Union Minister Smriti Irani Confers 'Vishishta Mahila Ratna Samman' to Entrepreneur Nowhera Shaik

New Delhi: Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani on Tuesday conferred "Vishishta Mahila Ratna Samman" to well-known socialist Dr. Nowhera Shaik for working towards the upliftment of suffering masses. The function was organized by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).

Executive Chairperson and Founder of Heera Group Dr. Nowhera Shaik, since her early age, has been majorly working towards the needs of women mostly in the field of education. At the tender age of 19, she started giving lessons in religion and scriptures to girls. Starting from six girls, she took this initiative to build a service-oriented education institution in 1998 where 150 students were taught. Out of 150 students, 120 were given free education.

After receiving this award, Ms Nowhera Shaik said "It really feels good when your work gets recognised. Though, I have never intended to take up the cause of empowering women with an aim to get rewarded as I believe that my greatest reward is to make women enablers. I will continue to work for the upliftment of the downtrodden and for the education of the girls as the real empowerment of a woman begins from imparting her good education".

In 2007, she went a step ahead and setup a residential school at Chandragiri village. During the initial years, Dr. Shaik managed the cost of running the schools through her personal donation but the increasing running cost forced her to look for other sources of income.

For her contribution towards society, she has been conferred with various awards including Mumbai Ratan Award in 2013, Bharat Gaurav Award in 2014, Rajiv Gandhi Shiromani Award, and others. She has also received Business Leadership Icon in 2018 from a minister in the UAE government.