Bollywood star Akshay Kumar’s spouse Twinkle Khanna who happens to be an award-winning author, film producer & female empowerment champion in her own right was amongst the top ten women entrepreneurs’ winners at 34th annual FICCI Women’s Group FLO (FICCI Ladies Organisation) Awards, which took place at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi in the presence of Guest of Honour President Ram Nath Kovind.
Twinkle Khanna was awarded the FLO Icon Award for Excellence in Conscientious Cinema as a reflection of her endeavors to raise awareness of menstrual hygiene, as co-producer of this year’s cell;uloid silver screen smash hit movie Pad Man.
Other notable award recipients included Missile Scientist Dr Tessy Thomas, Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory, Namita Gokhale, Author & Director of Jaipur Literature Festival & Falguni Nayar, Founder & CEO of the beauty empire NYKAA.
Released worldwide in Feb, 2018, Pad Man created a wave of intrigue across the globe thanks to its unconventional take on the menstrual hygiene crisis in India. Starring Bollywood heavyweights such as Akshay Kumar, Pad Man was written by R. Balki & co – produced by Twinkle Khanna through her production company, Mrs Funnybones.
Pad Man received critical acclaim internationally and was commended for providing an entertaining, yet educating & emotive comedic masterpiece, citing the struggles faced by menstruating women in India.
With statistics showing that menstruation leads to 20% of girls dropping out of education & 10% of girls in India believing it is a disease, Pad Man sought to raise awareness and destroy the stigma attached to the subject.
Twinkle Khanna’s unrelenting commitment to tackling prominent social issues, using her credentials as a producer, author & all – round women activist, has resulted in her being recognised as one of the most distinguished female empowerment champions in India.
The FLO award marks the latest accolade for Twinkle Khanna , who enjoyed a successful 2017 in which she was presented with the Celebrity Pioneer Award at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and was named “India Today’s Women Writer Of The Year” with her 2nd book “The Legend Of Lakshmi Prasad” selling over 100,000 copies and pitching in at #2 on the Amazon Bestseller List for Indian female authors.
Speaking about her award, Twinkle Khanna averred, “I am extremely honored to receive such a prestigious award, and to join an illustrious list of some truly awe – inspiring female entrepreneurs who have celebrated this accolade in years gone by. The FICCI Ladies Organization has been superbly represented females for decades, and this award is a fitting commendation to recognize the hard work & the success of women all over the country. In fact, Pad Man was a huge success, and I am very proud of the global reaction the film received. The film is more than a movie, it is a movement. We set out with the aim to start a conversation on menstrual hygiene to implement change, and we are thrilled not only about the discussions it triggered but the impact we have been seeing on ground. However, our work is not done, and there are still mountains to climb & boundaries to demolish before we can say that we have completely destroyed the taboo & stigma surrounding menstrual hygiene.”
FLO (FICCI Ladies Organisation) was established in 1983 as a division of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), which is the apex body of industry & commerce in India. The FLO Awards were created with a view to recognizing the achievements of women who have excelled in their own fields and have subsequently established themselves as inspirational icons in their societies. FLO represent over 5000 female entrepreneurs & professionals and with over 34 years of experience have been promoting the entrepreneurial excellence of women though workshops, seminars, conferences, training & building programmes.
Previous winners have included Chanda Kochlar, Chief Executive office (CEO), ICICI Bank & fashion mogul Anita Dongre.
