Author, journalist and documentary filmmaker Minnie Vaid’s book, Those Magnificent Women and their Flying Machines: ISRO’S Mission to Mars was launched on Monday, March 25, by Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi.
The book traces the lives, struggles and accomplishments of Indian women scientists in ISRO who have taken the organisation from mission to mission.
Speaking to Quint Hindi, Minnie Vaid said, “My book is about ISRO women scientists who worked on the Mars mission and the other ISRO women scientists who worked on different ISRO missions.”
“All these women scientists are role models for future generations, especially for girls –especially those girls who are told science is not for them, which is completely wrong.”Minnie Vaid
Vaid added, “Girls can also touch the skies in Science and STEM (subjects) just like the ISRO women scientists.”
The Challenges of Being a Woman in STEM
On the question of gender stereotypes in STEM fields, Vaid said, “There is no problem in science that only a man can solve and not a woman. Still, there is a belief that a woman’s success in these fields is an exception. But Indian women have poked holes in this thought. Many Indian women scientists have been doing a lot of work, quietly.”
Vaid told The News Minute, “For most of the women, the challenge began with being ‘allowed’ to pursue science beyond graduation, or to go out of their comfort zone and travel far-off to study and then to working at ISRO.”
The Rocket Women of ISRO
In 2013, ISRO launched the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) called ‘Mangalyaan’. For the first time, India saw women scientists in saris celebrating the mission’s successful launch.
Out of the 500 scientists who worked in ISRO, 27% were women in main positions. For example, Nandini Harinath and Ritu Karidal served as deputy operations director for Mangalyaan.
In her book, Vaid has profiled 21 women scientists. In addition to Harinath and Karidal, others include Minal Sampath and Moumita Datta who worked on the complex scientific instruments or payloads aboard the Mars Orbiter; and even senior women scientists like Seetha Somasundaram, Programme Director Space Science; N Valarmathi, Deputy Director URSC (U R Rao Satellite Centre) and TK Anuradha, the Programme Director of GEOSAT (Geodetic Satellite).
Vaid told The Quint that she believes this book is an inspiration for young girls, as it shows them the many paths women have taken to be successful.
(With inputs from The News Minute)
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