Someone restored a wetland that everyone thought was already lost. Someone broke a world record from a small room in Chandigarh. Someone brought home India’s first Grand Prix at Cannes. Someone carried a rhino calf to safety through waist-deep floodwater.

Across India, women didn’t just make headlines this year — they shifted what we imagine is possible. Their courage showed up in classrooms, marshlands, literary festivals, farm fields, forest camps and global stages, often in the quietest, most determined ways.

Here are 10 women who redefined 2025 with the force of their conviction.

Payal Kapadia’s Cannes win didn’t just make news; it shifted the way the world sees Indian cinema. When All We Imagine As Light became the first Indian film to win the Grand Prix, it closed a 30-year wait and opened a new chapter for homegrown storytelling.

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Her journey started at FTII, where she picked up her camera to explore identity, longing, and the everyday lives that rarely make it to global screens. Today, her breakthrough has become a signal to young filmmakers across India — especially women — that their stories have a place on the world stage.

For over three decades, Advocate Varsha Deshpande has been India’s silent storm against gender-biased sex selection. Her fight began with a simple, uncomfortable question — why were girls disappearing from her community? That question became the foundation of Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal and a movement that has exposed some of Maharashtra’s most entrenched illegal sex-determination rackets.

Varsha has led 50-plus decoy operations, including the landmark cases in Beed that sent rogue doctors to prison. In 2025, her work earned her the UN Population Award, but she sees it as recognition for the brave women who stood beside her in sting rooms, courtrooms, and village councils. Her mission remains clear: every girl deserves a chance at life, dignity and safety.

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