Why in News?

=> On the occasion of International Women's Day President Ram Nath Kovind honored Aarti Rana and Neerja Madhav of Uttar Pradesh with 'Nari Shakti Puraskar' for their extraordinary work towards women empowerment.

Key Points:

=> The President presented the Nari Shakti Puraskar to 29 women at a special function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. For the years 2020 and 2021, 14-14 awards were given and one award was given jointly to two women.

=> These awards are given to women who have done remarkable work in the field of entrepreneurship, agriculture, innovation, social work, art, handicrafts, wildlife conservation, linguistics, merchant navy, education, literature, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and rights of persons with disabilities.

=> Aarti Rana of Uttar Pradesh was awarded with Nari Shakti Puraskar for the year 2020 and Neerja Madhav for the year 2021.

=> Aarti Rana is a handloom weaver and teacher from Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, has trained over 800 Tharu women in the craft and founded 150 women's self-help groups.

=> Hindi writer Neerja Madhav was given the Nari Shakti Award in recognition of her work for the marginalized people through Hindi literature. She has promoted world peace, rights and reservations for eunuchs and Tibetan refugees.

=> It is noteworthy that women who have done exceptional and outstanding work towards the empowerment of weak and marginalized women are honored with Nari Shakti Puraskar every year.

=> The Nari Shakti Puraskar ceremony of 2020 could not be held due to the Corona epidemic.

By: ASRAF UDDIN AHMED