to Vadodara. However, it is quite a historic train journey for even the crew themselves. Ray believes that this will break the shackles for many Indian women to take up such jobs that have been historically performed by men only.
Air India’s Story :
The other historic move was that Air India made its longest direct route flight from San Francisco in the US to Bengaluru in India, covering 16000 km and also flying over the North Pole. But what made this incident far apart was that all 4 crew members were women. Captain Zoya Aggarwal said that this is the shortest route between the two cities and will save 10 tonnes of fuel.
This 17-hour long journey is also the longest direct flight journey in the world. It was indeed one of the greatest achievements of Indian aviation history. Flight AI176 took off at 8:30 pm and reached its destination at 3:07 am. Apart from Zoya were Captain Papagari Thanmai, Captain Akansha Sonaware, and Captain Shivani Manhas all pilots of the plane.
Conclusion :
Today’s success sets the future tomorrow. It is necessary for someone to step up for participation for the others to follow in the future. That is why every first have a unique significance that the others don’t have. These 7 women have created history today, at the same time have opened doors for many other aspirants to follow in their footsteps. Through hard work, determination and passion, and some intelligence, they have proved once again that being a woman does not stop them from doing what they really can.
Written by – Himadri Paul