We Women Want Conclave & Shakti Awards 2025: Top Five Highlights, Shashi Tharoor, Smt.Rekha Gupta And Many More

The event celebrated the strength and achievements of women and also spoke about the many issues they face in everyday life. Big names like politician Shashi Tharoor, actress Dia Mirza, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Ekta Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, and Sunny Leone attend and shared their journey. A big thank you to all the women who came out here to speak about their journey, to Smt. Rekha Gupta, State partners- Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Also a big thank you to Dr. Aishwarya Pandit Sharma- Chairperson, The Sunday Guardian Foundation

Surveen Chawla believes that lies in saying NO. She says her journey reflects her growth as a mother, a wife, a daughter, a child and even as Surveen Chawla. 

She talks about diving deep into self -introspection, and self- reflection.  She talks about how unthinkable her 4 releases in 3 months are and is totally unthinkable.

She says her shakti lies in her ecosystem, her family who have given her the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them. 

Surveen recounts how she feels if during her therapy periods, she had gained a little more perspective, she would have have not lost those days. 

She says that communication is key and that telling everything to your family is very important as they have the best in mind for you.  

Neha Dhupia  talks about how it is important to talk about topics like motherhood, as you never know who you might be influencing. 

One must also ensure that their voice is heard by a massive crowd.

She talks about the days when she feels anxious, her go to person is her parents, who help her get through everything.  

She talks about how different mothers stories influence others to discuss them too and come up and be open about your issues. She mentions how even a simple problem should be discussed about publicly, as it helps all mothers feel safe. 

Shabana Azmi derives her inner shakti from the values  given by her parents. 

All art does have the ability to make you change, one cant change right the next day but that realization will come to them and they will change over time. 

She talks about her film, Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani and how the message was very different and was portrayed very beautifully. She also shares a funny anecdote regarding her character in the film.

Shashi Tharoor talks about Trump and his tariff system and how bizarre he found it.  We might have to look somewhere else. 

He talks about the things he discussed with the US when he visited them recently. He conveyed the clear message also that we want peace but if Pakistan attacks we shall too. He also clearly mentioned that no intervention was actually required. 

He also talks about how the message was very clear and the reason behind this tariff system is unknown. 

Word of the day in Hindi is ‘Padho”. He talks about the importance of reading and not the online kind.  He says that one must do complex reading,  where you read a large text which you understand completely.  His advice to parents is to make the children read books of their liking initially to get them engaged. 

Lt Gen. Sadhna Saxena Nair-  AVSM, VSM DGMS, Indian Army

Dr Purnima Devi Barman -Wildlife Conservationist [Assam]

Pooja Elangbam -DC, Bishnupur District [Manipur]

Rima Das -Filmmaker & National Awardee 

Niti Batra Director-  Joy Travels & Angel Investor

Shabana Azmi -Actor 

Ekta Kapoor-Founder and Joint Managing Director of Balaji Telefilms Limited

Dia Mirza- Actor & Producer

Neha Dhupia- Actor

Nikita Luther- Gaming Icon & Co-Winner, The Traitors India

Nomita Kohli – Principal Designer, Wisma Atria Interiors

Chanda Narang- CEO of Frazer and Haws

Gajendra Shekhawat talks about how his daughter wanted to be in sports. 

He says that India is undergoing “Era of Cultural Renassance”. “Dekho hamara desh” was a show to encourage children to visit other places in India, and to emphasize on the importance of tourism in India. 

He also mentions about Trump and the tariff system. He also tells everyone to visit every state and every place in India as there is a difference in cultures everywhere. 

For Ekta Kapoor, style is what you believe in , you wear what you believe in and live in a similar fashion.  

She talks about Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2, and how she wanted to show a different side to the show too. She says that impact with entertainment is her mantra. 

She talks about the change in the old Smriti Irani and her now, she is very powerful and speaks much more and has a stand, unlike how she was, timid. 

Ekta Kapoor said her shakti is taken by her surroundings. She also talks about how she chooses her battles. She chooses the one which she will lose in and not the one she would win in. 

She talks about how she wants to be remembered- We hated her for all the things we love her for today. 

Dia Mirza derives her inner shakti from other powerful women in her life especially her mother, who went through every part of life with a smile on her face. 

She talks about how she looked at the environment and how we are wasting our resources. She also talks about her experience by understanding the co relation between humans and the environment. 

Malavika Mohanan says that her style depends on her mood, on some days it can be her mother’s cotton sari but on another day it can be a power suit. 

Social media today is a very important tool but it depends on how we use it.  She talks about how today people are unable to sleep without scrolling reels. 

She also addresses the issue of not having good scripts today, and about the difference between the salary of male actors and writers. 

Harsimrat Kaur Badal talks about how today biases have become so common that we no longer think about it. She opened up a stitching centre in her village and taught them how to use and today they are earning money which has empowered them to think large and stand up on their feet.

Sushmita Dev talks about how Mamata Banerjee’s struggle has inspired many people. 

They shared stories of their life which shows their journey and how they lived their life and how that has changed today. 

Lt Gen. Sadhna Saxena Nair was inspired by her father and she gives him all the credit for even helping others in her family to join the arm forces.  This concept of “Service before self” was engrained in her from childhood and is exactly what she wanted to continue even outside the army. 

She talks about the advantage of being an army child- one learns to adapt to change, go to different schools, look at different cultures and learn to be positive to change. 

Nikita Luther talks about how she found her strength from being in a men dominated field.

She talk about how she used her poker skills to win The Traitors. 

She talks about the people she is contact with even today after the show. 

She very openly said that poker and gambling are separate things. And also how poker was an escape mechanism for her initially.  

Pooja Elangbam says that as women we have to put in more efforts to come up today. She says that we are putting a lot of efforts to understand the needs of women to help uplift them and provide the platform to them. 

Dr Purnima Devi Barman talks about the culture of Assam and how that helps empower women and also ensures wildlife conservation. 

Rima Das talks about journey of film making and how she initially did not want to passionately join filmmaking. 

North east women must own up their own stories, instead of other filmmakers discussing these. 

Sunny Leone -Actor

Sayali Bhagat -Actor & Entrepreneur

According to Sunny Leone, her most important part as a woman is being a mother. 

The word “Objection” does not have to definitely be negative. She is very happy about having a wonderful beautiful family.  She talks about the importance of a supportive husband.

She talks about the difficulty and patience required to adopt a child and how mentally you must think of that child as yours and not as an outsider. You and your partner both must provide equal care to the child to make her also comfortable with you. 

In Numerology, each number stands for something different. 

Dr. Jai Madaan defined women of today- as powerful, strong, emotionally balanced. They have the strength to go through pain and pleasure well. 

Sahiba Bali believes that the women of today are the same as that of the past. While earlier the stage wasnt there for them at that time today they do. 

Sonia Garg says that the women of today are unapologetic and can be anything they want to be. She gets her “Shakti” from her family.

Dr. Madaan defines Shakti as being emotionally, mentally and socially very strong. 

Sayali Bhagat believes that the best depiction of women is using the goddesses- A women with many hands. 

India has more that 15% women entrepreneurs today. But that is much better than many years back. 

Even today in some cities, women’s main role is the kitchen and family. they also dont have a lot of support from their own families. Women are taught to follow but not to lead. 

A few families have started supporting their wives, daughters , sisters and mothers. 

Dr. Tanya Buckshee Rohatgi- Director, Reproductive Medicine, IVF & Oncofertility
Max Super Speciality Hospital

Dr. Gita Prakash- Family Physician

Dr. Anjila Aneja -Senior Director, Fortis La Femme

Dr. Jayasree Sundar- Obstetrician and Gynecologist

Dr. Jai Madaan -Spiritual Mentor & Celebrity Astrologer

Sonia Garg – Fashion & Lifestyle Content Creator

Sahiba Bali – Actor & Sports Presenter

Breast Cancer does not have a calendar, we must not only talk about it during the “awareness month”. The challenges we are facing with cancer is early detection. The earlier the detection the earlier the treatment. 

There is a breast health checkup available, this is a machine which you can use at home. This can help you get reports on the spot even without the internet. 

IVF is not only because of the women, it can also be due to men. Both the genders can have equal contribution in the difficulty in having children. 

While we have a biological clock,  we must understand our lifestyle, we are a “Instant noodle” generation, and therefore do not pay attention to many things. 

Menopause can be looked at positively or negatively. But the best is to look at it as freedom. 

Regular checkups are important for every women, especially those going through menopause.

Every women must know their own body and their own health, and their is no one size fits all methods for any concerns. We must regularly check our health.

As soon as you go through some pain in your body, or see a discharge of any kind from your body, go to your doctor immediately. 

Anuradha Das Mathur- Dean & Founder, Vedica Scholars Programme for Women

Language of design means finding your own style, your own art, and owning it. 

Chanda Narang has the biggest question for everyone- Who Am I? According to her the best way to understand yourself is by being silent and that helps us carve ourselves and understand ourselves. 

Women power is as important as men power. 

There is a difference , maybe we are going slow but still , there is a difference, between how it was before and how it is now. 

According to Chanda Narang, women lost their power once everything became ritualistic. The rituals just caged the women and defined duties and what they can and cannot do. 

They mention how mythological characters must be given a different female character and must be brought up in public to help society understand women empowerment. 

Namita Bhandare spoke about how bringing up boys is really important. Talking to them will help in addressing the main issue. Just empowering the men wont do, one has to explain it to them as well. 

Leher Kala talks about how young boys are getting different messages from different people in society and that is not helping them. Boys dont understand how to react to a situation when a girl does better than men. 

What young men consume today on social media plays a big role on how they see women today. 

Leher talks about “Raja Beta Syndrome” and how that is playing on their minds. At home, they are taken care of a little better but out in the open, people dont care enough. Both the genders  must be equally shown that they are equal and the only way to do that is to treat them equally. 

We must change the way both boys and girls are treated, and that will help improve the situation for both the genders.

Living in Delhi, Nimrat Kaur is a big foodie. 

She talks about how it is important for one to know their own path and follow that path, It is important to understand ourselves and focus on ourselves and understand our life choices. 

Mrs. Asha, Nirbhaya’s mother, sheds tears as she speaks about her daughter.

Sharing her grief on stage, she recalls how, at times, even women failed to support her and how she was harassed by many.

 She expresses heartfelt gratitude to the media for their support and kind words, and thanks the court for delivering justice. She also thanks Seema for standing by her during her toughest times, and stands in solidarity with all rape victims’ families.

WE WOMEN WANT solemnly honors the courage of the parents and the memories of the souls of the Nirbhaya and RG Kar rape victims. This heartfelt tribute acknowledges their immense strength and resilience, highlighting the ongoing struggle for justice and the urgent need for safety for women across India. Their stories continue to inspire awareness and change nationwide. WE WOMEN WANT calls this fight a war against the darkest evils in society.

During the event, the parents—who showed incredible bravery by coming onto the stage—were deeply moved, their emotions overwhelming as memories and flashbacks of their daughters surfaced. With quiet tears, they shared the immense pain and struggle they have endured, reminding us all of the human cost behind the fight for justice.

The “Lakhpati Didi” initiative by the Ministry of Rural Development empowers rural women through economic self-sufficiency. A “Lakhpati Didi” is a Self-Help Group (SHG) member whose household income exceeds ₹1,00,000 annually, sustained over at least four agricultural seasons or business cycles. This program celebrates women entrepreneurs transforming rural India. WE WOMEN WANT proudly welcomes Lakhpati Didis Usha Devi and Lalita Lata Sharma as inspiring rural entrepreneurs. Their success stories highlight the power of women-led economic growth and the impact of grassroots initiatives in uplifting communities across the country.

Usha Devi, an entrepreneur from Haryana, feels grateful to be part of the event. She has been running her business since 2018 and proudly ensures all her products are completely chemical-free.

Though she initially wanted to start mushroom farming, she eventually found success in the aachar business.

Starting with just Rs. 450, she now earns in lakhs and inspires many women to start their own ventures and build a name for themselves.

At the opening of the We Women Want Conclave & Shakti Awards 2025, Dr. Aishwarya Pandit Sharma called the event “not a conclave, but a movement” aimed at celebrating the strength and spirit of women. She also shared that the Shakti Awards are named in honour of her mother-in-law, who has been a true example of courage and inspiration.