Rising Beyond the Ceiling

On 25th February 2023 launched our new hard-cover edition of the Rising Beyond The Ceiling Karnataka publication with one hundred stereotype shattering stories of inspiring Muslim women from our state.

Write to risingbeyondtheceiling@gmail.com to get your own personal copy or for your institutions/ organizations.

Celebrating Achievements, Changing Stereotypes, Creating Leadership. Message from Dr. Farah K. Usmani, Founder & Chairperson, Rising Beyond The Ceiling

CELEBRATING ACHIEVEMENTS, CHANGING STEREOTYPES, CREATING LEADERSHIP

Rising Beyond The Ceiling (RBTC) was born out of the need to change the stereotypical narrative about Muslim women in India. The hundred million Indian women, who identify themselves as Muslim, reach across a spectrum of ethnicities and languages, states, and union territories, do not look the same or sound the same, and contribute to nation building in a wide variety of ways. They are not a monolith.

RBTC celebrates the achievements, endeavor, and diversity of Muslim women in India aiming to drive a new narrative, doing so in an integrated way, with collaboration of all faiths. We believe we ourselves must work to put forward and build our own narrative. Through sharing the inspiring stories of the lived reality of Muslim women’s lives, in all their diversity, RBTC aims to dismantle their negative societal stereotypes. The hundreds of profiles of courage and excellence of Muslim women from states across India demonstrate how they have overcome and addressed the hierarchies of gender, class, and regional location. The stories also extrapolate conditions that facilitate success and can be overcome, making the path easier for the next generation of women. Chapters of this unique collective, shining a light on the untold stories of Muslim women in India, are in the process of being identified and listed from several states in India. Uttar Pradesh was the first chapter which was launched in December 2021. A global initiative, RBTC has a ‘global inspirations’ compendium of Muslim women from India who are making their mark in countries across the world and also one of “Under 30 youth achievers”.

Karnataka is home to an estimated 40 lakh women who identify themselves as Muslim, a population which is larger than some of the countries in Central Asia, Africa and Arab world. I celebrate all the hundred RBTC Karnataka honorees spotlighted in this publication for rising in their chosen spheres. They capture the diversity and exemplary accomplishments of Karnataka’s Muslim women. RBTC 100 Karnataka are shattering stereotypes from across the districts of Karnataka and are substantive contributors to nation building. Though first and ground-breaking, RBCT 100 Karnataka identifies is only a very small sliver of the lakhs of Muslim women in the state contributing to the progress of the country. There are many more stories of courage, grit and service that need to be told from all the districts of Karnataka. Our vision is to continue to shine the spotlight through periodic RBTC 100 compendiums.

While the focus of Rising Beyond The Ceiling is on the journeys that were travelled by Muslim women achievers, the stories are envisaged to nurture confidence and ambition among all women and girls in India, and around the world, at every stage of their lives, in all areas of endeavor and open a door to new ambitions. The RBTC honorees also serve as mentors for the RBTC women’s mentorship programme which is open to young women 18 to 25 years of age from all faiths. For all women, seeing many others of dramatically different backgrounds, achieving in a range of professions, is a strong signal that success and service come in many forms, and everyone gets to pick their own icons.

As we take charge of the new narrative, inspired by these stories of success, and recognizing the tenacity of women, let us start shedding the narrow definitions of success and of us, Muslim women of India. Change occurs slowly, but it does occur. I feel we might just be making progress.

Bravo to RBCT Karnataka!

The kindle edition of the Rising Beyond The Ceiling publication is available on Amazon. For your free e-copy write to risingbeyondtheceling@gmail.com

Foreword from Zoya Fatehally, Coordinator, RBTC Karnataka Chapter, Bengaluru

Welcome to Rising Beyond The Ceiling Karnataka- Greetings, Jai Hind!

Everyone has passions and drivers in life - mine is new ideas, new points of view, new life stories, new experiences. Hence it came to be that I thoroughly enjoyed the role of coordinator for RBTC Karnataka. I met the most diverse and amazing Indian Muslim Women of Karnataka.

I couldn’t say if I enjoyed driving to Hassan to meet a thought -leader Advocate & writer more, OR having tea with a distinguished retired Minister Science & Technology OR having video calls with the ground level social worker from Mysore , OR taking a tour of an International school by it’s founder, OR coming face to face with an impressive young Officer in Uniform! Just when one thought that the fact that these women had reached positions of impact and influence was already going BEYOND the ceiling, one finds:

The Advocate was taking week long expensive classes in Stocks and Shares so that she could do justice on a case related to that topic the following summer
The Minister brought Rain water Harvesting and Solar Panels to Vidhan South long before these were buzz words
The Social Worker was physically involved in putting temporary roofs built for the poor who lost their homes during storms
The Founder of the International school had started in one house and rented a few more until she could not do without a school building. She borrowed from the parents & built this massive impressive campus
The Assistant Commissioner of Police was running classes in Spoken English and attending them alongside her staff to improve staff morale and performance

Each of those & similar interactions are now a part of my cherished and indelible memories. This compendium of RBTC Karnataka is but the tip of the iceberg. The breadth and depth of contributions of Indian Muslim Women in Karnataka is tremendous. Each woman I knew about, I wanted to know more. They are all strong, resilient, impressive and impactful.

This work started in early 2021 and alongside Covid19, travels, deaths and births in the family, day job related changes, we kept the project alive. It is our fond hope that readers will enjoy reading the snippets that are presented. We also hope that for the year 2023 nominations will start to pour in. There are already have some nominees that could not be included today. The word nominee does leave room for review and confirmation. Many times the information is from public domain and explicit consent for inclusion has not been obtained. As with all work, mistakes can occur - please do not hesitate tossed improvement suggestions to me zoya@fatehally.net OR my hard working and able team-mate, Aiman at aimantdh@gmail.com

Gratitude, although hard to convey completely, needs to be expressed to Dr. Farah Usmani, Founder of Rising Beyond The Ceiling, for providing me this opportunity. I appreciated her able guidance and encouragement all along. I am most appreciative of my team-mate Aiman Ansari for her patience and exceptional hard work. Of course, last but not least, in these testing times, I am most obliged to all the nominees for providing their consent and helping to do their write-ups.

Being trusted is a priceless feeling! Thank you.

Zoya Nayara Fatehally

Coordinator Rising Beyond The Ceiling, Karnataka

SHATTERING STEREOTYPES IN UNIFORM

RBTC 100 Karnataka Honoree, FARAH AFRAZ, Former Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Healer of Heroes
Wing Commander Farah Afraz is a doctor, who served in the Indian Air Force as a Medical officer and retired in the rank of Wing Commander. Inspired by the family (husband, brother and brother-in-law served in the armed forces), she joined the IAF in the year 1991. As expected, more often than not, she was the lone woman representative at the air bases. Dr. Afraz was Head of medical establishments at various Air Force bases including a forward Air Base in the Rann of Kutch, with very challenging work environment. Besides various professional training courses she also underwent tough physical training courses conducted by Indian Army. Her aerospace medicine training is from Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM), Bengaluru. Her responsibility at the Air Force bases included ensuring Pilot fitness to stringent medical standards for achieving operational flying. She also conducted free family health camps for campus and surrounding civilians.
After the IAF, Dr. Farah is currently a physician with Goldman Sachs. Here too, she brought the ethos of the armed forces. This was amply demonstrated during the peak pandemic period, when she managed medical emergencies across various states. Besides undertaking her professional commitments, she has worked with social causes like SHARP (School Health Annual Report Program) an NGO providing healthcare to children through scientifically designed health programs. She is also presently active with Honourpoint Foundation founded by her husband - India’s only platform dedicated to all martyred soldiers of armed forces right from 1947.
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2. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, MOHAMMAD SUJEETHA. Indian Police Service 2014. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

An Officer with a difference
Mohammad Sujeetha is an IPS officer of 2014 batch. With an MBA from Tamil Nadu, she started her career as an IT professional working in reputable companies like Accenture, and HCL. She enjoyed NCC training & consequently in casual entertainment the pellets often hit the target and the balloons burst. This added to her fascination for Indian Defence forces, steered her towards the IAS competition, that she took pains to clear. As a probationer, Sujeetha dived right in during the Chennai floods of 2015 by reaching essential supplies to victims through social media platforms formed by bureaucrats. After her field training at Shimoga, Sujeetha went to a law & order role at a by-election as the ASP – Nanjangud. Highly sensitive mining related cases marked her next posting as Superintendent of Police (Special Investigation Team) Lokayukta. Commanding the flag day parade was a highlight in her innings as the Commandant of the Karnataka State Reserve Police Battalion. Her Press meet, when she joined as Superintendent of Police KGF in 2019, shows her style. She said priority will be given to traffic movement and Safety of children. Further, she said auto drivers should be educated on traffic rules. Police stations should be people friendly. Complainants should be given respect at stations. People shouldn’t hesitate to contact higher officers in case of delay or any negligence. At her recent posting as Deputy Commissioner of Police (City Armed Reserve) at the Bengaluru Police headquarters, Sujeetha pitches in with staff and Logistics for law and order situations and security for VIPs and installation
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3. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, NAJMA FAROOQUI, Deputy Superintendent Police, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Striding Several Worlds
Dy Superintendent of Police Najma Farooqi was born in 1985 in Bengaluru to parents from Bangarpet, Kolar. Completion/ continuation of education was not straightforward. Najma was married when she just completed first year Bachelor’s, becoming the elder daughter-in-law in a joint family. 3 Children were born. Yet, Najma completed Masters in Biotechnology, with a CET scholarship and studied in the prestigious Indian Academy of Sciences. The first campus placement left her unsatisfied. Her father pointed her towards the competitive examinations & she started a journey of writing the KAS exams. She just missed the KAS - 2011 first attempt. Then, after insistence by her father, she attempted KAS-2014. Meanwhile she cleared her FDA-2016 and was posted in the Office of the Directorate of Prosecution & Govt. Litigation in March, 2017. Soon, KAS-2014 results were announced: 80th rank amongst 362 candidates, securing the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police. Her basic training is from Karnataka Police Academy, Mysore. Some noteworthy postings are at Division of Special Enquiries & Criminal Investigation Department. She got her executive position as Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Halasuru gate Subdivision. During the initial COVID breakout, she was posted in the command centre to reach out to the citizens through social media. During her stint as an ACP she has handled elections, riots, protests, sensational cases and bandobusts. She was able to handle the massive footfall that followed the sudden, sad demise of the actor Puneet Rajkumar. Najma regards her early days with her father - teaching her patriotic songs as the seed of her desire to do something for the nation.
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4. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, SAARA HAMEED AHMED, Airline Pilot, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details

Flying High
Saarah Hameed Ahmed (born 1989) is an Indian pilot from Bengaluru, Karnataka. As of March 2015, she worked for SpiceJet. Born and raised in Bengaluru, Saarah completed her PUC at Jyothi Nivas College and in 2007 enrolled in the Paris Air Flight Training School in Vero Beach, Florida. According to Saarah’s father, in the traditional community in which she was raised, a woman’s responsibility is to her home and children, with few seeking outside jobs without an escort. Saarah was discouraged initially, but family relented when she insisted and a friend of her father’s, a pilot with Southwest Airlines, offered reassurances. After a year of studies and 200 flight hours, Saarah received her commercial pilot’s license in 2008. She returned to India and worked to convert her license to an Indian certification. This required both a waiting period and additional training in Lithuania to learn about specific commercial aircraft types. She has also said of the commercial aviation field that “male monopoly has been broken but parity in numbers would take some more time.” After her Bachelor of Business Administration and 1200 flying hours, she was recruited by SpiceJet in 2010 as a commercial pilot. She was the first Muslim woman to be chosen in the aviation sector and for nearly two years, remained the only female Muslim pilot out of the 600 women employed in the Indian aviation industry.
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5. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, SARAH FATHIMA, Superintendent Police, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details

Breaking Barriers & Soaring High
Sarah Fathima is currently working as Superintendent Police Criminal Investigation Department in Anti- Human-Trafficking unit Bengaluru. She joined the Karnataka state police in the year 2008 as Deputy Superintendent of Police. After Successfully completing her probationary period at Chitradurga District, she worked as DySP Cyber Crime at CID, Bengaluru. During her charge of Dandeli Sub Division in Uttara Kannada District, the first General election of her career was conducted peacefully. As Sub division (law and Order) Bengaluru City, she was Investigating Officer for the POCSO cases covering many schools. Sarah was promoted as Superintendent of police and posted to Cadre post of police Head Quarters, Bengaluru as Assistant Inspector General Of Police, Crime. Being from the rural background, she also worked ably as Superintendent of Police In Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement for Scheduled caste and Scheduled Tribes. Sarah later became Deputy commissioner of Police Traffic North Bengaluru city and served for more than 3 yrs.She is a recipient of the Chief Minister Gold Medal for Meritorious service for the year 2014. Sarah finished her early education at Lions Club school in Bannur and moved to Mysore for her PUC at JSS College in Saraswathipuram. She completed her BBM in Marketing in Vidya Vardhaka College. Apart from having Graduation in Business Management, she has Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (Human Resource), Diploma in Human Trafficking .Sarah said that her role model is her uncle who is DIG (Recruitment and Training) in Bengaluru.
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6. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, TABARAK FATHIMA, Indian Police Service (IPS 2014), Assistant Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Choosing Societal Impact
Tabarak Fathima, born May, 1988 is from the Indian Police Service currently serving as Assistant Commissioner of Police. Tabarak was born in Mysore and has completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Information Sciences from Bengaluru. She then worked at Infosys as a Software Engineer. She further went on to do an MBA from the prestigious IIM Bengaluru (2014). One evening at an office get-together, Tabarak suddenly felt that she did not quite belong in the IT crowd - she felt the urge to be more impactful to society & to India. She realized there was much more to her than her technical abilities. This was the turning point in her life. That night she searched the Internet for IAS examination dates and details. Thus started the journey. Maintaining law and order and preventing Crime in her jurisdiction, she believes can best be achieved by establishing a rapport with people. ACP Tabarak would like Police to be approachable, sympathetic and understanding - wiping out the stereotypical rough and high-handed image. She has a pulse on her team’s welfare and concerns. Her specific measures of greeting her subordinates and even sitting together - cutting across ranks, to learn spoken English are noteworthy in her jurisdiction. Over 3 Lakhstrong rally was most peaceful and orderly. During the migrant worker exodus, she led distribution of essential supplies and ensured an orderly and dignified send off. Leading by example, Tabarak is seeing some people around her adopting her style of working. Challenges at work include facilities and other safety measures at late night operations. She mentions that senior Lady officers have already started mitigating such issues.

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ACHIEVING ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

7. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, ASIMA BANU Professor, Bengaluru Medical College. Click side arrow for profile details.

Trauma and Infection Specialist
Dr. Asima Banu completed her MBBS, MD, Microbiology from Bengaluru Medical College and Research Centre and joined as faculty in 2000 with an intent of serving her Alma mater. She joined the Infectious disease diagnosis and preventive services. She was able to establish a Laboratory at Trauma Care Centre and also make it into a 24/7 Emergency Lab service. Dr. Asima was a part of the team in charge of commissioning and running the Trauma Care Centre. Dr.Asima also served as co-convener of the Medical Education Unit and commissioned the Simulation Centre of BMCRI in 2018. Dr.Asima successfully completed her tenure as Nodal officer of Trauma Care Centre for 6 years in September 2021. She now handles Infection control in Vani Vilas hospital along with the infection monitoring of the breast milk bank at Vani Vilas hospitals attached to BMCRI. In 2007, she won the Best teacher award in the category: Post graduate teaching for teachers of Karnataka. Dr. Asima has over 50 publications to her credit and has participated in many seminars and conferences in Karnataka, She has also pursued her interest in Hospital Administration and Waste management.

8. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, FATHIMA R.F, PhD Scholar in Urban Sociology, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Marrying social work with higher education
Fathima RF is a researcher in the area of Urban Sociology. She is a first generation scholar pursuing PhD at IIT Madras on urban ethnic migrant communities and local economies. Her research interests are Cities, Spatiality, Southern Urbanism, gender, urban land. She has a BA in Social Sciences and MA in Women’s Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad and Mumbai respectively. During her bachelors, she was selected for UKIERI’s exchange programme to Keele University in the United Kingdom. She has qualified UGC- NET and is also the recipient of Junior Research Fellowship. With the aim of supporting students from under represented communities in academia, and promoting their intellectual rigour, she started Muslim Students Collective in 2017 which has over 100 members. She believes that academic spaces must be accessible and democratised. She has done extensive fieldwork with organizations −Awaaz-eNiswaan and Rehnuma Library Centre in Mumbai working on providing educational and extralegal support to women in domestic violence cases. As a strong advocate for Gender Justice, Fathima wrote her own Nikahnama. She has experience of working as a Research Assistant on a UNICEF project on ‘Right to Food’ at NLSIU. She presented a paper on Urban displacement politics and land claims of Fishing communities in Chennai at European Sociological Association’s Urban Sociology Conference (2022) at Humboldt University in Berlin. Fathima has been awarded the US Fulbright doctoral research fellowship 2023- 24. Besides academics, she enjoys reading books, travelling, yoga, cycling and world Cinema.
References:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fathima-r-f

9. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. KOUSAR ARA BEGUM, Head of Department of Economics, Writer. Bengaluru City University, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Breaking the language barrier
Dr. Kousar Jahan Ara Begum, is an Academic researcher, Educationist, Economist, Environmentalist and a writer. She is a Professor of Economics in Bengaluru City University, Bengaluru. Born in Malnad (Thirthahalli) in a family of educators, Dr. Kousar, has a Masters in Economics from University of Mysore, Mysore. She pursued her PhD through Institute for Social-Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore. Dr. Kousar teaches Economics both in English and Kannada. Dr. Kousar has done a project on the issue of “Women Working in BPO’s”, highlighted the health and safety of women working in the night for MNCs. The research project was financed by UGC (University Grants Commission) New Delhi. She is the Former Director of karnataka Minority Development CorporationKMember, Minority Chair, Chairperson Abdul Aziz, National School of Law University of INDIA. As her area of research was on the “Institutional Finance to Minorities” of Karnataka, Dr. Kouser got an opportunity to reach the poor city traders and marginal farmers. The book “Institutional Assistance in India” was written based on this work. She also ran “E-waste Management – A case study of Bengaluru and Hyderabad”, funded by UGC,New Delhi. Measures to combat ozone depletion were suggested. Turning point in her life came after her MA exam (Before results), She got a call from the College Principal. When she entered the college, she was introduced to the students as the new Lecturer in Economics. Principal of the college encouraged her to teach Economics in Kannada and English. He and other Professors had a lot of confidence in
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10. BTC Karnataka Honoree, SABIHA ZUBAIR, Vice Principal and Head of the Department of Urdu, Abbas Khan College for Women, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Spreading Love for Urdu
Prof. Sabiha Zubair was born and brought up in Bombay. Her education started at Bombay Girl’s high school and Sophia college Bombay. She is a four-time Gold medalists from Bombay University, where she did a Masters in Urdu & Persian. All through her student days, she was recognized for her communication skills. In addition to the college stage, she was very often on All India Radio Bombay. She was on BBC Urdu during the year 1986-87 time. Prof. Sabiha has a Post Graduate Diploma in Higher Education from the Bombay University. After marriage she moved to Bengaluru in 1982. In time, she got accustomed to the Dakani dialect of Urdu that is most popular in Bengaluru. She has been a familiar face on ETV Urdu, Salar Digital and a voice on All India Radio Bengaluru. Sabiha also found a place in Bengaluru Theatre, where she has participated in many features and programs with the Kathputhli Theatre group. Once Sabiha’s was seen introducing “Zikr-eGhalib” in December 2021. When talking with her it is hard to gauge whether she is a more passionate teacher or Media person. More than 300 Radio and Television shows to her credit, Sabiha revives the works of stalwarts of Urdu using her creativity. The documentary on Faiz Ahmad Faiz is one such example. She has published one book “Badile - Nakhawsta”. Other publications are underway. In addition to her literary pursuits, Sabiha is also an ardent social worker especially focusing on education for women.
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11. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SAMINA PATHAN, Assistant Professor, Department of Information & Communication Technology, Manipal Institute of Technology . Click side arrow for profile details.

Working in Science to leave behind a legacy

Dr. Samina Pathan, PhD in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision from works as Assistant Professor at the Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal. Sameena has a BTech in ECE from REC Hulkoti and MTech (Dig. Electronics) from SDMCET, Dharwad. SamIna was born in Hubli. Her father works for the Indian Railways as an Engineer and her mother teaches Social Science and Mathematics at the Government school in Hubli. The family values that they share, include being financially independent and giving back to society. She was always a good student and strove to get the best out of her education. She was interested in Medicine but was a little uncomfortable around blood so she chose to work in an allied Science field. She lives in Manipal with her family balancing her teaching responsibility, her passion for research and her duties at home. She has a 4-year-old son. Her husband, an Associate Professor at MIT Electronics and Communication Technology Department, has been her biggest strength. He is supportive, understanding and a caring companion. Samina is particularly glad to be in MIT where she can use the associated Kasturba hospital as a real time data source and proto-type test opportunity. She is most keen on postdoctoral research of topics related to application of Artificial Intelligence in health care areas with the objective of making health care more accessible where it is most needed. It should be low cost and easily reach the needy. Sameena would like to leave behind a legacy based on her scientific research and other efforts.
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12. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SALMA BEGUM, Educationist and Writer. Click side arrow for profile details.

Out To Provide All-round Education
Salma Begum is an articulate Educator eager to apply education to upliftment of society and girls in particular. 35 years of experience in academic roles. Salma is an accomplished College Professor successful at teaching both graduate and undergraduate students. She goes into her subject class with the objective of instilling a love for Economics in the students. Daughter of a small-scale industrialist, hailing from Krishnagiri, the influence of her able mother and grandparents was profound. Her parents adored literature both English and Urdu which was a subject of everyday discussion and recitation. Shakespeare, Rumi as well as Panchtantra were all familiar names in the family. After completing her Masters in Economics, Salma joined as a teacher of Economics in Kannada in degree college, Channapatna. She started learning the language during her train journey every day and learnt to teach in Kannada within 2 years. She has served in many Colleges across the state as Professor, Counsellor, Guide and Administrator. She got her Phd (Government policies and it’s impact on Women Entrepreneurship) from Bangalore University, in 1995. Salma is a Certified Facilitator in Total Quality Management and Human Resource Development Also, Certified Psychological Counselor by NIMHANS and Department Of Psychology Bengaluru University. She has 5 books and a large number of National and International publications to her credit. Salma set up SABALA, Associaton for underprivileged women and the literacy program for the children of migrant construction workers.

13. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SALMA SUHANA, Neurologist, Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Davangere. Click side arrow for profile details.

All about the brain
A native of Mangalore, Salma did very well in school and had only one aim, to get a merit seat in medicine. Through her perseverance and hard work, she got a merit seat in Father muller medical college, Mangalore. For her Academic excellence, She was the recipient of the FMCI President’s gold medal for the best Outgoing Student of 2005 batch. She also received two gold medals from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bengaluru for scoring highest marks in M.B.B.S in the subject of Pathology in the year 2011. Dr. Salma Suhana, was pursuing Super-speciality Neurology at S S Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Davangere, when she won the American Academy of Neurology’s prestigious 2019 International Scholarship Award in recognition of her study on Cerebral Venous Thrombosis. She also secured the second rank in the DM Neurology superspeciality exams held by the RGUHS in 2019.At present she is practicing in Mangalore, working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of N e u r o l o g y , Ye n e p o y a Medical College and Hospital Deralakatte. She constantly works towards the social taboo associated with various neurological disorders and one day aims to rid the society of it through her work.

14. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SHAKIRA KHANUM, Professor, Al Ameen College, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Learning and teaching the value of education
Dr.Shakira Khanum is a Professor at the Al Ameen College Bengaluru, since 1991. Her teaching style is different - not too text book based. She wants to stimulate thinking. She was associated with Minorities commission in the year 2015. Shakira has published several books and also translates from Hindi and English to Kannada, and vice versa. In her guidance four PhD and eight M.Phil degrees have been awarded. Her publications include, Neshe, Musim Vellori, Gandhijis letter to Muslim Women freedom Fighters (Translation), Contribution of Muslim Women to Indian Independence (Translation) among others. Dr. Shakira was Assistant Secretary of the State forum of Kannada women writers ‘Kannada Lekhakiyara Sangha’. Her fervour for knowledgesharing started at age 10. After school, she gave free tuition to the Govt. school, especially to slum kids. She was very good at both Kannada, English, Urdu and Hindi. Jain association Bengaluru used to give free books as a lending library. Shakira presented herself at the association. The person clarified that the facility was only for the Jain community. However, looking at her sincerity, he relented and leant her the books. She fondly remembers borrowing Accountancy, Auditing and Economics books. Shakira earned her PhD “A Comparative study of KabirDas and Shishunala Sharieff” at 27 from Bengaluru University. She was married, though not happily. Took Khula at the age of 33. Her parents supported her. She fought the legal battle and being financially independent helped. Today she is a proud single parent of two accomplished children.

ADMINISTERING QUALITY EDUCATION

15. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. AYESHA MASOOD, Co-founder and Trustee of Oasis International School, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Making International education accessible
Ayesha Masood is the co-founder and Trustee of Oasis International School Bengaluru. She is a graduate from Mount Carmel College Bengaluru (Integrated Home Science). In addition to English, Hindi, Kannada, Ayesha is also proficient in Urdu and to some extent in Arabic. One day she took her niece for admission to a school and was told to “take your children to your own institutions. If you don’t have a good enough school, start one!” This was what triggered her to think about starting a path-breaking school, which would be inclusive and needs-bliind. Ayesha started with a Montessori for a single digit number of children in the green room of one public building. The IGCSE curriculum was chosen and the school kept growing and moved from one house-turned-school to another, until they were spread across three such buildings and then it was time. Her seed funding for building and campus came from the students giving a returnable loan! Of course, there were other fund raiser activities too. Ayesha initiated the development of an Educational Organization Management System (EOMS] to earn the ISO 21000 certification for the school. Now, about 24 years down the line, the school is a Cambridge accredited co-educational Institution with nearly 1000 students & a cupboard overflowing with Trophies and Prize cups. Ayesha also has more than 25 years experience with NGO’s, helping uplift and develop children through education, vocational training and healthcare.
References
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayesha-masood-aba69544/?originalSubdomain=in• http://www.oasisintschool.net/

16. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. HASNATH MANSOOR, Retired as Principal of Abbas Khan Women’s college. Founder Tameer Trust. Click side arrow for profile details

Thought leader and social reformist
Hasnath Mansoor was born and brought up in Hyderabad. In an orthodox family where girls were not expected to go to high school, her mother covered for her saying she was learning how to clean rice or to cook chapatis, while Hasnath was actually at school. Keen to study, she went to Aligarh to write her High school exam and did well. Thus encouraged, she joined the Women’s college for her Bachelors and then Osmania University for her MA in English. When her Judge father was posted in Bengaluru, Hasnath came to live in Karnataka. She started working as a teacher in the Central College and finally became the founder Principal of the Abbas Khan College, Bengaluru. Her far-sightedness made her include Science and even Commerce giving more employment opportunities to students. She started active social work after she retired, committing herself to improve the lives of Muslim women. She noticed the dramatic absence Muslim women in Higher education. Prof. Mansur was clear on two things: First, that Islam guaranteed rights for women. And second, the Indian constitution also guaranteed rights for women. It became her mission to propagate these ideas to poor Muslim women so that they could improve their lives and the lives of their families. Rather fortuitously, she connected with IFES..Thus, together, from 2005, they started conducting a series of camps to spread the message. Significantly, the camps did not only address women. Men boys, students were also encouraged to attend. Hasnath Mansur established a Trust “Tameer” in the year 2007. The parent NGO for this is Paul foundation.
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17. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. NOOR AYESHA, Founder & Managing Director at Iqra International School, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details

Shaping young minds through education
Noor Ayesha got her initial education from Bengaluru leading up to a Bachelor of Engineering from the Visvesvaraya Technological University in 2006. She further obtained an MBA from Cardiff Metropolitan University. After working in the UK for some years, Noor Ayesha returned to India and established the Iqra International School. Iqra nurtures more than 650 children.Iqra International School was awarded ‘Most Promising school for Quality Education in Bengaluru’. She points out that the inherent flaws in the existing education system have resulted in educated individuals leading privileged lives but vehemently failing in giving back to society, which she believes is the primary purpose of education. At Iqra, students are instilled with a sense of responsibility towards society, along with the quality education they acquire. Noor Ayesha was conferred with the Rashtriya Shiksha Ratan Award by The Indian Society for Industry and Intellectual Development and the ‘Fakhr-e-Watan’ Award for her academic and social services. She has been a speaker at the Eldrok Summit 2019, Early Childhood Association Summit 2019, Asia Education Summit 2016, Asia Leadership & Services Awards 2016, and at various MFERD conferences. She has also been chosen as the Global Goodwill Ambassador of India for Global Goodwill Ambassadors (GGA). She also plays leading roles in the Universal Education Trust and OURAH.
References:
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/noorayesha00/

18. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. NOORAINE FAZAL, Founding Managing Trustee & CEO, Inventure Academy, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Innovative Educator
Nooraine has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce 1988 · 1991 from Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru. She went on to earn a Boston University. MSM Masters of Science in Management. 1991 · 1992 ;Nooraine worked with the likes of IBM and Reuters for a period of 10 years in front-line and managerial positions. After a period of introspection about the future, she returned to India in 2003 (after twelve years across the UK, USA, Middle East, Australia and the Greater China region) in order to be a ‘citizen with a say’ in the way the country is developing. The result is an educational institution that incorporates much of what she believes in. She believes education must be about, and promises robust, lifelong development of the individual. According to Nooraine individuality is to be celebrated, not discouraged; everyone is capable of being a life-long learner and employing the skills and knowledge they have acquired; everyone has the potential to achieve their life’s ambition – beliefs that translate into the core purpose, and core values at Inventure Academy. For someone who had a two percent attendance in college, becoming a CEO of a top-ranked school proves that life comes full circle. Nooraine Fazal never imagined that she would be a leading educationist one day
References:

19. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. (late) RASHIDA BADSHA, Mentor & Teacher, Bhatkal. Click side arrow for profile details.

The Ultimate Teacher
It will not be an exaggeration to say that every educated women in Bhatkal between the early ‘70s and early 2000s who must have been a student of Rashida Badsha at some point in their lives. The daughter of Shamshuddin Jukaku, Badsha was the first teacher to join the High School for girls when it was opened in 1971. Initially she would teach half the subjects. She took a break for three years to complete her B.Ed from Osmania University. Over the next 33 years, she headed the PreUniversity College and the Degree College. Despite being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2003, she continued for the next four years as the principal of the Degree college. Badsha also had the colleges hire a number of local women as faculty, to ensure that some of her students also found work in Bhatkal. Due to her efforts, Bhatkal Town Municipal Council boasts of a female literacy rate of over 90% as per the Census 2011. She is known as Rasheeda Masterni which shows how much the town values her contribution. The elder, who was the first woman from Bhatkal to graduate in 1966, continued to play an important role in women’s empowerment and despite her health, serves as the Chairman of the Anjuman Women’s Advisory Committee, which she set up in 2012. She may not be well known outside Bhatkal, but for the residents of the city, especially women, she opened the door to a whole world of opportunities. Early in 2022, Rasheeda Badsha passed away, leaving a legacy of education behind.

20. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SAMINA MAHMOOD. Founder, Head Start Educational Academy. Click side arrow for profile details.

Planting the Seeds for Individuality
Samina Mahmood, awoman who has so muchto offer to the world, interms of education, moraleand humanity. Fondlycalled Aunty Saminaby all those who knowher, she believes that allknowledge cannot befound in a textbook. “Lifeis the greatest teacher,so naturally our learningenvironments shouldbe relevant to real lifesituations,” she says.Samina Mahmood recallsthat it was actually her latehusband who encouragedher to start the school in1984, being the one toselect the name HeadStart. After his demise,her three children andher own mother becamethe source of her support.She considers her son,Riad, joining her twentyyears later, ‘special.’ “Hehas taken the schoolforward, and founded ourHigh School, Head StartEducational Academy in2005,” proclaims the proudmotherAs someone who hasbeen in the educationsector for more thanthirty years now, she hasbeen a keen observer ofthe changes in the trendsin education in terms ofparents’, teachers’ andstudents’ expectations.She believes that moreand more parents arebecoming more acceptingof their child’s individualinterests, learning stylesand abilities, even as someparents still look at successin terms of marks, gradesand outcomes.Samina believes thatchildren teach us moreabout life than anyone elseand it is their perspectivesthat helped her open hereyes and evolve in manyways.

Fondly called Aunty Samina,by those who know her, shebelieves that all knowledgecannot be found in a textbook.“Life is the greatest teacher,so naturally our learningenvironments should berelevant to real life situations,”she says.

INSPIRATIONS IN POLITICS

21. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, GULZAR BANO, Politician. Former Mayor of Mangaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Nothing to beat a bottom up approach
Gulzar Banu was born and lived in Mangalore Area. She went to BBM Higher Primary school and then for SSLC to Government Girls school Mangalore. From the beginning of her life, she has been a social worker. The homeless always disturbed her and she took in 5 children to raise with her own brood of 10. On a daily basis she would go out and bring the homeless home, feed them, clothe them and try to solve their problems. Observing this, she was offered a ticket for Corporator position. She agreed and continued to serve the community. When she was elected Mayor, in 2012, such was her work ethic that the office had instructions that anyone irrespective of appearance would be allowed in to her chamber – she believed that people come to officials with some needs and it was their duty to provide solace and solution. Even back in 2012, Gulzar Bano was advocating for water conservation and looking after the local river Netravaty. Her having missed higher education did not come in the way of providing solid higher education to all her own and adopted children. The list of double graduations and MBAs is impressive. They are placed as Bank managers and other officials in and around Mangalore. Some children are in Saudi Arabia too. Even now she continues to look out for those in need and is serving as General Secretary of INTUC. In this capacity she has even traveled to The Philippines and other places. She takes press coverage, travel opportunities in her stride.
References:

22. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. KANEEZ FATHIMA, Sitting Member of Legislative Assembly, Kalaburgi. Click side arrow for profile details

Winning elections in style
Kaneez Fathima was born in Hyderabad. She went to the Nampally High school and then Vanitha College for graduation. As a young person she was a good Badminton player and her hobbies were sewing and cooking. She was married into a joint family. Her husband was in politics and she joined him in his election campaigns. There were often ladies’ gatherings in which she played an active part. She motivated her husband to start the New Shadi Bhagya scheme. Unfortunately, in 2017 her husband passed away leaving a vacuum for Congress from that constituency. The party High command persuaded Kaneez Fathima to take her husband’s place and thus she entered politics as MLA from Kalaburgi. She regards water shortage as one of the major issues for Gulbarga and has worked hard to improve the situation. She has initiated the 24x7 Water scheme that will complete in 4 years. Road repairs and other infrastructure programs also have her patronage. On the charity front she has donated land and funds for an Urdu Medium Higher Primary School and a Mother & Child 100-Bedded Hospital. She tries to continue the traditions of her late husband as far as public gatherings and celebrations are concerned. It took Kaneez Fathima courage to overcome her grief and perform as the elected representative of Kalaburgi but she is hopeful of being able to serve the people of Kalaburgi to their satisfaction.
References:• https://www.elections.in/karnataka/assembly-constituencies/mlas-list.html

23. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, MUMTAZ BEGUM, Politician. Former Mayor of Bangalore. Elected Corporator of Bangalore Mahanagara Palika. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Politician by chance, but leader by choice
Mumtaz Begum born and brought up in Bangalore and stayed for generations in the same locality. She did her High school from Dispensary Road Corporation High school (she later went back as chief guest). She did her Graduation from Bengaluru Al Ameen College in 1977. When in 1984, the constituency was declared as reserved for women, Mumtaz Begum was requested to come in as an independent strongly supported both by her immediate family as well as all neighbors of the locality. Jantha Party persuaded her to accept their ticket and this was her entry into politics. She was Bengaluru’s first Mayor to become a Finalist for World Mayor title of 2006, conducted by City Mayors Foundation, London. Along with the challenges what stands out in her memory most are Starting of skill development for women, removal of Arrack shop from a school area - making it safer for women and children, initiating the construction of a Glass House as a memorial for the late Rajkumar. Mumtaz had been elected as a corporator of the Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BMP)thrice. She was elected as a deputy mayor of Bengaluru City Corporation in 1984, when she contested as a candidate of the Janata Party platform. Mumtaz Begum was in Janatha Party when she got elected as Corporator for the first time in 1984 and elected as Deputy Mayor in 1984. Thereafter, after completing her term when she was wanting to step out of politics she was invited by Congress party in 1988 and got elected as Corporator for the second time in 1990.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumtaz_Begum_(politician)

24. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. NAFEES FAZAL, Former Minister Karnataka, Bengaluru, Karnataka. Click side arrow for profile details.

Passion, Perseverance & Forthrightness in Politics
Nafees Fazal went to a boarding school since the age of 7. Soon after school, one day while shopping she was spotted by a young gentleman. The rest is history – Hassan Fazal & Nafees were married – she still in her early teens. This would seem common for those days, except that Nafees had the courage to set conditions for her marriage. She set three: First two were related to westernized lifestyle and the unusual third was that after marriage, she be allowed to join politics. Her surprise, husband agreed. However, he said that she would need to wait till she was 28 years old. Nafees started a Bachelor’s degree that got disrupted. Undeterred, she used Banaras Hindu University’s Open University program to graduate in Economics and Political Science. Husband kept his word. Nafees Fazal joined politics in 1978. As a teenager, her role model had been Indira Gandhi and she dreamed of becoming a Minister. Like in a fairy tale, after the Emergency was lifted, Nafees joined Congress in Karnataka.The high point was when Nafees became the Minister for Medical Education. Her fondest memory is of a TV Phonein Program caller likening her to Mother Theresa. Challenge came in the form of VIPs pressurizing her for admissions to colleges. During her stint as Minister of Science and Technology, one of her memorable accomplishments was pioneering Rainwater harvesting (RWH) in 2003. Her ministry made RWH mandatory at Panchayat level. RWH was set up on the Assembly rooftop. Solar energy was strongly advocated by her. Currently she is busy writing an autobiography. Cricket and Tennis are her favorite sports. She traveled abroad to watch first class Tennis more than once.
References:

25. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, TASNEEM BANO, Politician. Mayor of Mysuru, Karnataka. Click side arrow for profile details.

Not too Young to be Mayor of Historic City
Tasneem Bano, Elected Mayor of Mysuru, Karnataka (January 2020) is a Janata Dal (Secular) corporator. 31-year old Tasneem is the youngest person to be elected to the post. Tasneem is also the first Muslim woman to be elected as the first citizen of the city. Tasneem began her political career ahead of the March 2013 Mysore City Corporation (MCC) elections. Her ward was reserved for women from the Backward Classes (A category). Tasneem she was given a ticket for her success in organizing workers at the grassroots level for her party, and her performance as a popular corporator. As Mayor of Mysuru, Ms Bano has promised that she will work to maintain cleanliness of Mysuru city, to resolve issues related to street lights and ensure uninterrupted water supply and electricity, underground drainage system, and a platform for citizens to provide constant feed back to the Corporation’s efforts. Tasneem holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the Maharani College in Mysuru. Born to a tailor and a homemaker, Tasneem has spent her entire life in Meena Bazar area. Her husband is a social activist, and she has two children of school-going age.
References:

LEADERSHIP IN ADMINISTRATION

26. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. FOUZIA TARANUM, Indian Administrative Service (2015), Chief Executive Officer Zilla Panchayat of Koppal, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Facilitating school education
Fouzia Taranum is a 2015 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre is currently posted as the Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Panchayat of Koppal district. In addition to performing her general duties with quality, her focus has been on the foundations of society - Institutions of education - anganwadis and schools. Following a model of convergence across Government schemes and mobilizing public participation, she has been involved in transforming schools and anganwadis to attractive, hygienic and inspirational centers that anyone would be happy to send their child to. After the losses due to the COVID pandemic are covered, she is hopeful that Koppal will gain tremendously and there will be impact on the development and growth of the district in years to come. Creation of assets, early education and learning, improving education networks, public health and nutrition, selfhelp women collectives, people led development are her areas of interest. Fouzia was born in Bengaluru. She showed interest in learning new things from the beginning and participated in various events. She still finds time to hike, trek and read. Her basic degree is in Commerce from Bengaluru University, followed by a Management degree in Finance. She has also earned a degree in Sustainable development, Masters in Taxation Laws and Masters in Public Management. She worked as a Business Analyst in Tata Consulting Services before getting into civil service in the year 2012. Fouzia is very keen to have more women come up in India and Karnataka and to this end she shared her study and preparation experience with the public and youth.
Links/References:

27. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. NAGHATH TABASSUM ABROO , Indian Administrative Service Officer, Bangalore, Bengaluru, Karnataka. Click side arrow for profile details.

Strenghening Foundations of Society
Ms. Naghath Tabassum Abroo was confirmed to the Indian Administrative service in 2008 and retired in 2020. Holding a Post Graduate degree in Sociology from Bengaluru University she had settled down to a hectic family life with two children when her neighbor suggested she write the Karnataka Public Services examination. It was a decade since she had held a pen in her hands but she was game for the challenge and when the exam began, she had a one-month old infant in her arms. She cleared the exam obtaining 3rd Rank. After that there was no looking back. As Head of Karnataka State Commission for Women, she was responsible for impactful reforms in policies. Under her Directorship of TSC, Karnataka won 426 Nirmal Gram Puraskars for complete Sanitation in the respective Gram Panchayats. This was Naghath’s professional Aha moment. Today the State Government is completely reliant on the e-Governance projects like KSWAN, e-procurement platform and Bengaluru One, all IT projects in which she played a leading role. She mooted the idea of bringing all State financial transactions to a single seamless platform. This was accepted by the State Government resulting in the Khajane II e- Governance project. Naghath worked hard during the Covid Pandemic to ensure free treatment under the Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka scheme as Head of Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust. As an acknowledgement, she was given an extension beyond her retirement. Coming from a fourthgeneration literate family, marriage was never the ultimate goal and she was taught to give back to society. She also mentors aspiring students.

28. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. NAHIDA ZAMZAM, Assistant Commissioner, Tumkur. Click side arrow for profile details.

Combating Crisis with Tenacity
Nahida Zam Zam was a Taluk Executive Magistrate, Koratagere, Tumkur. During COVID-19 first wave while she was serving as Tehsildar in Sira Taluk, Tumkur (D), a place where “Second death case in the state due to COVID-19” was reported. At this time, she was pregnant. Yet she chose to work and save her whole taluk and went on to work till the day just before her delivery/ due date which has set an exceptional example. Indeed, few of the reputed newspapers like “Times of India” recognized her work by publishing it. She is also known for working towards wellbeing of downtrodden including queer community, women and child rights like visiting school dropout’s houses and conducting counseling for their parents, creating healthy environment at workplace, reducing red-tapism, preventing communal violence’s diplomatically are few of the feathers in her cap. Earlier in her graduation in Medical electronics Engineering -she participated in a project (An Intelligent patient parameter monitoring system) which was later selected for “Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology Scientists Award”,. Nahida has been a “Gold medalist”, “University Topper”, awarded with “Best Student award by Tata Groups”, titled “Student of the Year” with a gold medal (BE) Later, although having jobs in many MNC’s abroad and in India, she did not want to be a part of Brain-drain. Instead, she wanted to give back to her home country and joined UPSC preparation in New Delhi for a year. She was able to clear Karnataka civil services examination in her first attempt in 2014. Recently promoted she is now posted as Registrar, Tumkur University.
Links/References:

29. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, NAZNEEN BANO, Director National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

From Defense to Culture
Born in a remote village of Dist. Chappra (Bihar), Nazneen Banu rose from humble origins to become an Indian Defense Service Engineering(IDSE) officer in 2002 - a very rare choice for any Indian woman to make during the time. Nazneen also had the opportunity to be Garrison Engineer thrice in her career. This was early in her tenure. She was the Garrison Engineer of Divisions at Bengaluru, Delhi and Visakhapatnam. She had to fight several stereotypes and overcome numerous challenges to successfully establish herself in a predominantly male bastion. Her exemplary leadership, competence and remarkable professional achievements not only won her many laurels but also paved the way for more women officers to follow suit. She is a founder member of Defence Infrastructure Planning and Management Council of India (DIPM). Presently on deputation to Ministry of Culture, Nazneen is Posted as the Director of National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Bengaluru since Nov 2018. She has led the NGMA team to curate and sponsor many exhibitions and outreach programs, especially with underprivileged & special children, making the Gallery more inclusive. Till date, more than 1,600 students and teachers from rural and Government schools as well as NGOs have visited NGMA B and participated in art workshops. Her persistent efforts towards making art accessible to the masses has led to listing of NGMA Bengaluru in the BMTC Bengaluru Darshini scheme - a day tour of the iconic sites in Bengaluru, conducted by BMTC. A Post Graduate in Electrical Engineering with a research publication in IEEE, Nazneen holds a Master’s Degree (IISc) Bengaluru.
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30. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. RAKSHANDA JAMAL NAWAB, Superintendent of Customs & GST, CBIC, Karnataka. Click side arrow for profile details.

An officer with aplomb
Rakshanda Jamal Nawab is an Officer in the Department of Customs and GST, under the Ministry of Finance. She chose not to change her surname after marriage as a dedication to her father. Real empowerment began during childhood, growing up with her father, who taught her to face challenges head on. Ms. Nawab completed her BA LLB & qualified in many competitive Examinations. She got enrolled as a Lawyer with the Karnataka State Bar council but chose to join the Department of Customs and Central Excise instead. The desire to be a law enforcement officer was the driving force. At the time, smuggling of gold and narcotics was rampant. So armed with a degree of law, this seemed to be the best choice. Most of her postings have been at the Industrial front like Export Oriented Units also known as the EOU, STPI, SEZ. . Her other postings include a stint at the HAL Airport, ensuring that no illegal or contraband goods entered the Country and ensuring the levy and collection of Customs duties. Rakshanda recalls her stint in Service Tax Audit, resulting in detection and recovery of Rs. Six Crore worth of tax evasion Rakshanda has been part of the Karnataka Zonal Regional Team for Covid Relief. She was awarded “The Covid Warrior” by the CBIC Department on the occasion of Independence Celebration held in August 2021 for rendering distinguished service to the public during CoViD pandemic. Similar award was conferred on her in 2022 again. Rakshanda is now Assistant Commissioner of Central Taxes and become a part of the Indian Revenue Service under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Govt of India

31. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, SALMA KHAJA FAHIM, Indian Administrative Service Officer. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Salma Khaja Faheem was born in Bengaluru. Her father was in the State civil services and mother worked in a Bank. Grandmother was Principal in Maharani College. For his three daughters, her father was more focused on them being self-reliant rather than their marriage. . Her parents were keen on civil services. Salma with her flair for humanities was a good fit. She graduated from Jyoti Niwas college and set about working towards the competitive services entrance exam. It took her 3 years and 3 attempts to make it. Salma regards this time as one that helped her prepare for what lay ahead at the service postings. Prelims,for her, were the hardest. After joining the service and completing the 1 year at the Academy, Salma got allocated to Karnataka Cadre, as per her wishes. Salma is the recipient of the Award of excellence by then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh; member of a select group of bureaucrats who have successfully implemented the World Bank Project on Water Supply; ensured 100% screening of all pregnant women in the state for HIV to ensure early detection. Salma has implemented ‘Elevate’ the largest startup support programme in the country in the Information and Biotechnology sector. She made it to the Mason’s Mid -Career/ Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, Massachusetts, USA. She is a Fulbright India Scholar of 2021 cohort. Currently she is on a Secretary to the Government of Karnataka posting in the Department of Animal husbandry and Fisheries. Salma Mentors young women.
Links/References:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/salma-fahim/?originalSubdomain=in

32. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SALMA SADIKHA, Group ‘A’ officer of the Government of Karnataka. Click side arrow for profile details.

Espousing the Cause of Urban Poor
Salma Sadikha served as a Group ‘A’ officer of the Government of Karnataka. During her career spanning 35 years she has held important positions and has worked with international agenciesAusAID, JICA, World Bank, USAID, UNICEF. Her forte is the URBAN POVERTY sector, in which she worked for 20 years. Of particular importance, is her work in the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board where she held the post of Social Development Specialist. For the first time in the country the underserved and deprived communities were able to access water supply and sanitation services as a result of major reforms. This initiative gained worldwide recognition. The World Bank brought out an exclusive field note, and the Asian Development Bank proclaimed Salma Sadikha as a ‘Water Champion’. Consequently, she was placed in charge of the implementation of the JICA‐assisted Project for the underprivileged in the core area of Bengaluru. She was also nominated to be on the Committee that formulated a State policy for water and sanitation for the urban poor. Salma Sadikha served as the Secretary of the Karnataka State Minorities Commission and the Commission for Protection of Child Rights where she worked with Government, NGOs and civil society to safeguard the rights of the underprivileged sections of society. Post retirement she continues her work collaborating with Government and non-Government to reach the disadvantaged communities. Salma Sadikha holds a Master’s degree in Child Development. While in service she graduated in Law and also completed a Post Graduate Certificate Course from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

33. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SHEEMA MOHSIN, First Woman Member of the Karnataka State Wakf Board (2008). Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Stepping Into the Male Bastion
By profession a journalist and social activist, Sheema Mohsin is based in Bengaluru. She has been with “Spradha Prapancha” an educational magazine and All Rounder News Weekly.She has been working in the areas of communal harmony, development of women, health awareness and awareness among backward classes. Sheema has been actively involved in creating awareness among the minorities about the schemes of Central and state wakf boards through the Institute of Research and Harmony (IRH). She is the Secretary of Karnataka Chapter of Forum for Democracy and Communal Amity (FDCA), She was also appointed as the member of the Karnataka State Wakf Board Sheema Mohsin is also the Convener of the Women’s Cell of Centre for Community Development (CCD). She is also the Founder Secretary of Institute of Research and Harmony (IRH) and group leader of Humanitarian Relief Society . At present among other social works, she is working with NIMHANS, a hospital in Bengaluru. She has also been actively engaged in providing awareness amongst the deprived classes and pursuing them to readmit the school dropouts, creating health awareness towards better hygiene in the slums, and conducting several free health camps for women and children.

References:

https://twocircles.net/2008sep10/sheema_mohsin_first_muslim_woman_karnataka_wakf_board.html

34. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, TASNEEM RASOOL BOEZ. Indian Railway Traffic Officer (1984 Batch, retired) Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Key Officer of the Indian Railways Tribunal
Tasneem Rasool Boaz is an officer of the 1984 batch of the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) One in the male dominated Class 1 Civil service of India. In 1986, after her Probation, she was posted as the Asst. Commercial Manager, Mumbai Division of Western Railway. She was a hands-on active officer and her struggle paved the way for an easier work life balance for the women who joined the IRTS after her. 30 years later, she returned to Mumbai as Principal Chief Commercial Manager of Western Railway. For nearly 5 years, Tasneem served as Member, Railway Claims Tribunal, Bengaluru, a pioneering position of both honour and responsibility. She has held important executive positions in Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Tasneem Rasool Boaz has rich and varied experience in the Operations, Commercial and Claims aspects of railway working. Her focus has been the introduction of new technology, management systems and passenger friendly initiatives to the Railways. Tasneem Rasool Boaz obtained her degree in B.A. (Economics) Honours from Womens’ College, AMU, Aligarh 1975-78. Thereafter, she completed her Masters from Sambalpur University, Odisha. While in AMU, she had been elected at a Cabinet Member of the Women’s College Student Union in 1977-1978. At the Bicentenary Celebrations of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in AMU in 2017, Mrs. Boaz was felicitated as a Woman Achiever of AMU. Tasneem retired in 2021 and lives in Bengaluru. She is an avid reader and takes keen interest in travelling, cooking, swimming, nurturing succulents and orchids, solving Sudoku and crossword puzzles and creating mosaic works of art that adorn her home.
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PROFESSIONALS IN STEM [ Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine]

35. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. FARAH ISHTIAQ, Ecologist. Principal Scientist. Tata Institute of Genetics and Society. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Solving the Mystery of Disease Transmission
Dr. Farah Ishtiaq is Principal Scientist, Tata Institute for Genetics and Society, Bengaluru (Disease Ecology, Environmental Surveillance and population genomics). Farah did her schooling in Delhi, and her Bachelor’s at AMU. She admits that her father was incredibly supportive. After her Master’s, she went on to obtain her PhD in Avian Ecology and Behaviour from the Centre for Wildlife Sciences at AMU in 1999. She joined Bombay Natural History Society and worked with the famed ornithologist, Pamela Rasmussen on an endangered endemic species Forest Spotted Owlet that was discovered after 113 years. She was the National Coordinator of the Indian Bird Conservation Network. Subsequently, she did two postdoctoral stints— Smithsonian Institution, USA studying malaria transmission in introduced species in Hawaiian Islands. She was recipient of Marie Curie Fellowship while at Edward Grey Institute, University of Oxford where her research was focused on malaria transmission between native and colonised birds in south Pacific islands (Vanuatu and New Caledonia). She worked for Wildlife Conservation Society (USA) to study avian influenza in Mongolia. Farah received the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance fellowship to initiate her own research group. In the last decade, her research mainly focused on the impact of climate change on malaria transmission in Himalayan birds. Dr. Ishtiaq works at a time when there is a lot of interest in diseases spreading in other species to the H1N1 and Zika epidemic. Apart from her research, she has written extensively about ageism in Indian academia and how it impacts women scientists.
References:

36. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. FARAH MUKADDAM, Family physician at Narayana Health, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Making New Motherhood Easier for All
Dr. Farah Mukaddam is a Family Physician with a difference. Not only is she a practitioner but is also an advocate for public health & involved with several activities and has an online presence. Dr. Farah has been actively leading and participating in Menstrual Health campaigns and discussions. She has written a book ‘Newborns and New Moms’ (PanMacmillan 2020). It speaks about care of the new mother, validates traditional Indian wisdom and attempts to bridge the gap between the granny generation and the new mother. She wrote this book because as a new mother she was not able to handle my postpartum and was not able to exclusively breastfeed her son. She found no literature that prepared her for life after childbirth and in spite of being a doctor it wasn’t manageable. In Fact, she had not found any book that focussed on the care of the mother after childbirth and that’s why she wrote. Farah completed her MBBS from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal and holds a Diploma in Family Medicine. She is a mother of two kids, a six-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter. She is a consulting physician at Kauvery hospital, Bengaluru. She has a special interest in providing breastfeeding and postpartum support to new mothers. She has a YouTube channel called ‘Momstein’ where she often busts myths around contemporary medical aid. Farah is the Winner of the Rachna Restores award 2021 in the Healer beyond Boundaries category. Dr. Mukaddam creates content on instagram and youtube to spread awareness on topics relevant to women’s particularly mothers’ health and well being.
References:

37. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. FATHIMA BENAZIR, Molecular Biologist, Co-founder and Chief Scientist at Azooka, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Applying Science Directly for Public Welfare
Dr.Fathima is a Molecular Biologist with a PostDoctoral fellowship from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. Growing up in Ooty, her mother strongly supported her learning. Her dream was to see Dr. Fathima as an IAS officer. However, from a young age Dr. Fathima had a natural passion for science. Dr. Fathima graduated in Bio-Technology from PSG School of Arts and Sciences, Coimbatore. She did her M.Sc from the Center of Environmental Sciences. Her M.Sc project had to do with the use of scientific process in making the Pathamada silk mats. She was greatly influenced by her Professor’s guideline that scientific work should be of some direct use to the public too. Dr. Fathima taught at G.R Dhamodran College of Science while also pursuing her PhD in Molecular Science. In 2011 she started her fellowship in Indian Institute of Science. She then cofounded Azooka with her partner Alex Paul in 2015. Azooka makes premiumgrade world class products in molecular biology from India. Azooka was a part of IISC’s Covid response team. During the first wave, they identified sample collection as a major problem. Tier2 and Tier3 cities and towns were having to ship samples in cold storages to the metro cities for testing. Azooka created a molecular transport medium that allowed the samples to be transported at room temperature. Dr.Fathima received the National StartUp Award for the Best Women-led enterprise in 2020. She has some patent applications in the pipeline and is continuing original research.
References:

38. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. FATIMA POONAWALA, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Innovative & Cost Effective OBG Professional
Dr. Fatima Poonawala completed her medicine course MBBS from Mumbai and her postgraduate MRCOG from London. Started is credited to have started the first waterbirth centre in Karnataka. Passionate about cost effective care. Proponent of natural birth. Dr. Fatima was born and brought in Mumbai in a simple living high thinking atmosphere. She was always hard working and did well in school. As a child, she would visit the grave of her grandmother and aunt who died in childbirth. This spurned her to study medicine and become an obstetrician. She worked hard and received a scholarship. The rest is history! She got an MBBS from Grant Medical college 1982 batch. While she was still in Mumbai, she got married to Dr. Ali Poonawala and brought into the world twin boys!
After some years they decided to enrich their knowledge and experience and travelled to the UK with the children. There both doctors pursued Postgraduate studies. According to Dr.Fatima, Home was always India, so they returned to their beloved country in 1992. They chose Bangalore, a growing, techno savvy metropolis, to practice the art and science of medicine.
In Bangalore they set up the Alfa Clinic - now a 15 bedded Nursing Home, with Urology and Gynaecology & a Maternity centre in J.P.Nagar Bangalore. Dr. Fatima is forever helping the community around her by lending her helping hand in any forward-looking activity that could help the less fortunate.
References:

39. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, GAITI HASAN, Senior Professor, Molecular Biologist, National Centre for Biological Sciences. Bengaluru, Karnataka. Click side arrow for profile details.

A Leading Scientist
Gaiti Hasan obtained her BSc (1976) degree in Zoology from the University of Delhi. She did her MSc in Life Sciences followed by an MPhil (1980) from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi after which she obtained her PhD (1983) on "Studies on the ribosomal RNA genes of Trypanosoma brucei" from the University of Cambridge, UK. She started her career as Visiting Fellow and Research Associate in the Molecular Biology Unit, TIFR, Mumbai (1983 89). She moved as a founder member to the National Centre for Biological Sciences (TIFR) in 1989. Hasan was a Visiting Scientist to the Department of Biology, Brandeis University, USA (1990-92). She came back as a Fellow at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), TIFR, Bangalore (1992-94). Currently she is a Senior Professor at NCBS after working as Reader (1994-98), Associate Professor (1998-2004) and Professor (2005-2012).
Academic and Research Achievements: At TIFR, Hasan completed the genetic and molecular mapping of an olfactory mutant in Drosophila, while in the Department of Biology, Brandeis University she initiated work on Drosophila intracellular calcium signaling by cloning and characterizing two Drosophila genes for intracellular calcium channels recently discovered in vertebrates. At TIFR, Bangalore, her laboratory pioneered the methods of reverse genetics to generate the first mutants in the Drosophila gene for the Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor and continues to work on intracellular calcium signaling in Drosophila growth and neuronal function. Recent emphasis of her work is to understand the implications of intracellular calcium signaling in human disease.
Professor Gaiti Hasan was the Head of Academic activities at NCBS (2004-2009). She is a Member of the Society for Neuroscience, USA (since 2003). She is also on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neurogenetics (2008), Invertebrate Neuroscience (2008), Current Science (2015 and an Associate Editor with Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience (2015). Professor Gaiti Hasan is a recipient of INLAKS Foundation Scholarship, British Overseas Research Student Award, Wellcome Trust Fellowship and a Rockefeller Biotechnology Career Fellowship. She was elected a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore (2006), Member of the Asia-Pacific Molecular Biology Network (2007) and Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences, 2015.
References:

40. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. NISAR FATIMA , Gynaecologist - Highest Number of Deliveries in her District, Gowribidanur. Click side arrow for profile details.

Making Safe Child-birth Widely Accessible
Dr. Fatima is a native of Gowribidanur. She did her MBBS from Bellary Medical College in 1994. After completing her MBBS in Bellary, she initially moved to Bangalore and worked in Philomena Hospital. Here she got good exposure and support from the Gynaecology Department. After a year of working here, she joined DNB at Manipal Hospital.
Fatima's father, Abdul urged her to not travel out in search of money. Rather, stay back and serve the underserved of rural India. Four years after her marriage, she applied for a job in Hassan and joined the Primary Health Centre Palya hospital, Hassan. She has stayed with that for over 21 years. Under Dr.Fatimas’ guidance the Hassan Health centre records amongst the highest Normal deliveries among all PHCs in Hassan district. Initially, when she joined the hospital there was poor infrastructure and staff. Within one week of joining, Dr.Fatima had conducted her first normal delivery. For this, she even brought instruments from home. There was no team - just a helper and the patient was a 21-year- old girl, first delivery! Gradually, the number of patients increased and people sought her out as their doctor. Now people from neighbouring Taluks – Sakleshpur, Belur and Chikkamnagaluru also visit this centre. In addition to her focus on Mother and Child, Dr.Fatima also attends to the large number of Road Traffic Accident cases that come due to the proximity of the Hospital to the Highway. She also supports 30 schools and 30 Anganwadis - visiting them, counselling and looking after their health needs.
References:

41. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, SALMA TAJUDDIN, Former Head of Clinical Bio-chemistry Department at Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Success with Quiet Competence
Dr. Salma Tajuddin's journey started differently from many others when she found herself in Saudi Arabia in the year 1984. At a time when the thought of an Indian, or in fact any woman working in Saudi Arabia was far-fetched. She had just completed her M.D in Pathology from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, AMU Aligarh. This was her first job. The faculty was all male – about a decade or more senior to her. At a young age of 28, Salma dared to join the department of Clinical Pathology at the King Fahd Central Hospital, Gizan and surprised herself by exploring and learning Bio-chemical procedures ,and heading the Middle East quality assurance program using state-of-the art equipment.
In 1991, Salma returned to India to live in Bangalore. She was welcomed by the newly started Manipal Hospital as the Head of Clinical Bio-chemistry department. She created a reliable and profitable lab for the Hospital and left in 1998, when it was running smoothly. Dr. Salma then joined a start-up Diagnostic that had only a nominally staffed Pathology. She went on to create a reliable and efficient facility that is still running after more than 20 years.
Since 2017, following retirement from clinical work, Dr. Salma is active as a mentor for Medical students both Undergraduate and Post graduate. Her special interest is in helping first generation students with applications, funding and choice of subjects and institutions. As of now, 10 students have benefited from her guidance. She hopes to support more and more to achieve their dreams and beyond. On the side, Dr. Salma Tajuddin is an avid arts enthusiast. She currently works from her home in North Bangalore.

Links/References:

https://www.medindia.net/patients/doctor_search/dr-salma-tajuddin-pathology-bangalore-karnataka-7381-1.htm

42. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. ZOYA FATEHALLY. Retired Technical Manager, Nokia Systems and Networks, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Not Confined by Boundaries
Zoya Nayara Fatehally has worked since 2008 with Nokia Systems and Networks (formerly Alcatel Lucent India Ltd) at Bengaluru. She served as a Squad group Leader/Technical Manager. Earlier Zoya has worked at the Centre for Development of Telematics starting 1985, contributing to the telecom revolution of India – active member of the engineering team the PBX, RAX, MAX – not only design, test and field support but also taking the equipment to external laboratories for certifications. In 2000, she joined Velankini Information systems as the Quality and Product manager. Took the company from ad-hoc to ISO 9001 certified in record time. Next, Zoya became a part of the Indigenous hand-held computer team at Picopeta Simputers Pvt. Ltd. Successfully productised the Simputer in her role was the technical liaison between the tiny Academics’ led company and the India giant Bharat Electronics Ltd. Following this, was Indian start-up – MobiApps Pvt. Ltd., developing tracking products.
Zoya completed her schooling and joined Aligarh Muslim University as an Engineering student. Completed Bachelor’s and Masters in Engineering from the Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology of AMU. Zoya is also PMP (Project Management Professional) certified. Zoya developed a deep interest in horse riding. At age 10, she joined the AMU Riding club and continued to be an enthusiastic and able horse rider , winning a National Tent Pegging prize and eventually, after being champion and Runners Up in the open competition at the club, went on to be the first (& perhaps only) woman captain of AMU Riding Club.
References

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoya-fatehally-8a4ba3/?originalSubdomain=in

DEMONSTRATING LEGAL AND FINANCIAL ACUMEN

43. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. ADEEBA RAHMAN, Legal Associate. Director at IDIA Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Enabling the under-priviledged to self-advocate
Adeeba did her schoolingin Chennai followed witha LLB focused in Honorsfrom National Universityof Advanced LegalStudies, Kochi. Adeebahas had a brief stint in thecourtrooms of Bengaluruafter which she worked atThomas Reuters as a SeniorAssociate for a period of 3years until December 2018.In 2019, Adeeba felt acalling to do somethingmore through which shecould also give back a lotto society. This is when shejoined Increasing Diversityby Increasing Access(IDIA) under Late FounderProf. Shamnad Basheer.IDIA is a nationwidemovement that identifiesand trains studentsfrom underprivilegedand marginalizedcommunities to crackthe leading law entranceexaminations- CLAT(Common Law AdmissionTest) and AILET (All IndiaLaw Entrance Test).Adeeba’s strong forte isthat she can empathizewith people and herwillingness to help themfeel better and/or reach abetter place coupled witha reality check. You canalways count on her to beyour listening ear.Outside of work, Adeebais actively a part of somevolunteering groupsfocused on teachingEnglish to the lessprivileged and is also apart of a sisterhood forthe young girls fromthe minority muslimcommunity. Adeeba alsoenjoys spending timewith her husband andtwo little boys besideexperimenting in thekitchen and travellingwhenever possible
References:

44. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. BANU MUSHTAQ, Lawyer and Literary. Hassan. Click side arrow for profile details.

Thought Leader and Social Reformist
Born Syeda Khushtara Banu, more popularly known as Banu Mushtaq was born in 1948 in the Hassan District of Karnataka. Her father strongly supported her learning, finding ways to encourage her to pursue education, rather than be subjected to child marriage. She finished graduation and worked in All India Radio for some time. She met her husband, while in college, and they married in 1974. On several occasions, Banu faced severe opposition from rigid sections of the community, including an expulsion from the “jamaat” as well as violent attacks. She withstood all this and is a successful advocate with 4 well educated brilliant children making their mark in society.
A believer in women power and abilities, Bhanu Mushtaq is a Thinker, Lawyer and very well-known literary figure of Karnataka. She has been a student of science, Law and literature, contributing to society in a wholesome manner over the years. She has translated several progressive books from Urdu to Kannada and vice versa. She has been elected from Hassan twice at the Municipal elections.She has the rare privilege of having her stories being made into films. One of the more famous ones being Hasina. Hasina is a 2004 Kannada-language film by Girish Kasaravalli. The lead actress, Taara, won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her role as Hasina a Muslim Indian woman deserted by her husband.
Bhanu Mushtaq is an exemplary persona. Humble, strong, influential and understated. She is often on television and other media, fearlessly airing her views on current affairs, often calling women to action. She also attempts to project the Muslim community point of view through her writings and speeches.
References:

45. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. K. JAIBUNNISA MOHIUDDIN, Honorable Justice, High Court Judge, Karnataka. Click side arrow for profile details.

At the Helm of Legal Affairs
K. Jayabunnisa Mohiuddin, is the sixth woman judge in the Karnataka High Court. As an advocate at Vijayapura and Bengaluru from 1988 to 1993, she practised both civil and criminal laws. She was appointed as Civil Judge and JMFC in October 1993 and worked in Tumakuru, Kodagu, Mandya, Bengaluru and Bengaluru Rural district between 1993 and 2003.
Jayabunnisa worked in the Senior Civil Judge cadre at Bengaluru and Sagar from 2003 to 2009 and in the cadre of District and Sessions Judge at Bengaluru and Tumakuru from 2009 to 2015. She further served as Principal District and Sessions, Shivamogga, from 2015 to 2016 and Registrar (Administration) and Secretary to Chief Justice, Presiding Officer of Karnataka Wakf Tribunal, etc., from June 2016.
Born to Rashida Begum and MA Kazi on October 8, 1963 in Indi of Vijayapura district, she studied BSc, LLM. She did her schooling in Badami, Gadag, Navalgund, Ballari and Mandya. She got her degree from DVS Science and Arts College in Shivamogga and her LLB degree from National College of Law in Shivamogga and LLM from Kuvempu University (Distance Education).
References:

https://karnatakajudiciary.kar.nic.in/profiles-sitting-judges.php
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2021/mar/23/two-more-judges-appointed-to-karnataka-high-court-2280199.html
https://www.deccanherald.com/state/karnataka-hc-gets-two-new-additional-judges-966507.html

46. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. MAMTAZ, District Judge. Udupi. Click side arrow for profile details.

Bold Step Towards Higher EducationMs. Mumtaz was born in a traditional Muslim family, from a small village called Pakshikere, Hosakadu, Dakshina Kannada District where muslim girls were not allowed to continue their studies after 7th & further. After completing her 7th standard, she had also discontinued her studies since high school was very far from the village. At that time, Sri Sanjeevnath Aikala, a freedom fighter, came to know about her, and within a month opened high school in the village for the continuation of studies of her and many others. Against the wishes of her extended family, she was allowed to continue her studies by her parents. Mumtaz was the first girl in her village and community to step into a college. She set an example for others. Mumtaz did her schooling at Bharat Matha School, and studied pre-university and graduated in Arts at Pompei College, Aikala. She did her law at SDM College, Mangaluru, MA in History at Mukta Gangotri, Mysuru, PGDCA at Karnataka State Computer Sciences, Mangaluru.Justice Mumtaz practiced as an advocate in criminal law under Sri Ivan D’souza, Senior Advocate. In 2010, she was appointed as Asst. Public Prosecutor (APP) and promoted as Additional Director of Prosecution (ADP) and further as Public Prosecutor (PP). In 2021, she secured first rank and was appointed as Direct District Judge (DJ), she was the first Muslim lady in Karnataka and second in India to be appointed as District Judge through direct selection. Presently, she is working as District and Sessions Judge at City Civil and Sessions court, Bengaluru city.

47. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SANA HAMZA, Chartered Accountant- Assistant Manager BDO, Mangalore. Click side arrow for profile details.

Keen Auditor in the making
Sana Hamza is a native ofJeppu Majila, Mangalore.After her High school atSt. Mary’s English HigherPrimary school, Mangalorein 2011, she joined St.Agnescollege for Pre-University andwent on to get her B.Comfrom the same college.Alongside college, Sana wassimultaneously pursuingChartered Accountancy.She cleared her CPT & IPCCduring her B.com. Shedecided to complete her3 years of CA articleship inBangalore. Sana got theopportunity to completeher articleship in GrantThornton, which is one thetop 10 accounting firms inthe world. She cleared her CAfinals in November 2019. Postclearing, Sana continuedher coporate journey as asenior in Grant Thornton. Shemoved to BDO Rise in 2022as an Assistant Manager inthe Global Audit practice.Her father, Mr. T.I Hamza is alsoa Chartered Accountant whowas practising in Abu Dhabi.Reshma Hamza, her mothermotivated her to followthe footsteps of her father.She is currently marriedand lives in Mangalore.Sana believes that hard workcan never go unrewarded. Shelooks forward to a flourishingcareer in Corporate and thepossibility of starting her ownpractice in the future.On the personal front, thehobbies that keep her happyare travelling and painting.
References:

https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=666495

48. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SHABANA, Chartered Accountant. Mangaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Overcoming Obstacles to Excel
Shabana, hails from apoor family that lived inthe Government Hospitalcompound, Karnad, Mulky,Mangalore. Shabana is thethird among five children.Her father, who workedas supervisor in a localplywood factory, did notallow financial constraintsto weaken the prospectsof his children, in spite ofbeing the sole earningmember.Shabana got her primaryeducation in UBMC schoolin Karnad, completedPU education in KarnadGovernment PU college,and B.Com degreecourse in Pompei College,Aikala, Kinnigoli. In theCA examination held inNovember 2014, hardly8 percent of 181 studentswho appeared for theexamination in the citycould clear it.When Shabana wasquestioned about howshe got interested in CA,she said mathematicshappened to be a favouritesubject for her sinceyounger days. Duringher graduation, she gotinterested in becominga CA, and her teachersencouraged her. After thedegree, she appeared forthe Common ProficiencyTest and passed. She thenjoined a 3-year articleshipcourse under a Mangalorebased CA. After hepassed away last year, shecontinued the course inhis office, and then joinedanother CA from the city.She has continued to workwith this CA, even afterbecoming a CharteredAccountant herself.
References:

https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?newsID=303227

CREATIVE CONTRIBUTORS TO THE ARTS

49. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. AFRAH SHAFIQ, Artist, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Master of the Colour Palette
Afrah Shafiq was broughtup in Bengaluru whereshe studied in St. FrancisXaviers Girl’s High Schooland later did her Bachelor’sin Media Studies at ChristCollege. During hercollege years in Bengalurushe interned at TheHindu and Janaagraha.After her Masters inMass Communicationin Symbiosis Pune, shemoved to Bombay whereshe worked as an AssistantDirector, Researcher andEditor in Documentaryfilms for almost a decade.Afrah is a multidisciplinaryartist currentlybased in Goa, India. Herwork takes hybrid formsthat bring together text,sound, animation, code,and sculpture to createinteractive, sometimessimulated atmospheres toexperience and unlearn.There is nothing morerewarding for her, thanthinking of ideas, turningthem over in your mind,making sense of them,to make something withthem that then travels intothe world and then havingsomeone experience thatidea and feel that thing.Afrah’s work has beenincluded in the 2nd Lahore,4th Kochi-Muziris and the8th Asian Art biennalesbesides other exhibitionsin India and abroad. Shehas been a researchfellow at the Institutd’études avancées deNantes, France, attendedan archival researchresidency in Texas andNew Mexico with FluentCollaborative and workedwith a series of archivesin the North of Englandthrough a residency withthe Liverpool Biennialof Contemporary Art.She is currently a fellowat the Field ResearchProgramme by the GarageMuseum of ContemporaryArt in Moscow.
References:

50. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. ARSHIYA 'TANU VITLA', Artist, Yakshagana Dancer; Vitla, Mangalore. Click side arrow for profile details.

Proponent of a Traditional Dance Form
Art should not be boundto a particular gender orreligion. It is one platformwhere anybody can learnto perform and explore,believes, Arshiya ‘Tanu Vitla’a Yakshagana artist fromVitla in Dakshina Kannada.At a time when incidentsof religious intolerance andexploitation of women’srights are aplenty, Arshiyahas chosen to hone herskills in Yakshagana andbecome a full-time artist,going by the stage nameTanu Vitla. Neither hergender nor her communitycould kill her dream ofperforming this traditionaltheatre art form.Arshiya, who currentlyworks at the ToyotaAutomobile shop inPadil, explains, “When Iwas studying at JayceeEnglish Medium School inVitla, one of my teachersdressed me up and taughtYakshagana to perform onthe school’s annual day. Iwas only ten years old atthe time and I liked whatI was doing. That’s when Idecided to go ahead andlearn this art form. Asidefrom this, what inspiredme was an act of SriDevi Mahatme Prasangawhere the goddesskills Mahishasura. I wasfascinated by the role ofMahishasura instead of thegoddess. I would practicefor four to five hours in aday and I haven’t lookedback since.”Arshiya’s path to learningYakshagana proved tobe a little tough. She sawresistance from the peopleof the community.With these unique rolesof demons and villains,together with Arshiya’sbooming loud and clearvoice, her performanceshave attracted severalpeople to watch the artform.
References:

51. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SHILO SULEMAN, Illustrator and Animator, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Street Artist and Change Maker
Shilo Shiv Sulemanis a renowned Indianillustrator, animator, visualartist and social activist.She is the founder of thepublic art project ‘TheFearless Collective’. Herwork embraces magicalrealism, a realistic viewof the modern worldpresented along withmagical elements.While examining the mapswith her mother, Shilostarted to daydream aboutpirates and disasters. TheValley School in Bengaluru,where she enrolled asa student, fostered herimagination and creativity.She soon began travelingthe nation while sketchingpictures in her journal,which broadened hercreative perspective. Sheenrolled herself in a designand animation programat Bengaluru’s SrishtiInstitute of Art, Design,and Technology.Shilo made her illustrationdebut at age 16 with acollection of children’spoems in Hindi. She thendrew the eerie book “TakTak” for the children’s bookpublisher Karadi Tales.Shilo had drawn for aroundten novels before the ageof 18.In 2009, she co-illustratedthe children’s mythologybook “Pampasutra,”which was centered onthe Hampi river deity. TheBookworm by LavanyaR. N., The Power of Love:Returning to the Sourceby Simone Boger, andZain and Ana: Just Likea Bug (2017) by AnushkaRavishankar are a few ofthe books she has drawnfor. At the INK conferencein 2011, she unveiled thestorybook app “Khoya,”which contained talesof time travelers andmagicians. “Khoya,” amagical realism-basednovel, later won the FutureBooks Award for the year’sfinest children’s book.
References:

52. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SULTANA HASAN, Artist. Click side arrow for profile details.

Balancing Two Cultures with Finesse
Born in Hyderabad, Sultana lives and works in Bengaluru. She received her Diploma in graphic arts from “L’Ecole Nationale Superieure des Métiers d’Arts et des Arts Appliqués” (Paris) and Diploma (MA) in painting (arts plastiques) from Ecole National Superieure des Beaux Arts, Paris. She studied printmaking at the John Cass College of Art, London, College of Printmaking, London (U.K.) and the Museum School of Fine Art, Boston (U.S.A.). She has worked as an illustrator in advertising agencies in Paris and publishing houses in Paris and India. She has held solo and group exhibitions in India and abroad. Her works are in collections in Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Muscat, Switzerland, U.K. and U.S.A.
Her interest in portraiture has led to a series on “faces”. Of late, her themes revolve around nature, the environment and its exploitation. Furthermore, she has worked at an academy on Urdu calligraphy and believes that it is a unique art form which must be nurtured. She has received various awards including the annual all India Chitrakala Parishath first prize for painting in Bengaluru and the Glaciers de France award in Paris. She has taught French at the Alliance Francaise de Bengaluru and has served on the Programme Committee of the Bengaluru International Centre. She is passionate about western and Indian classical music and plays the piano and tabla. She is fluent in French, Spanish and German.

TAKING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FORWARD

53. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. ALISHAH SALMA SULLEMAN, Entrepreneur, Founder of One Degree North, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Providing access to Livelihood at Scale
Raised in a modest,conservative family,where being marriedand having children ispredominantly the roleexpected of women, atage 18, Alishah moved outof her childhood hometo pursue higher studies.She completed her BAin Journalism in the 2011from Ramiah Institute,BengaluruWhile a lot of deals arestruck in the man cavesand locker rooms, being awoman made it hard to bein the Business arena. Asan outsider she was notprivy to any of the largedeals. The only way tomake a difference was towork harder and smarterthan the rest, work theextra hour, extra day andmake sacrifices.Alishah started with asmall 3-member teamand a dream to have onlyten members. Initially herdream was to reach onecrore a year topline. Then,with growth, her ambition,zeal, and relentless pursuitto be the best, made herkeep grow from a smallone room office to now adecent office in a primelocation of Bengaluru.While the virus took atoll on most businesses,Alishah’s firm survived -One Degree North HRServices One Degree Northis a partnership firm witha top line of about OneMillion USD. Clients rangefrom global multinationalsto local start-ups. Some ofthem are even householdnames like Amex, Swiggy,Hero motors, Livspace.Alishah strongly believesthat we people shouldn’tstruggle for food and weshould first help peoplearound us. And as partof that initiative, thecompany provides food forpeople in and around ourarea.
References

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alishah-s-81578826/?originalSubdomain=in

54. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. ANJUM JUNG. Interior Designer. Founder, Managing Director Morph Design Company. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Creativity Morphed Into Entrepreneurship
Interior Design has alwaysbeen more than an ideaor concept to Anjum. It isa fierce passion that shefound had to be fuelledand stoked.After completing hercourse in Cornell Universityin America, Anjumreturned to India to takeover the Interior Designspace. Starting with justa single client she quicklygrew a business- MorphDesign Company into oneof the most reputed designfirms in the country.Anjum’s projects alwaysaim to push thingsfurther by not just addingmagnificent furnitureto the room but alsoby experimenting withsurface treatment andspatial volume.Today Morph DesignCompany is a verticallyintegrated interiordesign firm that ownsmanufacturing processesby setting up state-ofthe-art in-house factoriesthat cater to the differentdesign sensibilities ofcustomers. The productsare also designed to givetheir clients great value formoney across the entireproduct spectrum.Anjum’s newManufacturing unit,spread over a vast expanseof approximately 2,40,000Sq. Housing over 45machines where everydetail is given shape withlaser sharp precision.Behind Morph DesignCompany’s (MDC) threedecades of growth,lies the passionate andcommitted Anjum Jung.She has nurtured MorphDesign Company into oneof the most respecteddécor studios with globallyrecognized clientele andnumerous national andinternational awards to itscredit.Coming to Anjum’sPhilosophy: “The cardinalchallenge has alwaysbeen the debate betweenfunctionality and designand how to marry them.”And this resonates in everyproject she undertakes.
References:

55. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, FARAH AHMED MATHIAS, Co-Founder and Principal Designer, ADD Studio; Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Leadership in Design
Farah has been in Casa Vogue’s 20 under 40 list of women designers and her own home has been featured in the Vogue. Recently, FADD Studio has received India’s top 50 honours from India Design ID an initiative by Ogaan and Elle Décor. Over the years, work done by FADD Studio has been published in Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Vogue, Casa Vogue, Arch Daily, Frame and several other national and international publications. FADD Studio has won several awards from prestigious organization like Forbes, IIID, Trends, Elle Decor, EDIDA.
Farah Ahmed has had an interesting exploratory journey before stumbling upon Interior Design. While Farah is creative, she is also very Type-A. She likes Excel almost as much as she likes Photoshop. She did not always know what she wanted to do with her life, but she did know that whatever it was, it had to keep her intrigued, challenged and busy.
During her undergraduate studies at Northwestern University, Farah studied Photography and Political Science and then moved to New York where she worked in advertising at Ogilvy and Mather focusing on key client relationships. With her right brain craving more stimulation and her desire to break the shackles of the corporate world to explore her independent creative side, she delved into fine art photography. She produced, showcased and sold fine art photography as an artist based out of India. Still not fully satiated, and in her desire to add tangible and practical aspects to her creativity, she began working at renowned architecture and interior firm of Khosla Associates. After a year and half, Farah knew she had struck the balance she sought between numbers and colours, and of leveraging her creative skills to help clients achieve their vision.
However, Farah knew that in order to realize the creative vision, she had to start her own company. But before that, she needed a solid education in the technical aspects of Interior Design. Milan seemed the best option. Farah moved to Milan and received a Master’s Degree in Interior Design from Institution Marangoni and returned to India in 2011 to start her Interior Design firm.
On her return from Milan, Farah reconnected with Dhaval, with whom she had become close friends during her time at Khosla Associates. Their skill set complemented each other well as they were like-minded in their design sense and work ethic. So with Farah looking to start her own studio and Dhaval looking to explore new opportunities on his own, they started FADD Studio in 2012. Farah believes that a person is a sum of their experiences; that all her various jobs/careers have made her who she is today and added skills she would otherwise not have picked up, had she chosen a more linear path. Farah loves to travel to places that are off the beaten path and will do anything that gives her a rush like sky-diving, bungee jumping, scuba diving; locally she enjoys watching movies in theatres and trying out new restaurants. Farah’s is a busy mum of a 5-year-old Leah and a 7-year-old Luca!
References:

56. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, MARIAM MOHUIDEEN, Founder of Bakers Treat, Mangalore. Click side arrow for profile details.

Food is always a Good Idea
48-year-old Mariam Mohuideen observed the changing food trend in Mangalore, she felt it was the right time to tap into her baking skills to start her own business. Back in 2014, Mariam started with a 200 sq ft cafe in Mangalore. Today this restaurant – ‘Bakers Treat’ makes ₹ 1 Cr annual revenue. A beautiful minimalist inviting space, where you could lose count of hours spent chilling with friends. One of the most prominent features was how it was the first to start having open-mics, games nights etc in the quiet city of Mangalore.
A self-taught baker, Mariam has also conducted cooking classes for over 600 people since 2013. She says she has also conducted free classes, in association with NGOs, and given away sales profits to charity. “The honesty and justice done to any food produced from the Baker’s Treat kitchen has gained the business a lot of credibility. That itself is a big impact on customers and society,” she says.“I have taken in women who were unemployed and unskilled, and they are part of my team. I taught them the craft of baking, and some of them have become independent earners in their family,” Mariam says.
Since Baker’s Treat inception, Mariam has won recognition from the local community. In 2019, Baker’s Treat was awarded the YourStory Brands of India award for Best Micro Enterprise in the Restaurant category. Further, Mariam won a Yenfame women entrepreneur award in the same year. In 2017, Baker’s Treat had also bagged the Power Business Excellence ‘best startup’ award.
References:

57. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. NAZNEEN SHAIKH, Founder and Director at Sanctum Networks , Edgera Networks. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Using technology to solve day to day acute problems!
Nazneen Shaikh is an Engineering Post graduate from Bangalore’s famous Indian Institute of Science (1993). After a first job with Tata’s and Wipro in India, she moved to Japan’s completely new and unfamiliar society. With her courage and hard work, Nazneen reached Native-level Japanese proficiency in record time clearing the prestigious JLPT level 1 and JETRO Business levels.
Towards the end of 2009 she moved back to Bangalore to work with Kyocera, a Japanese wireless company. Here her role combined R&D, Product engineering and business development. In 2010 she represented Kyocera in Belfast where she was approached by an official of the Invest Northern Ireland Trade organization. They urged her to embark on her entrepreneurial journey. And soon Nazneen incorporated Sanctum Networks in Ireland and India and they were in business. In the process of her career, she has earned the respect and trust of many.
More recently, she has moved all her business to India and is leading her company Sanctum Networks. This is a pioneering broadband network security and Cloud orchestration company. Its flagship product called ‘JustiFi’ is a product helping millions of non tech savvy home users stay safe on the internet and self-manage their home Wi-Fi. The product won Sanctum the 2021 Intel Network builders winners’ circle Gold award.
She has several patents to her name. Nazneen is an active cyber security proponent. She often blogs and writes in technical journals. She is co-author and member of End Now foundation. She is a regular participant at global open-source tech communities/events. Her goal is to solve real life problems using technology. Nazneen’s company was among the 20 Most Promising Telecom Technology Solution Providers by CIO– 2018
References:

58. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. NOUSHEEN TAJ, Food Entrepreneur. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Food with Thought
38-year-old Nousheen Taj has turned the stereotypical role of women in the Kitchen to a successful business that delivers homemade food to corporate offices. Nausheen who has an MSc degree, worked as an administrator at a Hyderabad hospital until 2017. Away from her family in the city she says she craved for home food every single day back then. There in came the inspiration for her catering Business Areha Foods. An all women army she provides healthy and pure homely food for the office goers and to provides employment for the needy under Areha Foods. The unique selling point of her service is the promise of the menu not being repeated for an entire month.
During the onset of pandemic in early 2020 she was a major part an initiative that provided and handed a nutritious and hearty meal twice a day to Hundreds of doctors in several hospitals of the city, who were on Covid duty. As a decent meal was a luxury for doctors given time and resource crunch. Having done a Post-Graduation Degree in Psychology with Industrial Psychology and Organizational Behavior, it helps her not only run the business, but she also offers counseling to stressed out employees and unemployed youths to motivate them to work.
In May 2019 Nousheen started a charity trust along with her sisters. The main objective of this trust is to provide financial aid to poor widows with or without children, provide education for deserving students and aiding in any natural calamities.

References:

59. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, SAHAR MANSOOR, Entrepreneur and Author, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Accessible Sustainability
Sahar Mansoor is the founder and CEO of Bare Necessities - a social enterprise rooted in the philosophy of zero-waste, circular economy and sustainability. Sahar is co-author of ‘Bare Necessities - How to lead a zero-waste life’ Published by Penguin Random House. Her business offers zero-waste personal care, lifestyle, home care and educational products and services, including online sustainability courses.
Her time working at the World Health Organization in Geneva and SELCO Foundation, on implementing decentralized solar energy projects in rural Karnataka, enabled her to build Bare Necessities from the ground up. Her work has been recognized by Google India, Al Jazeera, NDTV, Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar among others. Sahar was most recently awarded the Cartier Young Leader award in 2022 for Bare Necessities social impact, business model and for building bridges across people, disciplines and cultures.
Sahar graduated with Masters of Environmental Policy from University of Cambridge in 2014 and INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Programme 2018. Additionally, Sahar has obtained accredited degrees in environmental planning and political science from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, USA in 2013.
She has also volunteered in Guatemala, Jamaica and the Democratic Republic of Congo for humanitarian projects. She is a circular-economy nerd and attempts to live a low impact lifestyle. Sahar enjoys hiking, biking, backpacking and attempting to play football.
List the awards and recognitions received in the past 5 years • NICE Aarohana Business Plan Competition (Feb 2021)• Meaningful Business 100 (August 2020)• BCrop Pending • Member of Break Free from Plastic Collation (2000 and beyond) • Co-founders of the Global Count Us In Movement along with WWF, IKEA, (2000 and beyond) • UNESCO Green Citizen Award (2021)
References:

60. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SHAZIA USMAN, Founder and CEO Upciclo. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Planet over Privilege
Shazia Usman is the Founder of Upciclo an exclusive online marketplace for eco-safe lifestyle products that are, natural, up cycled, recycled and ethically produced. An alumina of IIM, Bangalore she has a corporate background having worked in companies such as Wipro, Goldman Sachs and IBM. It wasn’t an easy decision but pure passion and willingness to do something for the betterment of the environment won out, and she quit her comfortable lifestyle and started Upciclo in 2017. This platform looks at sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives to all of our daily products. Through this she also provides a larger forum for local and indigenous handicrafts. She show-cases products like eco-cookware, sustainable clothing options, compostable products etc. in local exhibitions and expositions, primarily in Bangalore.

MAKING AN IMPACT THROUGH MEDIA

61. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. AYESHA TABASSUM, Journalist and Content Creator, Corporate Communications at BIAL, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Brave TV and Print Journalist
Ayesha Tabassum completed her BA in History, Economics and Political Science from Mount Carmel College in 2005. She pursued her Masters in Mass Communication from COMMITS and started her career with Times Now in Mumbai. She was in Mumbai during the 26/11 attacks and was working with UTVi business news channel. She was one of the key crew members covering the terror attacks live from the TV station. After a four-year stint in Mumbai as a TV journalist, Ayesha moved back to Bangalore and worked at Why Axis, an advertising agency. She handled accounts of brands such as Reliance Jewels, Reliance TimeOut, Vision Express, Unibic Cookies and Indian Terrain. She also worked with Deccan Chronicle and Bangalore Mirror covering city stories and news features.
The highlight of her career is her nearly six year tenure with Indulge, New Indian Express, where she worked as a Principal Correspondent covering lifestyle and entertainment beats. She has interviewed the likes of Oscar Award winner Adrien Brody, Kate Beckinsale, WWE superstar The Undertaker, cricket legends Viv Richards and Kapil Dev, Kamal Haasan, Ranbir Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani and many other celebs. Despite all that she has achieved, she strongly believes in the motto that learning never stops! Now Ayesha works as Deputy Manager, Corporate Communications at Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL).
References:

62. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. ERUM SAEED. Entrepreneur and Social Media Influencer, Hope In Motion NGO, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Erum Saeed is a dynamic and multifaceted women achiever. She is a renowned social media influencer, lecturer turned entrepreneur, a humanitarian, Meta certified community manager and a Community Builder. Erum is the winner of Facebook Accelerator Program which is a prestigious international achievement. She is also the winner of XIOMI Women Achievers Award, Karnataka Women Achievers Award.
A post graduate in chemistry and a B.Ed from AMU, she started teaching at Central Academy in 2006 then Sherwood College, then joined Brilliant Tutorials for 3 years. Later Erum taught at Ryan International, Bangalore in 2010 for a short time. Since 2014 has been teaching PUC students online at a distant learning coaching which has UK students. Shifting paradigm in 2016, Erum (mother of twins), created the innovative Facebook community “MOMs of INDIA”.
Her networking community Moms Of India is also known as Mom’s Google. MOI works for the all-round support & growth for the mothers focussing on the 5Cs – Compassion, Communication, Connection, Counselling and Career. MOI is an organic, inclusive, collaborative, positive digital medium for the mothers to network both offline and online. Due to its unmatched content and support ‘MOI–The MommyVerse’, at the time of writing this, has half-a-million members!
Erum is also the founder of Hope In Motion – An NGO working for the less fortunate people of the society and has done commendable work during calamities and covid crisis. Erum is also the ‘Cause Ambassador’ of ‘Find A Bed Mission’ in India. Erum enjoys 60k+ followers on her social media handles.
References:

63. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. NABILA JAMAL, Deputy Editor, India Today. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Impact with Style
Nabila Jamaluddin whoprefers to call herselfNabila Jamal was bornand brought up in afamily of educationistsin Bengaluru. She hada decent educationopportunity and herparents had alwaysencouraged her to dosomething meaningful.An alumna of St Joseph’sCollege Bengaluru, Nabilahas studied Economics &Political science and holdsa Masters degree in MassCommunication. Aftersome freelancing, Nabilahad joined the EnglishChannel of TV9 calledNews 9.She used to break the day’stop news stories style inBengaluru for many years.She was a Senior Anchorwith India Today bringinggreat insights from theSouth. In her decade longexperience, Nabila hasfiercely covered crime,politics & environmentwhich has won her nationalacclaim.Her stint with thischannel is still appreciated.She had shown courage toexpose powerful miningmafia. In fact, once she wasattacked for her reportingon Bannerghatta NationalPark and illegal miningaround it.Nabila Jamal,has been the face ofTV9 Karnataka for over adecade. She has been thebrain behind uncoveringmany scams in the city,through undercoveroperations & fiercereporting skills.Jamal has representedNews9 and TV9 on variousinternational platformsand her stories have wonmuch acclaim. She hoststhe primetime and hasconsistently maintainedNo.1 on BARC India ratingsin Karnataka and has beenappreciated for her boldand fearless approach,along with impeccablepresentation skills. Jamal isalso very popular with theyouth and considered aninfluencer.Nabila Jamal was awardedBest News Anchor online(2020).Currently, Nabila is DeputyEditor at India Today.
References:

64. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, NOOR ZAINAB HUSSAIN. Editor-In-charge of Finance. Reuters. Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Shining in the world of Finance Journalism
Noor Zainab finished herschooling from WelhamGirls School in Dehradun.She grew up in the Teagardens of Assam andcontrary to family traditionof lawyers, she went onto study Journalism atBengaluru Universitycompleting her Mastersin Journalism and Masscommunication.Noor Zainab started herBengaluru newsroomjourney in 2013 on the UKteam where she startedin the complicated worldof insurance. Her in-depthstories on the impact ofclimate change on theinsurance industry and ofRussia’s invasion of Ukraineon the Beijing Games werewidely appreciatedBefore joining Reuters, shealso did a couple of stintswith Indian TV channelslike NDTV, CNBC and TV18including working closelywith the Indian film and TVproducer Ekta Kapoor.She also worked at CNBCin India and was a traineereporter at The Statesman.Noor Zainab Hussain iscurrently, Reuters editorin charge, Finance. Inher almost 9-year stintat Reuters, she hasserved as sector specialistfor U.S. Finance and assector specialist EMEAcompanies, correspondentU.K. finance and U.K.tech, media and telecomcorrespondent. Mostrecently, she has beenleading the Bengaluru U.S.finance team, reporting onsome of the biggest banksand insurers in the world.Noor loves to collectstamps in her passportand is steadily ticking along list of countries off herlist, chronicling her travelson Instagram.
References:

https://talkingbiznews.com/business-media-news/reuters-appoints-hussain-editor-in-charge-for-finance/

65. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. RUSHDA FATHIMA KHAN, Journalist, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Fighting the Right Fight
Rushda Fathima Khanis a journalist based inBengaluru. In her freshlykick-started career, she haswritten for national andinternational publicationsincluding Al Jazeera, TheWire, The Quint, Maktooband The Cognate onpolitics, human rightsand religious freedom.Rushda was one of thefirst journalists to reporton the Hijab ban inschools in Karnataka andbrought global spotlightto the issue by reportingfor Al Jazeera. Her storiessparked online debateas her work was widelyshared and acknowledgedincluding in a researchpaper on social mediaresponse to the Hijab banpresented at the Universityof Washington. She hasalso been invited to paneldiscussions on the impactof the ban on students.She is currently theassistant editor at TheCognate. Her workfocuses on religiousminorities in southIndia. She has reportedon the Government’sdiscriminatory policiestowards minoritiesincluding the anticattleslaughter law, thecontroversial nationaleducation policy and theanti-conversion law inKarnataka.Her work has alsoappeared in The Quint, TheWire, Maktoob Media andLivewire, where she hasreported on state violenceagainst minorities and theincarceration of Muslimactivists in jails.Rushda has a B.A. Honoursin Journalism from ChristUniversity, Bengaluru andis pursuing a B.A in IslamicStudies from InternationalOpen University.
References:

CHANGE MAKERS IN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

66. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, FAREEDA RAHMATHULLA, Educationist Reformer. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Setting and Achieving Goals in Upliftment
Dr. Fareeda Rahmathullawas born and brought upin Gullanpet in the landof the beautiful coffeeplantations, Chickmagalurdistrict of Karnataka.After her marriage, Fareedamoved to Bengaluru andcompleted her Bachelorof Arts from NMKRVcollege Bengaluru andher MA in Political Science(Bangalore University)and MA in Urdu (DharwadUniversity)She’s a writer with 2 novelsand 3 short story bookspublished and has beenthe creator and editorfor Zarrin Shuwayen, anUrdu monthly magazinepublished for 30 years.Dr. Fareeda is the foundingPrincipal of Holy MothersEnglish School, wherealmost 40% of the childrenare given free education.The school caters tochildren of all faiths.Holy mothers , anotherschool in the Avalahallislum area, povides freeeducation for children. Shefounded Al Huda women’swelfare organization,to cater to the needs ofwomen for Educationalneeds of deprived children;and for the cause ofwomen empower ment.medical emergencies andmany such challenges inlife.Nominated as themember of KarnatakaHaj committee by theGovernment of Karnataka.She was conferred theKarnataka RajyotsavaAward 2008 for hermeritorious services tojournalism and literature.Honorary Doctorate wasconferred from St. MotherTheresa University in 2019.M. Phil has been done onDr. Fareeda Rahmathullaat the Kuvempu University.She has nearly hundredawards to her credit inthe field of education,social service, journalismand literature conferredon her from all over Indiaand abroad. Dr. Fareedahas been instrumental inbringing back school dropouts

67. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, KULSUM SHADAB WAHAB, Founder of Hothur Foundation, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Contributing Positively to the Fabric of Society
Kulsum Shadab Wahab is the driving force of Hothur Foundation based in India. She is an award-winning, global philanthropist working hands-on with the underprivileged.She also works with differently abled children and that requires a lot of hospital visits. On one such visit, she first saw a terribly burnt woman. She was naive at the time and unaware regarding acid attacks. She tried to speak with the woman who shied away. Disturbed by her plight, Kulsum contacted the hospital and tried reaching out to her. For weeks, she wouldn’t answer calls but eventually, she agreed to meet. She confided in her, telling Kulsum about the challenges in her life, from being ridiculed, to not being able to find a job. Not being able to pay for her surgery, and even being ostracized by her family.This is what triggered Kulsum to create a setup wherein the Hothur Trust helps the Acid victims and other underprivileged with financial and other support, and Ara Lumiere gives the Acid victims a means of rehabilitation and self-expression. It integrates them to the mainstream of life – an opportunity that they were being denied. She also champions the skin banking campaign for the survivors of acid and burn attacks.Not surprisingly, for this innovative combination of philanthropy and social upliftment, Kulsum Wahab has received worldwide acclaim and appreciation. The list of awards and accolades is long. She often takes some victims with her to meet celebrities and get exposure to the glamour world.
AWARDS:• Prestigious CNMI Sustainable Fashion Award for Social Impact at Milan Fashion Week September 2022 • Chosen a one of the 25 gender equality advocates in the world by CHIME FOR CHANGE GUCCI.• Economic Times Excellence Award for Social Activism in 2021.• COVID Warrior Recognition 2021 for initiatives administered during the pandemic.• Taomoda Award for Social Responsibility 2019 ( Sicily, Italy )• Camera Nazionale Della Moda Award for the best Socially responsible brand handcrafted by acid attack survivors (Milan, Italy )• FICCI flo women’s achiever award 2019 ( Bengaluru ) • Pride of India ( Society Achievers 2019) HELLO HALL OF FAME Humanitarian of the year Award 2018• Vogue beauty awards 2018 launched a video with SHAH RUKH KHAN for SKIN BANKING for acid attack survivors.• FICCI flo Delhi Award for Community Service honoured by the Honourable Home Minister Of India Sri Rajnath Singh Ji • . Nirbhaya Bravery Award 2018 Smile Foundation Women Achiever Of the Year 2018• AACC award for Social Service 2018 • Woman Achiever Of The Year Bengaluru club 2018• Young Womenpreneurs Award 2017 by the governor of Maharashtra for outstanding contribution towards philanthropy for taking India closer to the prime ministers vision of 2022• Winner of CNMI Social Impact Award MFW22
References:

68. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, MUNIRA SEN, Development Director, Common Purpose. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Leading change at the International level
Munira Sen has dedicateda large part of her life to thecause of putting forwardthe point of view and workof diverse and mostlyunderserved communities.Early in her career shemoved from CorporateProject management toGlobal Communications.A passionate socialentrepreneur with 35yrsexperience, Munira isknown for her work inbuilding both socialenterprises and grassrootsorganizations.She is a well-known Theaterand Television artist. Shehas also championedfolk art forms and beenrecognized for the same.Radio City Woman ofthe Year Award in 2003,and won the CancerPatients Aid Association(CPAA) Woman AchieverAward in 2004. Earlier,as Executive Directorof the NGO Madhyam,Munira was instrumentalin establishing KalaMadhyam, a socialenterprise linking ruralartisans with urbanmarkets.Munira has alsoserved on the Board ofthe National FolkloreSupport Centre (A FordFoundation initiative)-Trustee; Director-FocusHumanitarian AssistanceInternational (Aga KhanDevelopment Network);Indo-American Chamberof Commerce-CommitteeMember; SteeringCommittee member,Global Communicator’sNetwork, Board member-Childline, Bengaluru.Currently, Munira isa Senior Director atCommon Purpose, Europe,Middle East & S Asia. In thisrole she has helped to pilotCommon Purpose in Indiaand setup the Bengaluruchapter. She has beeninvolved in Businessdevelopment, CurriculumDevelopment and buildingstrategic partnerships withGovernment, corporateand NGO’s. Munira leadsVentures in India. This isin addition to successfullycurating and executingglobal Leadershipprograms.
Radio City Woman of theYear Award in 2003, andwon the Cancer Patients AidAssociation( CPAA) WomanAchiever Award in 2004.Earlier, as Executive Directorof the NGO Madhyam,Munira was instrumental inestablishing Kala Madhyam, asocial enterprise linking ruralartisans with urban market.
References:

https://commonpurpose.org/about-us/common-purpose/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/munira-sen-78298a7/

69. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. NOORAINE AHMED, Architect & Educator . Click side arrow for profile details.

Using her Many Talents for Social Change
Noorain works in the development and humanitarian sector. She also works & teaches in the fields of transitional and low-cost housing, participatory development, visual storytelling and social innovation, with NGOs and INGOs within and outside India. She has a Gold Medal Bachelor’s in Architecture from Manipal Institute of Technology. Her thesis on Emergency Response Shelters won several awards and was chosen to be exhibited at the Archiprix 2011 at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.
She went on to join Earthship Biotecture, New Mexico. Thereafter, she moved to the social housing and development sector in 2012 with Nivasa. She later joined the SELCO Foundation. As Team Lead and Program Manager, she worked on transitional migrant housing and social innovation projects. As an independent consultant, Noorain took on socially relevant projects, including the 2018 Kerala post-disaster flood assessments in Wayanad. Her recommendations were submitted to the Chief Minister.
Noorain has facilitated Design + Build workshops for students, to bridge the gap between theory and practice and creating linkages between institutions and communities in need. She has also served as visiting Design Faculty. She has conducted over 15 Social Innovation workshops for students, entrepreneurs and educators, including most recently in Cape Verde as part of a UNDP.
Her desire to work with extremely vulnerable populations led her to pursue a Masters in International Cooperation and Emergency Architecture from Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Spain. Her Masters thesis on Rohingya Refugees in India was awarded a Summa Cum Laude, explored the Humanitarian Development Nexus and raised questions on the ‘citizen’ refugee. As an illustrator she has worked with high profile sustainability Companies, creating content in the form of digital art, postcards, brochures and books. Noorain conducted several visual storytelling workshops for children and adults. She also undertook Art Direction on occasion, such as for the ‘Stories of Resilience’ funded by IKEA Foundation.

70. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SAJEEDA BEGUM, Founder of Aasra Women and Children Welfare Trust. Bengaluru, Karnataka. Click side arrow for profile details.

Supporting With Love
Dr. Sajeeda Begum is a dedicated social activist and a champion for the cause of women empowerment for last 28 years. She has been striving for the upliftment of women and children. She focuses on survivors of domestic violence, dowry oppression, sexual harassment and other forms of abuse. Inspired by her father, she started her career with a well-known Bangalore based women's group Vimochana, before setting up her own organisation, AASRA Women & Children Welfare Trust (Regd).
AASRA is an endeavor to extend help to destitute women and children from marginalized societies to develop their self-confidence and to equip them with basic skills and training for a better future. The trust is majorly funded by her and her. Over the years, she has exhibited immense courage and has undertaken several welfare initiatives like women's helpline, family counselling, schools, microcredit, and minority welfare. At present she has two branches of AASRA in Bangalore. Other camps are set up in different districts in Karnataka, as and when required. She’s looking to open many more branches and increase her work scope to educational opportunities and study centers. Her work has been awarded the Honorary Doctorate and Lifetime Achievement Award 2017 from Indian Virtual Academy for Peace and Education. She has also won the Visionary Leader Award for the year 2018 instituted by the Centre for Educational Development (CED) Foundation.
References

Links: www.aasramohsinath.org

71. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. TAHSEEN BEGUM, Social Worker. Mysuru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Pro-people and proactive
Tahseen has been sensitive towards the lesser privileged in her neighborhood from a young age. After her marriage, she continued this work with her husband in Shimoga. There, they increased their scope to include helping in construction of houses, actualizing hospital schemes, government school schemes and also started reaching out to the private sector to help underprivileged students. After some years they shifted to Bannur, a small town near Mysuru and continued work there too. During the pandemic. She stays current with the political situations and participated in spreading awareness regarding CAA/NRC among the groups that she interacted with.
Later, when the country was hit by CoVid19 and went under Lockdown, she saw many around her who needed food. After many efforts, and with the help of some resourceful friends, Tahseen arranged ration kits by the "Saving soul foundation".
Now, she is in Mysuru and is a member of an old age home. Here they serve old and helpless people. Tahseen has two sons. Her husband is also her partner in her social work. Her work remains diverse while being inclusive to all those she comes across. One gets an idea of her generosity and proactiveness from some of what she narrates. When she saw some homes without a roof, and monsoon was impending, she collected funds, got volunteers and got roofs put up for many.

72. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, TAZAIYUN OOMER, Social Worker, Founder of Humane Touch Trust and Trustee of Lifeline Foundation Trust, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Champion of the Community
Tazaiyun Oomer is a social worker and community leader working for the upliftment of society since 1998 . Early in life, Tazaiyun learnt to stretch and ask more of herself. She went to college and managed her textile showroom simultaneously for several years. She turned the business around and even added a readymade brand. Later she went back to school and learnt interior designing and worked in that area for some time.A chance encounter with a paraplegic who was providing callipars in a petrol station, nudged her towards social work. She began working on initiatives concerning specially-abled children by providing mobility aids and sponsoring their surgeries.
She envisioned the Humane Touch Trust in 1999, focusing on education, healthcare and women empowerment. Humane Touch Trust has aided hundreds of students with educational scholarships towards college and professional courses. Medical aid & Food provision are also undertaken. Tazaiyun Oomer is particularly known for her pioneering work in conducting mass marriages. Close to 2000 couples have been supported through the initiative that helps reduce the financial burden of marriage and malpractices like dowry. Her work has won her many accolades. Tazaiyun Oomer is a founder Trustee of Lifeline Foundation Trust and Joint Secretary of the famous Muslim Orphanage, Bangalore. References/Sources:• https://www.linkedin.com/in/tazaiyun-oomer-99633b16/?originalSubdomain=in• https://www.humanetouch.org/• https://www.siasat.com/ngo-humane-touch-trust-conducted-1800-mass-weddings-of-orphans-2215027/• https://worldwomenleadershipcongress.org/winners/wwlc/world-women-leadership-award-winners-2017.html• http://www.lifelinetrust.in/• https://youtu.be/dz0wjdZlpuQ

73. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. ZAHIDA KHAN, Ex Director Karnataka State Warehousing Corporation, Government of Karnataka. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Passionate Learner Turned Change Maker
Dr. Zahida Khan grew upin Hubli and went to theAnglo-Urdu High schoolthere. Now that she issuccessful, she goes backto this, her first school,to inspire the studentsand helps to upskillthem. She got marriedat 14 and was nursing ababy when she took herClass 10 examination. Herfamily was very supportive.Thirst for higher studiespushed her to get adouble graduation viacorrespondence in theearly 1990’s. She went on toget a PhD Urdu Literature..She was also exposedto Yunani Medicine inwhich her father-inlawhad expertise. Sheknows and shares many“nuskhas” (prescriptions).She used to participatein many social activitieshighlighting issues anddemanding justice. Shewas also a News Anchorat Doordarshan. She gotnominated by the Centreto the Karnataka StateWarehouse Corporation.This was a role ofresponsibility dealingwith Food storage anddisbursal. She retired fromthis post recently.Zahida also tried her handat Entrepreneurship inthe Real Estate area. Shewas very successful andhas put that business onpause in order to attendto more societal issues byjoining the Associationof Muslim Professionals.Here she served as Head ofKarnataka for 3 terms andin different chapters asleader and member.Zahida believes thatservice and charity beginat home. She has nurturedher extended family andsupported education andemployment of many.She also has a Trust byname “Masiha” to providesupport for educationand welfare of the lessprivileged.
References:

IMPASSIONED AUTHORS AND POETS

74. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. ANDALEEB WAJID, Novelist, Author of over 25 published novels. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Stories that one relates to
Andaleeb Wajid is anEnglish author, havingpublished 40 novels in thepast 12 years. Writing wasa passion and a hobby forAndaleeb before it becameher career. She startedwriting fiction at the ageof ten but didn’t pursue itseriously until she was ayoung mother at the ageof 21. Andaleeb workedbriefly in the corporateworld as a technical writerand content write from2004-06 and then as thehead of marketing of asoftware company from2014-16.Andaleeb collaboratedwith Sajita Nair, a fellowwriter to set up Nutcrackerworkshops, which taughtcreative writing classesto interested individuals.Andaleeb and Sajita alsotravelled to various parts ofthe country as they wereinvited by schools to teachcreative writing to thechildren there.Andaleeb writes youngadult fiction and romancelargely but she is alsoenamoured with horror.One of the often askedquestions she gets is whythe switch from romanceto horror. Although shejokingly answers thatromance often turns intohorror after a few years,the truth is that Andaleebenjoys writing horrorbecause it makes her feelin control of even the mostawful situations.As someone who wasmarried very young andhad children at a youngage, she feels that writingstories, stepping into thesevarious alter egos, givesher a measure of controland agency over her ownlife. This is also the reasonwhy Andaleeb switched toself-publishing because itgave her a better controlover her books instead ofdepending on the whimsof a publisher. Andaleebis popular in the worldof literature, especiallyfor her romance novelswhich often featureMuslim protagonists. Herrecent novels All DramaNo Queen and Mirror,Mirror were published byPenguin Random House.
Andaleeb is popular in theworld of literature, especiallyfor her romance novelswhich often feature Muslimprotagonists.

References

75. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, SADIQA PEERBHOY, Author, Advertising Professional. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Advertising Genius & Social Commentator
Sadiqa Graduated withEnglish Honours fromElphinstone CollegeBombay, and further dida postgraduate course inJournalism. Two coursesfrom NYU in Creativewriting and Novel writinghelped hone her skills. MsPeerbhoy is a seasonedadvertising professionaland the creative forcebehind the makingand sustaining of manyIndian and global brands.She swept up dozens ofcreativity awards. Manyreaders would rememberher winning slogan “Jo bivise kare pyaar, voh Prestigese kaise kare inkaar”To keep her sanity in themaddening world ofadvertising, she took towriting a topical humorouscolumn and has beencolumnist for threenewspapers and has alarge fan following who stillfondly recall her SwalpaAdjust Madi, MyopicView and Sweet n Sour inDeccan Herald, Newstimeand Times of India .She also wrote a regularhumour column in TheBrief, an advertisingmagazine.Scripts for BBC Channel4 productions and storiesand scripts for sitcomson Indian television (SaraJahan Hamara and HoneeAnhonee) are part of herportfolio. A short story‘Twilight Years’, won theOxford Prize for IndianWriting in English in 2004.She has eight publishedbooks of fiction. Marry GoRound- drew rave reviewsfrom critics and waspresented as a play in theDeccan Herald TheatreFestival and later as a playin hindi. Sadiqa ran Wigan &Leigh,Bengaluru for manyyears. As a quintessentialcreative person she hasheld training workshopsin Lateral Thinkingand Creativity in largecorporate houses , collegesand schools. Her passionremains HindustaniClassical music.
As an advertising professionalshe has been the creativeforce behind many anational and internationalbrand.She has, alongwith her challenging job,written hundreds of topicalhumour columns for DeccanHerald,Times of India andNewstime.As a writer, shehas eight published books offiction to her credit.
References:

https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2019/mar/06/once-a-writer-always-a-writer-1947187.html

76. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, SARAH ABOOBACKER, Writer in Kannada & Malayalam. Click side arrow for profile details.

Kannada Writer of the Local People
Sarah Aboobacker, born in 1936 in Kasargod (now in Kerala), graduated from a local Kannada school. She was married after school, and went on to start a family. She felt her education was constrained by community norms that restricted female access to higher education, and that she was only able to obtain a library membership in 1963. In 1981, Sarah published her first article on communal harmony in the Lankesh Patrike. Following this, she began writing stories and novels, focusing on her own community, a Muslim community living across parts of the Indian states of Karnataka and Kerala.
Sarah is an established Kannada fiction writer. Her stories are about Muslim lives in the areas bordering Karnataka and Kerala, focusing on the inequities and injustices meted out to women by the patriarchal society. She is perhaps the only woman writer to have emerged from this region and demonstrated courage to highlight issues on behalf of the women of her community through her writings in present times. Her works are appreciated not only in Karnataka but also in Kerala where she is widely translated and discussed.Aboobacker is best known for her first novel, Chandragiriya Theeradalli (1981), which was later translated into English by Vanamala Vishwanatha as Breaking Ties. Sarah won the case against plagiarism, where a movie was made based on this book without consent or credit. Sarah Aboobacker received many prestigious literary awards, such as the Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award, 1984; Anupama Niranjan Award, 1987; Rathnamma Heggade Mahila Sahitya Award, 1996, etc. She has seven novels, four collections of short stories, and one collection of essays to her credit.
References:• https://www.loc.gov/acq/ovop/delhi/salrp/saraaboobacker.html• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Aboobacker

77. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SHAISTA YUSUF, Urdu Author, poet and Founder President of NGO Mahfilenisa, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Dr Shaista Yusuf is a Bangalore-based Urdu writer, entrepreneur and social worker who holds a MA in Urdu from Bangalore university and MA in Philosophy from Bombay university ,Diploma in Cosmetology and an Honorary doctorate, Dr of Laws (LL.D) (Honoris Causa) from the University for Tumkur for her extraordinary work in the field of Urdu language and literature and social work.
Born and brought up in Mumbai, Shaista Yusuf started her writing career in 1970 and has since written and published several articles for magazines, newspaper books. Her books include translations, fiction and poetry. Sooni Parchaiyan won her several prestigious awards. Her works have also been included as a part of syllabus in various Karnataka Boards for schools and colleges.
Dr. Yusif is on Panel discussions & Jury all over India representing Urdu literature and philosophy. She has a presence on some Television and Radio programmes too. Shaista Yusuf is a Founder member and Treasurer of All India Urdu Manch and United Council for Education and also member of prestigious Institutes like NCPUL (Delhi) and Sahitya Academy and Karnataka Urdu Academy She is also the Founder President, Mahfilenisa an NGO works towards the betterment of women and children covering Bangalore, Mysore, Bidar, Gulbarga and Bijapur. Mahfilenisa also runs Phulwari school for deserving children, and has adopted several Government schools to improve the quality of education in the same.
As an entrepreneur, she was the Founder and Managing Director of Mystic Herbal Cosmetics and Managing Director of Success Trade. In 2021, she launched a new venture Shaista's Qubani Meetha and a health product Uroojam both available in the market
References:

78. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. YASMEEN PREMJI, Writer, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Yasmeen Premji began writing when she was about 10. Her first short story was published in the Sunday Standard supplement of The Indian Express under a pseudonym, Wye, just before she turned 18. "It was a story about two boys who later drown. And yes, that element of tragedy exists in almost everything I write," she feels. Her mother encouraged her interest in writing by reading aloud stories to her in English.
Earlier, she topped her BA course in Mumbai's St Xaviers College and got the highest marks in psychology for Bombay University while simultaneously completing a course in interior design, simply because the subject interested her. In addition to this she represented her college and state in hockey, after being appointed games captain at her school, Queen Mary's, where she played basketball, athletics, table-tennis and chess. "My passion was hockey, though I don't follow it much now. But I loved Chak De India," she grins.
References:

https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/supplement/story/20120917-yasmeen-premji-days-of-gold-and-sepia-wipro-foundation-champagne-759675-2012-09-07

SHINING IN SPORTS

79. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. KHUDSIYA NAZEER, Power Lifter, Kolar. Click side arrow for profile details.

International Powerlifter from a Small Town
Khudsiya is a national and international level power weightlifter. She hails from Bagalkot near Kolar in Karnataka. Her early childhood was fraught with tragedy and challenges. She lost her father when she and her twin sister were 2 years old. After that life was one downward spiral of difficulties.
Khudsiya’s late father had been a wrestler and was an employee of KSRTC as a trainer of drivers. He was 32 years old when he died in an accident. After his demise, they had to wait for several long years before Khudsiya grew up to pass her high school and turn 18 to be given the KSRTC job on compassionate grounds.
Since then, Khudsiya has been self-sufficient. She felt the urge for physical exercise and joined a gym to work out. Soon it was observed that her capabilities were even more than the average men at the Gym. Someone suggested that she participate in some competition. This was a life changer! She won Gold medals wherever she entered – Karnataka State, Nationals. She is also selected for International tournaments upcoming in China and Japan.
References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2umx_Bc-ico

80. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SABIYA SIKANDER, Throwball and Football Player. Click side arrow for profile details.

Cleverly Balancing Throwball and Football
Sabiya Sikander is a Football and Throwball prodigy of Karnataka. Winner of many international gold medals and State level highest sports honours. Sabiya has an M.Com from St. Josephs Degree College. She is currently part of Koch Business Solutions, India, where she works as an Operational Analyst.
Track and field, badminton and many other sports interest Sabiya. She is most proficient and attentive towards Football and Throwball, practicing both games at least 2 hours each day. Her special advantage at being a left- handed throwball player comes from her ability to spin and surprise the opponent.
Sabiya comes from a family of teachers. Both her parents teach students using the “Tuition” format. Her father encourages her to not give up sports, even though it becomes hard to raise funds for tours and training camps.
In 2013, as a 15-year-old, Sabiya S, the champion throwball player, was selected for the Asian Junior Throwball Championship scheduled to be held in Malaysia. At that time, she struggled for sponsorship, since there was no Government funding for Throwball. In five years since playing the game, Sabiya represented the country 4 times, and was even declared the Player of the Match in the finals of the Quadrangular Women’s Throwball championship held in Sri Lanka in October 2013.
Over the years, Sabiya has been awarded and recognized for her sports achievements on several occasions in Karnataka.• The State Prestigious Nada Prabhu Kempegowda Award 2018 given by the Mayor of Bengaluru.• Karnataka Kreeda Ratna Award 2016 by the Ministry of youth Empowerment and Sports Department of Karnataka.• Kittur Rani Channamma Award 2018 by the Ministry of Child and Women Empowerment.• Doordarshan Chandana Award 2019 by the Hon'ble Governor of Karnataka by Sri Vajubhai Vala ji.
References

81. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SAKINA KHATUN, India's first female powerlifter. Only Indian woman paralympian to ever win a Commonwealth Games medal. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

No Dream is too Heavy to lift
Born in a small village, when amid financial difficulties, her family experienced a major setback when they got to know that Sakina was afflicted with polio. Since a very young age, Sakina was passionate about sports. So, instead of looking at her delicate health condition as an obstacle or a weakness, she pushed and motivated herself to keep going.
Her major tryst with sports began when after undergoing surgeries to survive polio her doctor suggested she take up swimming, as the activity helps to strengthen most muscles in the body.
Khatun has completed her schooling from Kabiriya High School, Madrasa. She started training in powerlifting after completing her class 12th in 2010. Right from hack squats, weighted sit-ups, dumbbell bench presses, military presses, rows and stiff-legged dead lifts, she did them all. Khatun has been training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) National Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. Her mother is a farm labourer while her father, ailing with a serious back condition, has been unemployed for years due to his condition.
“Swimming definitely turned out to be an amazing experience for me. But I could not make it through either competitions or national-level championships. Then, I happened to meet Farman Basha, one the most renowned power lifters of India. He put the thought of powerlifting in my head,” Sakina recollects.
And today Sakina is the only woman para-athlete in the history of India to have won a medal at the Commonwealth Games. She gained a lot recognition when she won the bronze medal at Glasgow in 2014. More recently, she also won a silver medal at the Asian Para Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2018. Her achievements do not stop here. The power lifter went on to capture the sixth position at the World Championships this year. She also represented India in the Paralympics in Tokyo 2021.
“Right from fighting muscle pain and fatigue, training with weights and dumbbells every day to overcoming a lot of financial distress, my journey was fraught with multiple challenges. But I knew it was important for me to not give up at any point. After all, no aspiration is worth renouncing,” Sakina Khatun.

Links/References:

82. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. NOOSHEN AL KHADEER, Indian Women’s Cricket team Star, Coach Indian Railways Cricket Team. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Cricket came by chance
Cricket happened by chance. Noosheen was into different sports, other than cricket. One day Irfan Sait, who later became her cricket coach, asked Noosheen. She did not show interest. It was the year 1997, when her father saw a newspaper announcement regarding selection trials for Karnataka. He asked if she would give it a shot. To her surprise, she got selected for U-16 team. She played her first domestic game against Maharashtra & scored a 60. Very soon she made Karnataka Senior team. In 2002 one day, after a very good domestic season, Anjum Chopra handed her the India cap. It was sheer bliss!
She had 100 ODI wickets to her name when her illustrious 10-year career playing for India came to an end. From an opening bat, and medium-pace bowler, she rose to glory as one of India’s finest off-spinners. She ranked number 1 in the world in 2003.Her favourite is 2005 Women’s World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.
Noosheen has coached Hyderabad, Chhattisgarh. Currently, she is a coach for Railways Cricket Team and a BCCI certified Coach Level A.Noosheen’s message to the budding women cricketers is to concentrate equally on how you are going to be on the field as well as off the field because both impact your on-field performance. Always remember, one missed day of practice, means there is someone else who is getting better. Have a competition with yourself. There is a bright future for women’s cricket in India.
References:

STRIDES IN PRIVATE SECTOR

83. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. AASHIYA BEGUM, Product Manager at Google; Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Fostering Innovation
Consistently a top performer at school, Aashiya graduated from NIT Warangal. She recollects gravitating towards leadership activities during her academic years which influenced her career choices heavily. After a few successful stints at international brands such as Ola and Sixt, she now works as a Product Manager at Google. She says that in addition to making her financially independent, her work allowed her to travel to several countries, meet new people and learn their cultures - a truly enriching experience.
Aashiya feels fortunate to have had a privileged upbringing where her parents broke several stereotypes to provide her with quality education and equal opportunities as her brother (she also takes credit for pushing them every now and then to get her way!). She is originally from a small coastal village named Bavajipalem in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. She still calls it home even though she doesn’t visit so often anymore.
Aashiya constantly strives to give back to the society by actively engaging in volunteer work such as teaching in orphanages/govt schools, working with women from underprivileged backgrounds and most recently mentoring working women to get better jobs in tech & negotiate better salaries. She hopes to work towards being a role model to younger girls and help them achieve their dreams.
References/Sources

84. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. ANJUM ARA, Senior Business Development Manager, Amazon, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Professional as well as Academic Excellence
Anjum Ara “ Anjum Ara hasbeen in Bangalore mostof her life. She was theschool topper of her batchin Bishop Cotton Girls andthen Christ University,Bangalore. She showedpromise early in life bytopping her school andthen getting a Distinctionat her Pre-Universityand again getting GoldMedal for her BTech (2012)from the BMS Collegeof Engineering andTechnology,Bengaluru.Anjum represented BMSCollege of Engineering,Bengaluru for presentinga paper in the NationalConference ‘ConvergentInnovative Technologies& Management’organized by theDepartment of CSE, ISEMCA, Cambridge Instituteof Technology, December2011. She went on to geta Post Graduate Diplomain Management fromthe Indian Institute ofManagement, Bengaluru.Anjum entered theIndustry with an internshipat Unilever. She worked asa Manager in Airtel from2015 to 2016 and thenjoined Amazon. Anjum Arais currently Senior BusinessManager at Amazon.
References:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anjum-ara-44753231/

85. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. ASMA BEGUM, Corporate General Manager at the Royal Orchid Hotels, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Broke free of Stereotypical Expectations
Asma was born at a timewhen higher education forgirls was not to be takenfor granted. Althoughschool was allowed. Asmastudied in the GovernmentEnglish school, in theDickenson Road area,Bangalore. In order to gobeyond class 8, she and afew of her friends movedto the Muslim Orphanageschool. This was alreadya step away from herfamily norms. She wenton to further completePre-University and tookup a job in the HospitalityIndustry.She had to face someopposition in order topursue a job and study tobecome a graduate andsubsequently a Postgraduate. She used theDistant learning provisionsto circumvent the difficultyin actually enrolling andgoing to going to a localcollege. Her self-madepersona is an inspiration forothers. She walks tall andis regarded as a powerfulprofessional at the Hotel.Asma completed herBCom and then an MBA,Hospitality Managementfrom William CareyUniversity Shillong in 2016,all the while working forthe Royal Orchid Hotels,Bangalore. She started asa Hostess and up-skilledherself to move up thevalue chain.At the time of writing,Asma is the CorporateGeneral Manager –Customer Relations atthe Royal Orchid Hotels,Bangalore. Her workinvolves managing a teamas well as traveling tothe different locations ofthe Royal Orchid all overIndia. Asma is also DirectorLoyalty responsiblefor recognition andengagement of the mostvaluable elite members.
She started as a Hostess andup-skilled herself to move upthe value chain. At the time ofwriting, Asma is the CorporateGeneral Manager – CustomerRelations at the Royal OrchidHotels, Bangalore.
References:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/asma-begum-340435a/

86. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. LUBNA FARHEEN, General Manager(HR BP) at IBM. Click side arrow for profile details.

Business focused Human Resource Professional
Lubna Farheen was bornin Chikmagalur, Karnataka.She attended St. Teresa’sGirls High School forher early education. Shegraduated from ChristUniversity in Bengaluruwith a Bachelor’s degreein Computer Science,Mathematics, andStatistics in 2008 . Lubnahas an MBA (HR) fromVisvesvaraya TechnologicalUniversity, Bengaluru.Among her numerousaccomplishments, sheis Six Sigma Yellow BeltCertified and HR AnalyticsReady.She shifted fromComputer Science toHuman resources asthe latter field is peopleoriented with focusedinterventions to makean impact both towardsthe organization and theassociates. Having a seatat the table with businessand contributing towardsthe top line is the mostimportant part of an HRand this is something thatshe thoroughly enjoys. Shepresently works for Lowe’sIndia as HRBP Manager.She represented Lowe’sIndia in the global Talentreview process at the CIOlevel. She was involved inLUTI (Lowe’s UniversityTech Institute) planning,reporting and workingon ad hoc requests.She was part of the HRtransformation Journey atLowe’s India : End to Endproject implementationand was the process ownerfor Kenexa.With over ten years of broadexperience in the Retail,Telecom, Consultancy,and IT/ITES industries,Lubna is a driven HRspecialist. Building highperformingteams, shehas collaborated withcompanies to strategize,hire, and create businesssolutions around talentmanagement, workforceplanning, performancemanagement, andemployee relations. Shehas also collaborated withrelevant business groupson all hiring-related tasksas an Internal TalentAcquisition Lead. Herinterests include workingon specialized projects.
Having a seat at thetable with business andcontributing towards the topline is the most important partof an HR and this is somethingthat she thoroughly enjoys

87. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. NAZIA HASAN, GM-Human Resource Business Partner with IBM Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Combining Corporate work and social calling
Nazia Hasan's specialization is drivingHR agenda across multiplebusiness units with focuson strategic partnering,performance management,employee engagement &relations, compensation& benefits, diversity andUniversity relations.
Nazia didher schooling fromSacred Heart Convent,Jamshedpur. Hergraduation was inEnglish Literature fromSymbiosis InternationalUniversity. At UniversityNazia took active part inextracurricular activitiesShe was active inarranging the culturalfestival as well as activelyparticipated in thePlacement committeeas a Senior Executivemember. She was alsoactive in doing social workwith several NGOs foreducational upliftment ofspecially abled and slumchildren.She did her MBA fromMaharashtra Institute ofTechnology. Nazia.joinedIBM in 2005 and has sincethen worked in variousroles across the spectrumof Human Capital practice,both in Gurgaon andBengaluru. She has been aHuman Resource Partnerat IBM managing over7000 employees including250+ researchers and 60+senior leaders (includingVP, Automation). Herspecialization is in drivingHR agenda acrossmultiple business unitswith focus on strategicpartnering, performancemanagement, employeeengagement & relations,compensation . & benefits,diversity and Universityrelations. Currently Nazia isGeneral Manager HumanResources at Phillips.By way of entertainmentand hobbies, Nazia was apart of the Trek club andeven a Hindi Dramaticsclub in her college years.
References:• https://www.linkedin.com/in/nazia-hasan-245bb737/

88. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. NAZIA MUJEEB, Global manager at Hewlett Packard; Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Rising by Lifting Others
Nazia Mujeeb was raised in a supportive, open-minded family and was encouraged to be independent & to follow her dreams. Growing up, she was interested in creative writing/ poetry and published articles in the Times of India (as a part of NIE - Newspaper in Education). After High school, she aimed to be a doctor. However, her competitive exam scores fetched her a free seat in Engineering - she chose to complete Medical Electronics Engineering instead.
In 2004, she was one of the few girls in her family to finish her engineering - first class with distinction & first to be selected through a campus interview by an MNC. She started at an entry position - continued to learn, grow, and develop in HP. Today, 17 years later, she is in her 11th role managing people across the globe - driving and fulfilling the "work of the future" vision of the company.
Throughout her career, Nazia has upskilled. She is a certified global trainer, has a patent (intellectual property) in her name, and has also recently completed her executive MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles. As her responsibilities grew in the company, Nazia looked for opportunities to share her knowledge & experiences and coach people - particularly women. She is now co-chair for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion council of India. Nazia constantly looks for opportunities to give back to society, build a strong community, and practice sustainability. Nazia is a firm believer in rising by lifting others!
Links/References:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nazia-syed-mujeeb-6237a985/

89. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. NILOFER SUMAIYA. Product Manager @ JioMart | Ajio.com| NITK Surathkal. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Conquering the Best of Both Worlds
Nilofer Sumaiya, is aProduct Manager at Ajio,Jio Platforms Ltd. A selftaughtand passionateartist, she creates paintingswith different mediumsas a hobby and forcommissions as well. Shehas always been motivatedto grow professionally. Shebegan painting during1st wave of CoViD whiletackling extreme anxietydisorder, Nilofer decidedto channel all her anxiousand negative thoughtsin her artworks to createsomething beautiful. Sherealised its a great stressbuster and subsequentlystarted an online pagewhere she would share herthoughts on how to copewith anxiety via art.Her Instagram handleis The Art Shrink whereyou can watch herpainting process, funnyvideos, her occasionalmotivational thoughts,about coping with anxietyand depression , and alsopurchase her paintings.Nilofer completed her BTech in Mining Branchfrom National Instituteof Technology Karnataka,Surathkal in 2014. In NITKshe was part of urbanredevelopment where shepainted an underpass onthe theme of specialisationbranches of college. Shegot a job offer in campusin a supply chain servicebased startup calledExpicient based out ofBangalore.Thats when herinterest for Supply ChainIndustry grew. The startupthen was serving mostlyUS based clients.Nilofer later got an offerfrom Reliance which wasbuilding e-commerceplatform called Ajio andshe was always Inclinedtowards serving thecountry so she immediatelyaccepted the offer.Since then she has beenworking with Reliance.Currently she is pursuingher part-time programof MBA with IndianInstitute of ManagementKozhikode, batch of 2025.Her greatest inspirationsince childhood has beenher mother.
References/Sources:

90. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. REHANA UNNISA, Product Designer Google, Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Strong Education - Opening Doors
Rehana Unnisa pursuededucation with some zest.She started at the KendriyaVidyalaya going on to aBTech from JawaharlalNehru TechnologicalUniversity and thenMasters in Psychologyfollowed by Bootcampcourse in Design Thinkingfrom Stanford University.She has worked in manyhigh profile companieslike Ericsson, IBM, inMobi,VMWare. She is nowworking as a ProductDesigner at Google,Bengaluru.As a product design lead,Rehana has more than9 years of experienceworking with multidisciplinedteams increating products thatare simple, opinionated,and well-crafted for thecustomer and businessneeds for B2B, B2C andSAAS models.Primarily, her time is spenton developing strategiesand roadmaps; workingwith and managingfeedback from multiplestakeholders & executiveleadership across IDSPand Pulse in the past andInMobi Intelligence now.Her passion is to bringdesigns to life andcommunicate ourproduct vision to theteam using mock-ups,documentation, andprototypes. This needscollaboration and workingclosely with productdesign leadership anddesigners across all teams.Her work involvesestablishing partnershipswith Engineering, ProductManagement and ProductMarketing managementto design meaningful,impactful metrics-drivensolutions.
Rehana won the PrestigiousGolden Spiral Award forInMobi DSP.
References:• https://www.linkedin.com/in/rehanaunnisa/

91. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. SHEEBA ALI. Co-Founder, NSRCEL. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Sheeba Ali was diagnosedwith Polio during earlystages of her childhood.Her parents left no stoneunturned to get her thebest treatment availablein India. But deep withintheir mind, they had a fearabout Sheeba’s future as ahandicap. They urged herto participate in sports,extra-curricular activitiesand exel in studies. Sheebafeels indebted to herparents for pushingher to be an independentand useful person. She wasa fighter regarding nothingas impossible. Even today,Sheeba pushes herself tocompete with herself.After completing herMasters (Geography)from AMU in 1990,Sheeba did her M.Techin Regional planningfrom School of Planning& Architecture(SPA),New Delhi. She thenworked as a ResearchAssociate and moved toSales and Marketing. Inthe millennium year, shehad started her IT careeras Software Tester andmoved up. During thistime, Sheeba worked withrenowned multinationalslike Tech Mahindra,Microland, Hexaware,Misys Healthcare to namesome.Most recently, Sheeba hasstarted her entrepreneurialjourney which she alwayswanted to. Her Start-up,10XG Martech Solutionsis now part of NSRCELIIMB in pre-incubationstage. Her goal is togenerate employmentopportunities to go-getteryouth of our country. Belowcouplet is her inspirationquote:“Ye Toh Apna Apna HaiHosla, Ye Toh Apni ApniUdaan Hai. Koi Ud KeReh Gaya Baam Tak, KoiKehkeshaan Se GuzarGaya” It is each one’sprowess, it is each one’sflight. Some merely flew toa destination, and sometraversed the galaxies.

92. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. UZMA IRFAN. Director, Corporate Communications, Prestige Group. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Effective Communicator & Mentor
Uzma Irfan joined thePrestige Group in 2007as Director, CorporateCommunications whenthe brand was undergoingrapid expansion anddiversification.She is currentlyresponsible for MarketingCommunication, CorporateCommunication, Brandingand all image relatedinitiatives for the PrestigeGroup. Uzma has alsosuccessfully establisheda media-buying house‘Sublime’ to helpmanage the diverse andvoluminous advertisingneeds of the Group. Othermilestones include theconceptualization anddesign of the company’sbrand manual. Shehas also developedthe widely-popular‘Falcon News’, whichhas grown to becomea recognized magazinewith a circulation of over15,000. Target readershipincludes customers andstake-holders, in India andabroad.She is also an avidsupporter of upcomingartists and helps themshowcase their work atthe art gallery in UB City.Uzma manages theexternal communicationrequirements includingtheir online andadvertising needs forMorph Designs, theinterior design companyof the Prestige Group,.The Retail and Hospitalitywings of the companyare other divisions thatUzma supports. Uzma isalso responsible for givinga facelift to the CREDAImagazine - ‘The Real EstateReview’, targeting the realestate industry. During herstint, the Prestige Grouphas secured a lion’s share ofvarious industry and mediaawards including bothnational & internationalrecognitions. Uzma Irfanhas single-handedlychampioned this effort andthe awards list includesreputed organizations likeFIABCI, CNBC, Cityscape,CREDAI and PRCI toname a few.Uzma earneda BA in American InterContinental University inLondon with Honours.
Links/References:

https://www.prestigeconstructions.com/about-us-overview/board-of-directors-uzma-irfan/

YOUTH INSPIRATIONS [ Under 30 Achievers]

93. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. ALINA ALAM, Founder Mitti Cafe & #39. Advocate Disability & Inclusion. Forbes 30 under 30 (2020). Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Celebrating Inclusion in Style
Alina Alam is the founder of ‘Mitti Café & #39; which is a chain of cafes that provides experiential training and employment to adults with physical, intellectual and psychiatric disability. The organization’s outreach initiative also helps create awareness about inclusion and disability rights. She aims to change the disability in the general public’s perception that stops us from seeing the magic of their abilities.
Mitti Cafés across India are managed by hundreds of adults with disability. In the last 3 years they have served over 5 million meals and beverages, thereby creating awareness about inclusion with every meal served. Their warriors, in this pandemic, have cooked and served over 1.3 million meals to the poor and vulnerable communities and homeless groups.
The first Mitti café was started in 2017 in the campus of Deshpande Foundation, Hubli. By 2021 they had 13 cafes and 116 adults with disabilities who run these cafes. These teams of managers, chefs, servers etc. consists entirely of differently abled people with dwarfism, motor disabilities, visual impairment, autism, Down syndrome etc. All the while, creating an atmosphere of bonhomie, so much so that there have been many marriages among their teams. Thus Mitti Cafes are showcasing the magic of abilities as a result of economic independence and dignity.
Alina’s work has been featured in the Forbes list of 30 under 30 for the year 2020. She is a Commonwealth Youth Awardee and has won awards like the NCPEDEP Mindtree Hellen Keller Award, Times of India-She Unlimited Award ,Rotary Exemplar award, Microsoft Nipman Award, Tiecon Young female Entrepreneur of the Year Award, amongst others.
References

94. RBTC Karnataka Honoree.ASMA KULSUM, All India and Asia Pacific rank holder CIMA Adv Dip MA(UK) . Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Equipped to be a global Accountant
Asma Kulsum is a CIMA(UK) graduate. Throughouther school life, Asma wasconsistently amongst thetop three rankers. Lookingat her academic record, herentire family advised herto opt for science for PUC,but she had a keennessfor commerce and financeand was resolute about herchosen commerce stream.After PUC, it is the normfor commerce graduatesto choose CA, but Asmawanted a degree whichwas internationallyrecognised, such that shecould work anywhere inthe world. And wanted adegree which would puther in the front end ofmaking business andfinancial decisions. Thatis when she came acrossCIMA (UK).Asma conducted extensiveresearch about CIMA(UK)on her own, and knewthat that was the bestpath for her. Even thoughher decision was met withhesitation, she stood herground and went aheadwith it, anyhow. She choseJain University, Jayanagar,Bangalore for her undergraduationin BCOM(HONS) Risk Managementand completed herMasters/PG in CIMA (UK).She topped her classand University and wasawarded a gold medalfor the same. She sooncompleted her CIMA(UK)degree, winning 3 All Indiaranks and 1 Asia Pacificrank, being the onlystudent from her batch todo so.Owing to her passion forbusiness, Asma wishes tobe an entrepreneur and isat present, workingon her startup.

95. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, BUSHRA MATEEN Golden Civil Engineer, Raichur. Click side arrow for profile details.

Gold Medalist par Excellence
Bushra Mateen is noordinary graduate in CivilEngineering First RankHolder and recipient of16 gold medals at 21stConvocation ceremony ofVisvesvaraya TechnologicalUniversity (VTU). A recordof highest gold medals inthe history of 21 years ofVTU.Bushra did her graduationfrom SLN College ofEngineering, Raichur. Herfather Shaik Zahiruddinis a Civil Engineer andthis inspired her to optfor civil engineering.Visvesvaraya TechnologicalUniversity (VTU) has morethan 218 colleges all overthe Karnataka State. OnMarch 10th 2022 VTU21st Convocation washeld at Belagavi andBushra was the First RankHolder in her branch aswell as in all branches ofher University. She wasawarded 16 gold medalsby Honorable Speakerof Lok Sabha, HonorableGovernor of Karnatakaand Honorable Ministerof Higher Education. Shehas been a consistenttopper in academics froman early age, with an SSLCpercentage is 94.72, PUCpercentage is 93.33 andDegree CGPA is 9.73.Ms. Mateen is 22 years oldand is from Raichur district.Bushra completed herschooling from St Mary’sConvent School, Raichur,and further completed herPUC from Pramana PUCollege, Raichur.Bushra says “The keyto my success is strongfaith in ALLAH (SWT). Thisachievement is of myfour years of hard work,dedication towards mystudies. In my opinion“Everything is possible, ifyou never give up”. Bushraaims to join Civil Services.She wants to serve thesociety majorly in theeducation field.
References:

96. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. FARHEEN CHOUDHARY, Public Health Professional. Click side arrow for profile details.

Healthcare Champion
Fareen Choudhary is a public health professional. Being an Army child, she has travelled and completed her schooling at various Kendriya Vidyalayas across the country. Encouraged by her brother, she has been a gender champion and vocal about her learnings from her education on various platforms. She has completed her bachelor’s in Ayurvedic Medicine from Government Ayurvedic Medical College Bengaluru. She has practiced as a junior doctor at K.C. General Hospital, NIMHANS, KIDWAI Cancer Hospital, and Rural Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Doddaballapur.
While pursuing her 2 years of Masters of Public Health at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, she worked on various government projects, along with National Health Missions in Rajasthan & Maharashtra and various health projects covering Mumbai slums. Her research focuses on the economic evaluation of smart canes used by visually challenged individuals in India as part of the WHO assistive technology program, also published as a working paper in the reputed Cambridge Open Engage journal for same. She was the only foreign exchange student from her class at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, USA.
Currently, she has been a senior Product Manager in the National Corporate health team since 2019 at ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd. She was also a National Taekwondo silver medalist in her younger days

97. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. FOUQIA WAJID. Screenwriter & Visual content producer. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Creative Excellence
In 1992, Fouqia Wajid wasborn to a mother whohad just completed herthesis for PhD. Her guide,who had a keen interestin Astrology, suggestedan Arabic name ‘Fouqia’for the girl. Though theparents did not adhere toastrology, they went aheadwith this name whichmeans ‘to excel’.
Growing up in a literaryfamily, Fouqia penned herfirst poem ‘Sky’ in Grade1. Her own collection ofEnglish poems, ‘Screech’was released whenshe was 16. Fouqia hasexplored multiple areas ofart and literature – fromwriting and directing herfirst plays for Doordarshanand All India Radio,Bengaluru at the age of16, founding an NGO ‘OnFire’ for youth to providinga platform in creativearts, curating ‘The GreatIndian Poetry Contest’,to editing internationalpoetry anthologies inEnglish Aatish 1 Aatish 2which feature noteworthycontemporary Urdu poets.The list is long and varied.
Fouqia has completedMasters in MassCommunication fromJamia Millia Islamia, NewDelhi. She worked as awriter and producer forViacom 18 Motion Pictures,and as a screenwriterwith Colors Kannada. Shehas shot and directeddocumentary films foreminent Urdu writers inKarnataka, and hosted’Aao Sunen’, a podcast onUrdu Short Stories.Recently, she has directeda Documentary Film‘Fouzia Naama’, and hascompiled the essaysabout her mother and haspublished a memorablecollection called ‘Aaina darAaina’ .About to knock on the doorof her 30s, Fouqia is happilymarried, pursuing Ph.D inMass Communication andworking as Founder CEOat a Multifaceted Videoand Film Production firm‘Zooq Films’.

References:• https://www.linkedin.com/in/fouqia-wajid-28271763/• https://zooqfilms.com

98. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. LAMYA MAJID, Botanist. Click side arrow for profile details.

A Science Researcher Going Places
Lamya always loved biology when she was growing up. When she was deciding on a degree, as it is the case for many young Indians going to college, it was assumed that if one liked Science, you take up Engineering. If you liked Biology, you should take up Medicine. While both these fields are highly challenging and rewarding, she knew that they were not her calling. Instead, she opted to study Chemistry, Botany and Zoology at St Aloysius College, Mangalore.
Immediately Lamya was fascinated with research and undertook small projects documenting flora and fauna in the region. Her interest in research during her Bachelor’s led her to pursue a Master’s in Botany at the University of Mysore. During her Master’s programme, she developed a particular interest in host-pathogen interactions, from the plant pathology classes taught at the University. For her MSC Botany, Lamya won 7 gold medals and 2 cash prizes - an uncommon feat by any standards. Lamya loved and enjoyed what she was learning and while she was not particularly studious, she put my time and effort into gaining and developing research and academic writing skills. She believed pursuing scientific research is an act of service to humanity and the world of Nature.
Currently, she is a first year PhD Doctoral Training Programme student in Biosciences in the UK. She is working on understanding post-harvest disease resistance in crop plants against fungal pathogens. Plant sciences is an exciting field and there is much to learn, and she is very excited at the prospects of contributing to discoveries in this field.
References:

99. RBTC Karnataka Honoree, RIDA THARANA, A Content Creator Whose Breaking Stereotypes By Empowering, Inspiring & Motivating Women. Bengaluru. Click side arrow for profile details.

Motivates & EmpowersRida was brought up ina conservative family inCoorg. She is a ScienceGraduate from the GardenCity University, Bangalore.
At 17, she started workingas an MC of events firstcasually and tentatively.Then as popularityand acceptance grew,inhibitions were shed. Shetook this up to supplementher funds. In two years, shestarted earning enough tocontribute towards payingback her education loan.Pandemic struck andbrought live events to ascreeching halt. This ledRida to a 9 to 5 corporatejob. It was a learningexperience, for sure, butalso made Rida realise itwas not her cup of tea.In addition, the typicalpatriarchal expectationof her “settling down”while young men wentout for higher educationalso vexed her. She gavevent to her feelings onstereotyping of women andthe need for a change inmindsets using Instagramstarting October 2020. Oneof her videos went viralin November 2020 andthe rest is history. Whatstarted off as her opinionsharing, turned into a fulltimeactivity. Her journeyas a content creator hadbegun. Not just to inspireherself, but to inspire allthe women around her.Most of her content is allabout motivational videos,self-reminders, breakingstereotypes, empoweringwomen.
Rida is fluent in English,Hindi, Kannada andMalayalam. She hostscorporate, non-corporateas well as weddingevents. Social media isher mainstay. One recentmilestone was selectionas the Brand Ambassadorfor Meta and as part ofthat, being featured on abillboard in Chennai.
References:

100. RBTC Karnataka Honoree. RIZWANA, First Women’s Commando Team, Kalaburagi. Click side arrow for profile details.

Breaking stereotypes as Commando
Rizwana hails from a village Jawalid in Kalaburagi. Her parents work as farmers. She went to the Government school of Jawalid, Taluk Aland. All through school whe won Sports prizes.. She was good in Kabaddi. Further, she went to the Aland Girls Government college for PUC. The college was far and busses were infrequent. Sometimes on an empty stomach she went to study because she was quite sure she needed to. She was trusted by her parents enough that they allowed her to travel more than 50 Km to college by bus.
Her target was to be in a position that would make her feel more secure in her tiny remote village. Joining the Police services came as a good option. On her way to college someone told her that applications were out for Constable positions. She applied once but did not join. Then in 2017, when she found a batch where postings would be in institutions like Dams, Courts, etc. she joined. Rizwana was the first all-woman commando team after undergoing training to handle any kind of terror attack or save victims of such attacks. The trainees are hand-picked, Garuda is the state’s special operational team and anti-terror force formed in 2010. This is the first time that the department trained 50 women to join the force.
In 2021, during an event in honour of visiting DGP, Rizwana won the 400m running race and got a book and soe cash as the prize. Rizwana is currently posted in Kalaburgi Court and is looking forward to more training and education to move up in the Police Cadre.
References/Sources:

Team Karnataka @ Bengaluru

State Coordinator: Ms. Zoya Fatehally

Research Analyst & Editor: Aiman Ansari

Contributors: Fathima R F

Tazaiyun

Sabiha Zubair

Lubna Ludheen

ZOYA FATEHALLY, Coordinator, Rising Beyond the Ceiling for Karnataka State. Bengaluru

Zoya Nayara Fatehally has worked since 2008 with Nokia Systems and Networks (formerly Alcatel Lucent India Ltd) at Bengaluru. She served as a Squad group Leader/Technical Manager.
Earlier Zoya has worked at the Centre for Development of Telematics starting 1985, contributing to the telecom revolution of India – active member of the engineering team the PBX, RAX, MAX – not only design, test and field support but also taking the equipment to external laboratories for certifications. In 2000, she joined Velankini Information systems as the Quality and Product manager. Took the company from ad-hoc to ISO 9001 certified in record time.
Next, Zoya became a part of the Indigenous hand-held computer team at Picopeta Simputers Pvt. Ltd. Successfully productised the Simputer in her role was the technical liaison between the tiny Academics’ led company and the India giant Bharat Electronics Ltd. Following this, was Indian start-up – MobiApps Pvt. Ltd., developing tracking products.
Born in 1960, Zoya completed her schooling and joined Aligarh Muslim University as an Engineering student. Completed Bachelor’s and Masters in Engineering from the Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology of AMU. Zoya is also PMP (Project Management Professional) certified.
Zoya developed a deep interest in horse riding. At age 10, she joined the AMU Riding club and continued to be an enthusiastic and able horse rider , winning a National Tent Pegging prize and eventually, after being champion and Runners Up in the open competition at the club, went on to be the first (& perhaps only) woman captain of AMU Riding Club.
Links/References
https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoya-fatehally-8a4ba3/?originalSubdomain=in

AIMAN ANSARI, Research Analyst & Editor. Rising Beyond the Ceiling for Karnataka State. Bengaluru.

Aiman Ansari is an architecture student at Bengaluru and is passionate about women's issues. She is an intern analyst with the Karnataka RBTC initiative and is working closely with the Coordinator Ms. Zoya Fatehally.

LUBNA LUDHEEN, Analyst, Publication Team. Rising Beyond the Ceiling, Karnataka State. Bengaluru.

My name is Lubna Ludheen. I have completed my Bachelor’s in Economics with Foreign Trade as specialization from SCMS School of Technology and Management, Cochin. I am currently pursuing my Master's in Public Policy from Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru, Karnataka. I was part of many social clubs at my previous college like Swara (Women’s Cell), Red Ribbon Club (HIV/AIDS Awareness Club) and the National Service Scheme. My hobbies include reading books and painting. My main interest areas are gender equality, public policy, and women empowerment. My native home is in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. In the RBTC team I will be supporting the development of the RBTC 100 Karnataka publication. More about me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lubna-ludheen-7b6880201/?originalSubdomain=in

Rising Beyond The Ceiling is supported by SAFAR Foundation . SAFAR stands for Supporting Action For Advancement & Rights.
The photographs and text on this website has been provided by individual women honorees through interviews, emails, text as well as taken from the references and sources which are provided with the profiles. The excerpts may be freely distributed and shared provided the source #RisingBeyondTheCeiling is referenced and/or hash tagged.
While the team have made every effort to provide accurate information at the time of publication, neither the editors or the RBTC assume any responsibilities for errors or changes that occur after publication or assume any responsibility for third party websites or their content.
For more information contact risingbeyondtheceiling@gmail.com

" Women reach greater heights when doing so seems normal and expected" - Farah K. Usmani
A passionate champion of women, DR. FARAH K. USMANI is the Founder & Chairperson of Rising Beyond The Ceiling, a global initiative to shine a spotlight on the achievements of Muslim women of India and contribute towards changing their stereotypical narrative. Dr. Usmani is an International Health and Development expert based in New York. She has experience of twenty-five years working with the United Nations International Civil Service in several countries across the world and has provided policy, planning, and programming, and leadership with a focus on women and girls. Farah has also worked with the public sector and non-governmental donor programs in India and is the Global Vice President of SAFAR Foundation, India.
Dr. Usmani has broken several gender stereotypes in her professional and personal life. She is the first woman from her home state of Uttar Pradesh, and the first Muslim woman from India, to work with the United Nations International Civil Service at Director level in New York. She is the first women to top the All-India Medical Entrance Examination of Aligarh Muslim University, where she completed her medical studies. Dr. Usmani has received several awards and recognitions as well as merit fellowships from the World Bank and British Council. Besides service recognition awards from the United Nations, UNFPA, she is also the recipient of the 2021 Mahatma Award for Social Impact for contribution to women, girls, and minorities. Dr. Usmani has an M.D. in Obstetrics and Gynecology from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, India and a Master’s in Health Policy Planning and Financing given jointly by the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London.

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