The Women’s Forum was held on the sidelines of AAPI’s 15th annual Global Healthcare Summit.
A bevy of women leaders shared their inspirational stories at the Women’s Forum held on the sidelines of the 15th annual Global Healthcare Summit hosted by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin in Hyderabad, India, earlier this month.
“A woman is defined by her courage and self-confidence,” Dr. Tejaswini Manogna, Miss India-Earth 2019 and the titleholder of Divine Miss Earth India 2019, said delivering the keynote address. “Be brave to voice your choices and do not give up your goals. Speak up. Do not suffer in silence. Be bold and brave to voice your opinion. If a woman can lead at home, she can lead the world. Dream to do something for others. If I can do it, you all can do it.”
The Forum was organized by AAPI officials Dr. Seema Arora, Dr. Udaya Shivangi, Dr. Meher Medavaram, Dr. Malati Mehta and Dr. Uma Jonnalagadda, according a press release by the organization.
A physician by profession, Manogna won the title of Divine Miss Earth India 2019 and represented India at the 19th edition of the Miss Earth pageant held at Parañaque City, in the Philippines.
READ: AAPI women’s panel hosts conference on domestic violence (October 19, 2021)
“Nature has given us, the women, a bigger responsibility of being a mother, who has a huge influence on one’s children,” she said, adding that her own mother taught her “the value of simple living and high thinking.”
“She did the best to give me the best in life and gave me the path, and attitude of never giving up,” Manogna said. “Be grounded and humble in spite of all the accruements.”
The beauty queen said she has the vision to be “the voice and be the ambassador for the youth” and the “vision has given me the inspiration to wear many hats and achieve many things in life.”
- Besides Manogna, other speakers included:
- Dr. Meenacshi Martin, a practicing consultant psychiatrist and award- winning actress;
- Dr. Juby A. Jacob-Nara, Vice President and Head of Global Medical Respiratory Allergy and Gastroenterology at Sanofi-Genzyme’ who has been a part of over 50 new successful drugs launched worldwide;
- Dr. Shantha Kumari, a senior gynecologist and laparoscopic surgeon, committed to have “Cancer Mukt Bharat” by 2030, to elevate women’s health globally and to stop violence against women; and
- Preity Üpala, a former investment banker, thought leader, media entrepreneur and Miss India International, based in Hollywood, California.
Üpala, the host of a popular show called The Preity Experience, shared with the audience, her own personal life. “What has inspired me in my life and how my life can be of inspiring to all,” she said. “In the 21st century, we need to redefine empowerment. Be proud of where you come from and our culture and we have much to teach the world.” While describing that “A woman is a like a tea bag, we would know only when she is in hot water,” she said: “Women are the future of the world.”
She stressed the need for understanding the importance of culture, which she termed “my upbringing and values.” Üpala added: “Power is how you can be in harmony within you and with the others; Dharma, which is the purpose and the path that help make an impact; And, finally, Fulfillment, which is in the journey but not at the end. Leave the world a better place than you had inherited and have the joy of making a positive impact,” she told the AAPI delegates.
Kumari, president of Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India and the treasurer of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, urged the delegates to “have the courage to say ‘no’ to violence against women.”
“Women across the world are being impacted by violence,” she said. “If you have the will, you can do it.” She called on all women to do regular cervical cancer screening to avoid cancer, which will result in “Cancer Mukht Bharat.”
Kumari stated that “women in India are more empowered than women in many other countries of the world.” She said, “Women should have the right to choose her life, when to do marry, give birth to child and raise them.”
“I am here to represent women across the world,” said Jacob-Nara, who was born in New Delhi to a mother who was extremely poor, but worked hard and became a nurse and emigrated to the US. “Despite the many hardships, she helped us get the best education and that brought about changes,” she said. “Mother is the key pillar in one’s life, and let us continue to elevate her.”
Martin shared with the audience her own personal story of how she, born and raised in a remote village in India, faced numerous challenges at an early age, which helped her achieve many things in life today. She said being a full time mother to a son with cerebral palsy, she has been able to pursue her goals in life, fulfilling her passion for medicine and acting, all going together.
“As we grow and mature, our goals keep changing,” Jacob-Nara said. “We, the women are very adaptive. When faced with resistance or failures, challenges or pushed to the wall, we are forced to react. Everyone gets that inner courage when you are faced with challenges and pushed to the corner.”
Dr. Seema Arora, chair of AAPI National Women’s Committee, gave an overview of the programs organized by the Women’s Forum, with focus on “women who inspire.” Introducing the panelists, she called them, “an inspiration to the world.”
“The Women’s Forum had a panel of ‘Women Who Inspire’ from all walks of life who have achieved extraordinary feats in each of their phenomenal lives,” Arora said. “This exhilarating forum has been organized with the objective of bringing together some of the most accomplished women under one roof who are role models for all other women around the world.”
Dr. Meher Medavaram, chair of GHS Women’s Forum and the regional director for AAPI Northeast central division, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, said, “This is precisely what some of these amazing women leaders are going to shed light in the women’s forum at the GHS summit.”
Dr. Shivangi, advisor to AAPI Women’s Forum, said, “The Women’s Forum is where successful and powerful women come and share their life’s dreams, challenges and this empower and inspire other women. Today’s Forum is about how career changes by women affect t them and the larger society.”
In her concluding remarks, Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, only the fourth woman to serve as president of AAPI, said, “That was amazing to hear your personal stories of inspiration.” Reflecting her own life, she said, “I look at myself and say, ‘you can do it, if only you put your heart and soul into it.’ Nothing is impossible. Impress yourself and be proud of your own self.”