Felicitating the self-made women

Jyoti Basu Memorial Foundation on Friday felicitated Ayesha Noor and Pratima Podder on March 6.

Jyoti Basu Memorial Foundation, a non-profit and non-political social organisation was founded by Basu's daughter in law Rakhi Basu.

Fashion Designer, Sharbari Datta was also present on the occasion.

Ayesha Noor, Kolkata's wonder karate kid and Pratima Podder, Kolkata's first woman bus driver were handed over plaques and 'Jyotirmoyee Awards 2020' that contain cash award of Rs 25,000 to each awardees.

Ayesha Noor had started karate at the age of 6 and is fighting epilepsy and poverty to come out of all odd stages in life and excel continuously. She aims to impart self-defense and martial arts training to one lakh girls every year for free of cost.

On the other hand, Pratima Podder is quite a self-made woman. Life became difficult for her when her husband met an accident and she had to take the lead to run her family. She took charge as the driver of the bus without a moment's hesitation. Now, the 42-year-old woman is the only woman bus driver in Kolkata and she leaves early in the morning to make the trip from Nimta to Howrah.

"We at Jyoti Basu Memorial Foundation believe that our society is largely

constituted by women. In today's world, women take the front row in all matters. We have instituted 'Jyotirmoyee Awards 2020' to salute the women who have fought the odds with all their strength and have come out being even stronger than before," said Rakhi Basu.

"I wish both Ayesha & Pratima the very best so that they can excel in their respective fields and encourage

others to be confident and excel in life. We would continue recognising triumphant women from various walks of life every year", added Basu.