Now, untold stories of Indian women to go online

Historic works of women in India and their untold stories will now be available for all to see. As part of their effort to achieve gender equality through art and culture, Google unveiled virtual exhibits - "Women in India: unheard stories". The move was part of "Womenwill/today at Global Citizen India" —a conference exploring game-changing ways we can erase gender gaps and accelerate prosperity. The initiative was jointly conducted by Google India and Global Citizen India at the Taj Lands End, Bandra on Saturday. The stories can be viewed on Google's Arts and culture platform.

"The project is an effort to recognise Indian women in history and their impact on society. There are a lot of things that continue to shape our lives and society that are part of their achievements. Rakhmabai, the first woman doctor was one such woman whose efforts lead to a change in the age of motherhood. She was dragged to court, but she did not get deterred. Eventually, her efforts ensured that the age of motherhood was changed from 12 to 16," said Luisella Mazza, head of operations, Google Cultural Institute.

She added, "There are also others like Dr Muthulakshmi Reddi who was the first woman legislator. There are works of several young artists that will be available online. The collection of artwork and virtual exhibitions spans 2,500 years from over 20 cultural institutions."

The conference also focused on other topics like opportunities for women, creating parity at work, breaking stereotypes, accelerating change and women being agents of change through use of the internet. For these, there were achievers like Chandro Tomnar, popularly known as 'Revolver Dadi'--a known sharp shooter, Amina Mohammed, Minister of Environment from Nigeria, actors Nandita Das and Freida Pinto, several women achievers in the corporate world from India and outside and 'Internet Saathis' —agents of change in villages of India who are taking the internet to the masses so that they can educate themselves and start a business.

"We anyway have fought for gender equality for the last three years. Since Global Citizens was doing something, we felt why not partner with them around this time and create a conversation on the issue," said Sapna Chadha, Google India.