<div class='bc_element' id='bc_element'1 style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p><b>Women Entrepreneurs Are Leading Change. It’s Time to Recognize Their Impact.&nbsp;&nbsp;</b></p><p><br></p><p>Every year on International Women’s Day, we celebrate progress—acknowledging the strides women have made in leadership, education, and economic independence. But beyond the headlines and annual recognitions, there are women who are not just succeeding within existing systems, but reimagining them entirely.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Across India and beyond, women social entrepreneurs are building solutions where governments and markets have struggled. They are addressing access gaps, improving rights, and creating opportunities for those who have long been overlooked. These are not just businesses; they are blueprints for a more inclusive future.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>From menstrual health to financial independence, from water security to education, these women are driving tangible change. Their work is shaping not just individual lives, but entire communities.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>This Women’s Day, we highlight five women who have taken on some of the world’s biggest challenges—not by waiting for solutions, but by creating them.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p><b>Aditi Gupta – MENSTRUPEDIA&nbsp;</b></p><p><br></p><p>The way a society talks about menstruation says a lot about how it values women. In many parts of India, misinformation, stigma, and silence make menstrual health a challenge for millions of young girls. Many drop out of school due to lack of access to sanitary products, while workplace taboos continue to impact women’s daily lives.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Aditi Gupta saw the need for education and co-founded Menstrupedia, a platform that provides clear, science-based menstrual health information. What started as a comic book explaining menstruation to young girls has grown into school programs, digital learning tools, and community-driven workshops.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>By making information accessible, Menstrupedia is shifting how menstruation is understood, discussed, and managed. It ensures that more girls stay in school, more women advocate for their health, and more families treat menstruation as a natural biological process rather than a cultural restriction.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><b>Sairee Chahal – SHEROES</b></p><p><br></p><p>Women’s careers often follow a different trajectory than men’s. Family responsibilities, career breaks, and a lack of flexible opportunities push many women out of the workforce. Traditional job markets have not evolved to accommodate these realities.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Sairee Chahal recognized this gap and founded Sheroes, a digital platform that connects women to:&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>- Remote and flexible work opportunities.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>- Microfinance loans to start and grow businesses.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>- A professional community for mentorship, networking, and career guidance.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Instead of asking women to adjust to an outdated system, Sheroes builds opportunities around the realities of women’s lives. By focusing on financial independence, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, it is redefining how women engage with the economy—on their own terms.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><b>Anu Sridharan – WELL LABS&nbsp;</b></p><p><br></p><p>For millions of people in Indian cities, water availability is unpredictable. Households do not always know when their taps will run, and supply shortages create stress for families, businesses, and city planners.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Anu Sridharan saw the problem not just as a water crisis, but as a data challenge. As the co-founder of NextDrop, she introduced a real-time notification system that alerts people when water will be available. This small change has made household water management easier and more efficient.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Now, at WELL Labs, she continues working on water security and sanitation solutions that ensure access is not left to chance. Her work shows how technology can be leveraged to solve essential problems—not just in urban planning, but in everyday life.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p><b>Mallika Dutt – BREAKTHROUGH&nbsp;</b></p><p><br></p><p>Laws against domestic violence, child marriage, and gender discrimination exist, but real change happens when mindsets shift. Social norms—what is accepted, ignored, or excused—often dictate how laws are enforced.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Mallika Dutt, through her organization Breakthrough, is challenging these norms. By combining media, education, and grassroots activism, Breakthrough is making gender violence a public issue rather than a private one.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Breakthrough runs programs that:&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>- Train local leaders and youth to advocate for gender equity.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>- Use storytelling and mass media to reshape how gender violence is perceived.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>- Work with communities to prevent child marriage and domestic abuse.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>By placing prevention at the center of the conversation, Breakthrough is ensuring that gender-based violence is not just punished, but actively reduced.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p><b>Shiza Shahid – MALALA FUND&nbsp;</b></p><p><br></p><p>Education is often the first thing girls lose when conflict, poverty, or societal restrictions come into play. But education is not just about literacy—it is about opportunity.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Shiza Shahid co-founded the Malala Fund to advocate for every girl’s right to at least 12 years of free, safe, and quality education. The organization invests in local education initiatives across:&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>- India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Jordan, and Lebanon.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>- Community-led efforts that support girls in regions where attending school is a challenge.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>- Policy advocacy to ensure education is recognized as a human right, not a privilege.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>The Malala Fund is ensuring that education does not remain an aspiration, but a reality for girls worldwide.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p><b>Women’s Day and the Path Forward&nbsp;&nbsp;</b></p><p><br></p><p>Women’s Day is a time to celebrate impact. But it is also a moment to recognize the work still ahead.These five women are not just leading businesses—they are building sustainable, long-term solutions to problems that affect millions. They remind us that progress is not just about individual success, but about who benefits from that success. Their work proves that when women create solutions, entire societies move forward.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>This Women’s Day, the focus should not only be on where progress has been made, but on how we can support those who are making it happen. Because real change is not about celebrating what has been done—it is about ensuring that the next generation has fewer barriers to break in the first place.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><span></div>