These past 12 months have been a witness to countless awe-inspiring stories of women who have come out of the shadows, and made a mark for themselves while contributing to their community. Committed to celebrating journeys of this incredible fighting spirit of womanhood, Femina, India’s leading women’s magazine, begins a new chapter in its 61-year-old history of empowering women by introducing a novel initiative, Femina Spark. With the mission to ‘Light Up Her Spirit’, Femina, in the first edition of its initiative, has joined hands with the Uttar Pradesh government to shine the spotlight on the powerful stories of the state’s fearless female leaders and iconoclasts.
The Femina Spark campaign also aims to spread awareness about women’s safety and dignity, which dovetails with the Mission Shakti campaign driven by the state government. Through these initiatives, Femina, as a flag bearer of positive change in society, provides women with a platform to come forward and tell the world their inspiring stories.
Ahead of International Women’s Day, Femina Spark collaborated with Grameen Foundation India and Abhishek Yadav, Special Commando Trainer and world record holder, to curate special workshops for women. The first workshop was held in Varanasi on March 4, 2021, and the second in Gorakhpur the next day. The workshops were on the topics of Financial Literacy and Self Defence, and witnessed the enthusiastic participation of several women from these two cities.
Led by Isha Sharma of the Grameen Foundation, the Financial Literacy Workshop offered women learnings about the benefits of using digital financial services, financial planning, and tips on how to invest and save their earnings for the future.
In the Self Defence Workshop, Special Commando Trainer Abhishek Yadav taught women practical ways to defend themselves, thereby empowering them to handle difficult situations in their day-to-day life.
With both these workshops aiming to make women independent, secure, and empowered in every way possible, Femina Spark has taken another step towards making a difference for the better.
While the workshops concluded amid rave reviews from the participants, Femina Spark is all set to launch many such activities for women across the state. The initiative will continue to amplify its underlying message of women’s empowerment, the very crux of the #MainBhiShakti campaign, on ground, by travelling across the state and visiting schools, universities, public and government offices, commercial establishments, anganwadis and hospitals. By having inspirational leaders highlight their vision for a better future, along with reaching out to as extensive and diverse an audience as possible, the purpose-driven Femina Spark initiative will leave no stone unturned to instil the change we all want to see.