Poonam Muttreja, Indira Jaising, and Vrinda Grover: Champions of Women’s Rights

March 8, 2025 Panasiabiz News Featured, Lifestyle, Press Release 0

International Women's Day Spotlight: Three Role Models Transforming Gender Dynamics in India
International Women's Day Spotlight: Three Role Models Transforming Gender Dynamics in India

On International Women’s Day, meet three role models who are leading the gender empowerment movement by example.

Poonam Muttreja, Indira Jaising and Vrinda Grover continue to actively advocate for the rights of women on the margins

In its explainer on how women’s organizations prevent violence against women, UN Women states that countries with strong women’s movements tend to have more comprehensive policies on issues like gender-based violence compared to those with weaker movements.

These civil society organizations, along with influential women leaders driving policy-making and empowerment initiatives, play a crucial role in every nation’s progress toward gender parity.

Meanwhile, according to the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report 2024, India has slipped two places, ranking 129th out of 146 countries, down from 127th in 2023.

This underscores the urgent need for sustained efforts led by women leaders to drive meaningful change. Their role is vital in shaping policies and addressing regressive gender norms that impact women’s rights and socio-economic participation.

Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, Population Foundation of India

Founded in 1970 by the late pioneer industrialist and philanthropist JRD Tata, the Population Foundation of India is one of the country’s leading NGOs, focusing on population dynamics, gender equity, and sexual and reproductive health.

As the Executive Director of the Population Foundation of India, Poonam Muttreja has played a pivotal role in shaping India’s policies and initiatives on population stabilisation, reproductive health, and women’s rights.

She co-conceived ‘Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon,’ one of the most successful transmedia initiatives to drive social change and gender equality. Before joining Population Foundation of India, she served as the India Country Director of the John D. and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation for 15 years. She also co-founded and led organisations such as the Ashoka Foundation, Dastkar, and the Society for Rural, Urban, and Tribal Initiative (SRUTI).

Throughout her career, she has championed initiatives to improve maternal and child health and has been instrumental in promoting progressive national policies on family planning, sexual and reproductive health, and women’s empowerment.

Indira Jaising, Human Rights Lawyer and Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court

Indira Jaising, the first woman to be appointed as the Additional Solicitor General of India, was also named among Fortune magazine’s Fifty Greatest Leaders in 2018.

The 84-year-old was recently in the news for her decision to represent the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Forum (WBJDF) in the Supreme Court hearing of the murder case involving a junior doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

A longstanding advocate for human rights, Jaising has been a strong voice for women’s empowerment, gender equality, and the rights of marginalized communities. She is a founding member of the Lawyers Collective, an organization committed to human rights and social justice.

Over the years, she has taken on high-profile cases that have shaped India’s legal landscape on issues such as sexual harassment, domestic violence, and gender-based discrimination. Her contributions have been instrumental in developing legal protections for women, particularly in areas like sexual assault and workplace harassment.

Vrinda Grover, Human Rights Lawyer, and Policy Advocate

Lawyer, researcher, and human rights advocate Vrinda Grover has appeared in cases representing women and child survivors of domestic and sexual violence, victims of communal massacres, and sexual minorities.

She has also been actively involved in advancing policies that address the challenges faced by marginalised women, including Dalits, Adivasis, and women with disabilities. Through her legal work, she has supported survivors of sexual violence and contributed to legislative reforms aimed at strengthening legal protections for women in India.

Grover has also collaborated with both the Indian government and civil society organizations to support and promote policies on gender justice. She played a major role in advocating for and shaping India’s laws on sexual violence and women’s safety, including the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, introduced in the wake of the Nirbhaya case.

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On International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25), here is an overview of the initiatives that are empowering women A recent survey of more than 4 lakh FIRs (First Information Report) in Haryana discovered that when a male complainant registers a case on behalf of a woman friend or relative, he is less likely to “face burdens or exclusions” than if the woman herself was the primary complainant. The report published in October by Nirvikar Jassal, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science, is less about data gleaned from a single state and more about blatant and subtle gender inequities women struggle with routinely. Patriarchy not only fuels crimes against women but also disempowers them when they try to seek justice. A few initiatives are striving to change this by addressing systemic and societal fault lines that facilitate gender violence. An overview: 1. #BasAbBahutHoGaya by Population Foundation of India: Population Foundation of India's initiative #BasAbBahutHoGaya has synergised with Farhan Akhtar's MARD Foundation (Men Against Rape and Discrimination), to challenge the pervasive manner in which gender violence is not only normalised but also condoned. Short films like 'Nirbhaya, Never Again' produced by Population Foundation of India shed light on the factors that perpetuate physical and sexual abuse against women in society. Helmed by well-known film and theatre director Feroz Abbas Khan, the #BasAbBahutHoGaya campaign has also featured achievers like Sania Mirza and Barkha Dutt. In the recent past, Farhan Akhtar has dedicated a song 'Chulein Aasman' as part of the campaign which was started with a filmmaking competition and a concert. 2. UNITE campaign by the UN In the global report on 'Violence against Women' by the World Health Organization (WHO), it's reported that more than a quarter of women aged 15-49 in relationships have experienced physical or sexual violence from their intimate partner at least once in their lifetime since the age of 15—an issue of great concern. Addressing this problem, the UN has intensified the UNITE campaign, originally launched in 2008. As part of UNITE, '16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence', an annual campaign, starts on November 25 and continues till International Human Rights Day on December 10. Moreover, the UNiTE campaign has proclaimed the 25th of each month as 'Orange Day,' a day to raise awareness and take action to end violence against women and girls. 3. #GBVinMedia by Feminism in India: #GBVinMedia, by Feminism in India, challenges the media's portrayal of gender-based violence, aiming to combat victim-blaming narratives and empower women. 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