Five Indian women who took freedom in their own hands

1. Priyanka Bharti

She walked out of her in-laws' house when she heard they had no toilet and that she would have to defecate in the open. With this, she started a social revolution and put the focus squarely on better sanitation in villages.

2. Laxmi

An acid attack victim herself, Laxmi advocated against acid attacks and took the matter to the Supreme Court. Her petition forced the apex court to order regulation of acid sale.

3. Manobi Bandopadhyay

Bandopadhyay, a transgender, took charge as the principal of Krishnagar Women’s College in West Bengal’s Nadia district, in June; one of the most prominent appointments after the Supreme Court's ruling that recognised the transgenders as the third gender.

4. The gutsy girl who took on a molester on a flight

When even air travel becomes unsafe, you have to take matters in your hand. This young girl, enraged after an old man kept poking and touching her inappropriately during a flight to Bhubaneswar, confronted and shamed him in front of other passengers by recording a video. She further narrated the whole incident on her Facebook account and uploaded the video, which went viral and resulted in the arrest of the man.

5. Arunima Sinha

Sinha, the girl who lost one leg while trying to save herself from a gang of theives, is the first woman amputee to reach the top of Mt Everest. Enough said.