The speakers encouraged all women to be good to themselves
The University of Hyderabad organized three online talks on 12th March in connection with the week of International Women’s Day 2021. Three inspiring women from three different walks of life spoke at the sessions. Quite interestingly, all three got into careers mostly chosen by men during their times.
Smt. Vaikunta Sunita Lakshmi Reddy, Chairperson of Telanagana State Commission for Women was the chief guest of the event. Prof.B.Rajasekhar, Pro-Vice-Chancellor- II of the university presided the event. Dr. G. Padmaja, Deputy Dean Students’ Welfare introduced the guest speakers.
Dr. Sreelatha P, a scientist at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Trivandrum shared her experiences in VSSC both professionally and as a woman. Though she was one of the very few women in her team, she said that there was no gender bias especially recalling the late-night meetings after completion of the projects. She encouraged more and more young students to join the VSSC team.
Divya Bollareddy, an athlete who spoke next talked about how she ended up being a sprinter and went on to win medals in international events. It was her thyroid complications following the second delivery that pushed her to start running. Running for a healthy lifestyle eventually led to her being an athlete. She explained despite how every part of her body hurt, she managed to look after her work, race, and family. “Be good to yourself,” she said pointing out how often women forget about themselves while taking care of their family or others.
Dr. Padma Veerapaneni, who took over shared her journey as a vascular neurologist. She recalled her surprise in the initial days of her career when her professors asked her why she took the specialization which was mostly taken by men and if she will be able to manage. She stood strong to all questions of doubts and discouragement. She eventually became the co-founder of KIMS hospital and the chairman of RiSE foundation India. She also emphasized the importance of ‘time for oneself’ and urged all women to take care of themselves first.
Both Divya and Padma insisted everyone to adopt an active lifestyle.
Dr. Vijaya lakshmi, Deputy Chief Warden delivered the vote of thanks.
Contributed by Nimisha S Pradeep, Department of Communication, UoH.