For the women whose work is never in the citation
Pillar V — The Nari Shakti Global Recognition Awards. Free to enter. Judged independently.
Every year, the Nari Shakti Forum recognises women whose work in science, natural resource management, enterprise and community leadership has changed something measurable — and who are almost never nominated for anything.
Free to enter. Free to attend. No fee at any stage, from anyone. If anyone asks you for money in connection with these awards, they are not from the Nari Shakti Forum, and we want to know about it.
Anyone may nominate, and you may nominate yourself. A nomination in your own language, spoken into a phone, carries exactly the same weight as one written in English on letterhead. Dates for this year's nominations are announced on this page.
Eight ways to be recognised
| Category | Who it recognises | What is assessed |
|---|---|---|
| Woman Scientist of the Year | Applied research in agriculture, food, water, health, energy or materials that has reached the field | Field application and measurable benefit — not citation count or institutional rank |
| Natural Resource Steward | Water, soil, forest, commons, biodiversity and climate resilience work led by women | Area and community affected, durability of the outcome, community ownership |
| Grassroots Change-Maker | Community leadership that shifted something structural — a right claimed, a practice ended, an institution opened | Scale relative to her means, durability, whether it survives without her |
| Women's Collective of the Year | A WFPO, SHG federation or producer collective | Member income change, governance quality, women's control of the institution |
| Woman Entrepreneur | Micro and small enterprise, including first-generation and rural | Livelihoods created, particularly for other women; resilience; honest books |
| Traditional Knowledge Custodian | A practitioner keeping and transmitting indigenous practice | Depth of practice, transmission to others, community recognition |
| Institutional Ally | A corporate, bank, department or institution that materially changed outcomes for women | Delivered outcomes only, never the size of a contribution. A donor may not buy this award |
| Young Woman Leader (under 30) | Early-career field leadership, including Forum volunteers | Trajectory and field evidence |
How it is judged
A web form · a WhatsApp voice note · a phone call to 7868878688 · a paper form at any Hope Haven centre. Nominations are accepted in English, Hindi, Telugu and Urdu, and transcribed by the Forum where they arrive by voice.
Field evidence — what changed, for whom, over what period, verifiable by someone the jury can call. Publications, awards already held and institutional position are explicitly not criteria.
Every shortlisted nomination is verified by a Forum officer who is not from the nominee's own city, and the verification note is retained.
No nominee is named publicly without her written consent. A woman whose work relates to trafficking, violence or safety may be recognised anonymously, or not at all, and that is her decision.
Independent of the Forum's board and management. Published by name, photograph, affiliation and declared interests before nominations close. A majority of women, and at least one practitioner from the field in every category. Any juror connected to a nominee steps aside from that category, and the recusal is published.
No sponsor, donor, partner or institutional funder sits on the jury, sees the shortlist, or is consulted on any decision. Sponsors are acknowledged at the event and nowhere in the process.
A citation, a trophy, and a grant to the winner's work rather than a cheque to the winner, where the category allows. Travel, accommodation and childcare are paid for every shortlisted nominee, whether or not she wins.
Full citations for every winner and every shortlisted nominee, permanently on this site with the jury's reasoning — and the number of nominations received in each category, including the categories that drew few.