BJP’s initiatives take nari shakti to the next level

WHEN the Indian women's kabaddi team defended their World Cup title in Dhaka, they were a team of young women — many from small towns and farming families — standing on a global stage as if they had always belonged there. Leading them was 23-year-old Sanju Devi, daughter of daily wage workers from a Chhattisgarh village, now Player of the Tournament at a World Cup.

In Colombo, our specially-abled women's team lifted the inaugural Blind Women's T20 World Cup, going unbeaten through the tournament and showing the world that disability does not mean invisibility. In another corner of the country, Arundhati Chaudhary from Kota, who once trained with a wrist injury so severe she could barely throw a right hook, returned as a world champion in the 70 kg category — and as a havaldar in the Army.

These achievements tell us that today's Indian woman is more confident, visible and ambitious than ever. And that confidence is now an engine of India's growth.

For our mothers' generation, a "successful" daughter was one who studied well and married "on time". Today, that definition has exploded. On the field, women in blue and red jerseys are normal, not rare. A girl in a government school can point to a kabaddi captain and say, "She looks like me." A village girl can be inspired by watching a team that proves someone like her can play for India.

Off the field, the same fearless mindset is reshaping our economy. When Falguni Nayar left a banking career at 50 to build Nykaa, she was told it was too late. Today, she stands as one of India's richest self-made women and the founder of a homegrown beauty giant. In Bengaluru, Himani Yadav, an IIT-Guwahati graduate, turned her own engagement ring choice into ONYA, a lab-grown diamond jewellery brand that is expanding. In the Cauvery delta, women like Madhu Nachammai are turning local bananas into cosmetics brands, while others build VR tourism and IoT companies from tier-II and tier-III towns.

These stories are measurable. India's female labour force participation rate, which hovered in the low 20s a decade ago, has risen to 41-42% in 2023-24, with especially strong gains in rural areas. Women are working more and with a sense of purpose.

In the startup ecosystem, women lead or co-lead about 18% of startups, almost double of their share a few years ago. At the grassroots level, women are taking charge of local governance. Around 46% of representatives in Panchayati Raj institutions are women, making decisions on water, health, roads and schools.

Individual courage is at the heart of these stories, but the background has also changed in important ways. In the last decade, government initiatives have put more economic power directly into women's hands. Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, more than half of basic bank accounts are held by women. Under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, around 70% of loan accounts belong to women, helping crores of them turn side hustles into small businesses.

Khelo India and women's leagues have created platforms for thousands of girls to compete with better coaching and infrastructure. The women's record performances at games are not flukes; they are the result of girls getting a real chance to play — and play to win.

Why does this matter for India? Because women's confidence changes everything. When she works, the GDP grows. When she builds a company, she creates jobs. When she leads in local government, services improve for communities. When she is financially independent, the next generation is better fed, better educated and more ambitious.

There is also a soft power dimension. A country showcasing a world champion kabaddi team led by a village girl, blind cricketers lifting a World Cup, self-made women billionaires, small-town tech founders and "lakhpati didis" is sending a message: this democracy trusts its daughters.

Yet, our work is not done. There are still girls who drop out of school too early, women held back by unpaid care work, talented graduates who never get a safe, fair chance to prove themselves. If New India is serious about growth, we must back them, actively:

l Families must share responsibilities so that daughters and daughters-in-law can pursue bold careers and ventures.

l Companies must measure success not only in profit margins but in how many women they hire, mentor and promote.

l Political parties must keep increasing the number of women in real decision-making roles.

Young women today are far more confident. They are not waiting for permission; they are asking for partnership and respect. The more we trust them to lead, the higher this nation will rise.