The Ministry of Women and Child Development hosted a felicitation event for Web Wonder Women, a campaign organised to celebrate the exceptional achievements of women, who have been driving social reforms via social media. As many as 30 women, who were selected after an extensive research process, were honoured by the Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi in New Delhi, on 6th March, 2019.Organised in collaboration with Twitter India and Breakthrough India, the event aimed to recognise the fortitude of Indian women stalwarts from across the globe who have used the power of social media to run positive campaigns to steer a change in society."Women online, though niche, are a very powerful voice. #WebWonderWomen was a campaign to recognise, honour and encourage such voices that have in their own capacity driven a positive impact on social media platforms," said Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, Union Minister for Women and Child Development.
The WCD Minister, along with a panel of 10 judges, finalised the names of 30 women who have impacted and influenced society through social media. The women were selected from over 240 nominations received under the categories media, awareness, legal, health, governmental, food, environment, development, business and art.On 8th March, the Ministry honours women who have contributed to society but have remained unsung with the Nari Shakti Puruskar, which is conferred by the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Along with these Puruskars, the Ministry started a new system of recognising women who have broken the glass ceiling and ventured into unusual fields. In 2018, the Ministry hosted 'First Ladies', a first-of-its-kind Government initiative to felicitate exceptional women who were the first to set a milestone in their respective fields. In 2015, the Ministry had collaborated with Facebook to recognise '100 Women Achievers' who have excelled in diverse sectors of public work. These women were hosted by His Excellency the President of India. Web Wonder Women' is the third leg of the ‘Women Achievers’ campaign of the Ministry.