International Women's Day 2021: Five female politicians who made headlines in 2020

Nirmala Sitharaman is India’s first full-time woman finance minister had a major challenge to revive the economy that fell to its all-time low due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown announced by the government.

She announced a relief package worth Rs 1.70 lakh crore to help the nation's poor tackle the financial difficulties arising from the Covid-19 outbreak. Her long Budget speeches and coronavirus relief package announcemeents got her the spot as the woman who dominated most of the news in the business section of websites.

Smriti Irani is a former television actress and the Minister of Textiles and Minister of Women and Child Development. Irani is a prominent leader within the Bharatiya Janata Party and she represents the Amethi constituency in Lok Sabha.

After a prominent journalist was arrested in Mumbai for abetment to suicide, she came in support with him and raised her voice against the arrest, terming it as an attack on press freedom.

(Picture courtesy: PTI File photo)

 Uma Bharti is known for her stringent religious beliefs and is popular as the 'sanyasin' in Indian politics. In October last year, the senior BJP leader raised doubts over the behaviour of UP Police in the Hathras gangrape incident and asked state CM Yogi Adityanath to allow mediapersons and politicians to meet the victim's family. 

Bharti, who was under treatment for COVID-19 in AIIMS Rishikesh at that time, took to twitter and said had she not been infected, she would have met the family of the victim.

KK Shailaja is the Minister of Health and Social Justice in Kerala and the current MLA from Kuthuparamba. As Health Minister, her leadership during the COVID-19 outbreaks was widely lauded. Shailaja received international attention for her leadership in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in Kerala, the state that reported the first coronavirus infection in India.

Her work was recognized by the United Nations.

The actor-turned-politician from Tamil Nadu left the Congress party in October to join the BJP. However, just a few days after she joined the party, she was arrested by the police while she was on her way to Chidambaram to take part in a protest against VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan over his 'misogynistic statements against women.' The arrest was made citing law and order situatuoin and to avoid crowding in Chidambaram during the coronavirus pandemic. Sundar was released a few hours ago.

A few days later, she met with an accident after a tanker rammed into the SUV in which she was on her way to Cuddalore.