On March 6, 2020 TIME Magazine created 100 New Covers for the Project ‘100 women of the year’ to recognize selected women or groups to represent each year from 1920 to 2019. India’s Freedom Fighter Amrit Kaur will be honored as ‘Women of the Year’ for 1947 & Former prime minister Indira Gandhi for 1976.
Profiles according to TIME
i.Freedom Fighter Amrit Kaur as ‘Women of the Year’ for 1947
- Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was born in the royal family of Kapurthala & was educated in Edwardian England, in 1918 she returned to India after studying at Oxford, followed Gandhi’s teaching & decided to help India break free from colony ties.
- She tackled social issues & spoke out for women’s rights.In 1930 she became secretary to Gandhi. She became the 1st women Health minister & served for 10 years.
- She founded the Indian Council for Child Welfare & helped to establish the country’s top hospital and medical college.
ii.Former prime minister Indira Gandhi for 1976
- The “Empress of India” in 1976 India’s great authoritarian. She became Prime Minister of India after victory over Pakistan in the Bangladesh Liberation War.
- By 1975 there was economic instability which deemed her election invalid & so she declared emergency. On June 25, 1975 night there was a sudden shut off in Delhi’s newspaper offices.
- She ripped off her father’s democracy & amended India’s constitution to bestow herself enormous powers. She introduced “Family rule” in her party.
Background for the ‘Women of the Year’ project
For 72 years it had been named a Man of the year, almost always a man.In 1999 Man of the Year was changed to Person of the Year to make gender equality. Purpose of the project is to highlight influential women who were mostly overshadowed & also include women who have occupied positions from which men were often chosen.
