Here Is Why Nowhera Shaik Is Called The New Age Iron Lady

Hailing from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, Dr Shaik comes from a very humble background.

Born to Shaik Nanne Saheb and Shaik Bilkis on 21 September 1973, Dr Shaik is a true example of an accomplished person from a humble background.

People who love her call her the Iron Lady, because of her courage, resilience, persistence and ethics.

Dr Shaik began teaching at age 19 after completing her school education at a madrassa (Islamic seminary). There were only six students, all girls, in the first batch, which then grew into a batch of 300 students.

Hailing from a business family, Dr Shaik established an educational institution in 1988 for girls. Besides education, he girls, who were mostly from poor background, were told about their rights.

A philanthropist at heart, she later sold some of her parental properties to fund an even larger residential school for girls in Chandragiri in Andhra Pradesh. Today, she runs schools in Mumbai, Surat, Belapur and other parts of the country.

From the very beginning, Dr Shaik understood the value of education. She saw how all children, particularly girls, needed to be educated. Herself a vibrant intellectual and a woman of wisdom, Dr Shaik quickly understood the importance of a healthy exposure to share ideas and knowledge.

Being a champion of women rights herself, Dr Shaik has always insisted that her students partake in social activities to ensure that they get a wholesome education that makes them better citizens of India.

Some of her great work include:

1. The HEERA Group

It was the need to meet the burgeoning cost of education of the girls in the early days of her educational mission that made Dr Shaik create Heera Group.

She started with gold exports and imports under the name of Heera Gold Exports and Imports. The money made from the business went into meeting the costs of the girl students such as their books, school uniforms, hostel costs, etc. It was important because the children came from underprivileged backgrounds.

Understanding of business came naturally to Dr Shaik and she diversified the business and expanded into many territories.

Started in 1998, Heera Group is now a consortium of 20 companies dealing in diverse fields like food exports and supplies, gold, investment, textile, jewellery, mineral water, granite, tours and travels, real estate, electronics, e-commerce, etc.

In only 10 short years from inception, her business was providing products and services to over 50 countries across the globe.

Today, Heera Group is a thriving conglomerate creating hundreds of jobs for the good people of Andhra Pradesh, India and beyond the shores in the UAE, China, Saudi Arabia, Ghana and Canada.

Besides meeting the cost of education of the girl children – the primary mission of Dr Shaik – the Heera Group has been contributing nearly 2% of its profits for the welfare of farmers.

2. Heera Group initiatives

Heera Group has also directly been working for the greater good of India. The Group’s Mobile Clinic initiative works for the betterment of rural Indians by providing counselling classes on child development, prenatal care, vaccination and other areas.

The Mobile Clinic services to almost a million people and patients receive medicine at their doorsteps.

Dr Shaik’s aim is to create a society, and a country, that works for all its citizens, regardless of any external factors. She personally believes that the aim of business shouldn’t be just to generate profits but to give back to society.

“Nobody has ever become poor by providing for those in need,” she says.

3. All for women

Being a frontrunner in women empowerment, Dr Shaik believes that men and women in independent India should be on equal footing. Thus her focus has been on empowering women through education and awareness programmes that focus on women’s rights.

Dr Shaik wishes to empower women enough to help them shape their own destinies. It means giving women the power to redefine outdated gender roles and grow however they want.

One of the major initiatives in this direction has been the Islamic Business Group under Heera Group which imparts professional and vocational skills to women to make them self-sufficient. Muslim women have particularly benefitted from the Islamic Business Group for it has given them an opportunity to stand next the male on a same floor and be self-supporting.

4. Saluting the Nation’s Guardians

A major project of Dr Shaik is ‘Saluting the Nation’s Guardians’, which aims to take care of the family of a martyr. It was initiated to serve the wives and children of soldiers who attain martyrdom in service of the country.

The project aims to meet educational expenses of the children of martyrs, their medical costs and give them a secured life.

Dr Shaik believes that a soldier is the pride of the nation. A soldier defends the honour of his motherland with his life and blood. It’s, therefore, our responsibility to make their family lead an honoured life.

Part of Heera Group’s profits goes into financing the project through which widows or parents of martyrs of war get Rs 4 lakhs.

5. Dr Shaik’s Achievements

Dr Shaik has won numerous awards for her social service, hard work and women’s right activism.

She has been awarded the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award, the Rajiv Gandhi Shiromani Award for Outstanding Individuals for Distinguished Services to the Nation, The Mumbai Ratan Award in 2013 for Outstanding Contribution in the field of Education and Human Service, and the Bharat Gaurav Award in 2014.

Later, she was awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy from The Open University, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Dr Shaik is the Vice President of the Women’s wing of International Human Rights, India. She is the founder and President Jamia Niswan As-Salafia, Tirupati, India, the Secretary of Women’s Helpline, India, and the President of At-Tawheed International Dawah Centre for women.

6. The Future Dr. Shaik Envisions

What is incredible is how calmly and positively she handles criticism, when it is constructive. She understands that we’re all human beings, bound to commit errors at certain points in our lives. And she accepts this message. She takes constructive criticism and works to better herself and her organisation. If ever a false rumour is spread around about her work, she takes to social media to directly address her followers.

Dr Shaik says she will continue to work hard towards the kind of India she wants our progeny to have. She wishes to create a prosperous India where we all are truly and completely independent from prejudices and discrimination.

7. Checkout video of Nowhera Shaikh honoring the families of URI Soldiers

8. Fight for midday meal workers

A petition was then filed by social activists Dr. Nowhera Shaik seeking government assistance aid for those mid-day meal women workers for their better wellness. The petition included for the minimum wages for the women workers involved in the bisi-oota (mid-day meal) scheme, with paid maternity and other medical leaves. The government advocate then said to the court that the amount was increased to 2600 for cooks and 2700 for the head cooks.

9. Hope for 3,500 Indian workers stranded in Kuwait

In June 2016, around 3,500 Indian citizens who were hired by ‘Kharafi National’- a construction company have been disowned by the same now and stranded in Kuwait without any help. Dr Nowhera filed the petition seeking an urgent intervention by the court for the protection of Indian workers in Kuwait and to give assistance and support till they get back home.

10. Donated Rs.1 Crore to Kerala flood