International organization World Pulse launched a top 50 list celebrating previously unrecognized women leaders who are rising up from the grassroots, using technology to speak out, collaborate, and strengthen their communities.
Portland, Ore., (February 28 2022) — World Pulse is honoring the transformational leadership of 50 women who are using digital tools to speak out, collaborate, and strengthen their communities.
World Pulse is a social media platform that amplifies the voices of women and marginalized groups in order to speed up change and improve the lives of millions around the world. In the lead-up to International Women’s Day, World Pulse is proud to present 50 women leaders who have been selected for this top honor.
Powerful Voice for Change
One of the honorees, Arpita Gaidhane from India, made the list for her award-winning story.
After enduring a heartbreaking miscarriage, painter, writer, and facilitator Arpita Gaidhane says it’s time to break the culture of silence surrounding pregnancy loss. She’s using the power of story to break taboos and advocate for honesty and connection.
Arpita writes:
“We live in a world that sustains itself on binaries. Good-evil, mine-other, white-dark; there are many ways that imaginary lines are perceived as tangible boundaries because of such dualistic thinking. I navigate this world of boundaries from the rainbow. As a queer, neurodivergent, third-culture kid, I grew up feeling like an outsider in groups that were considered “normal”.
I had figured out from living in varied places that no matter the colour, body type or neurotype of a person, we are people – and we deserve to be respected as such. The way I found this rainbow through confusing social demands, was through stories.
Stories that have been an inheritance from time immemorial – from mother Nature and our indigenous ancestors, all the way down to books and Kindles. You see, in stories, binaries don’t always hold up. Instead, they show infinite, varied ways in which their characters perceive the world. In stories, I found kin just like me. Weird people who didn’t really fit, but earnestly plodded through the world trying to find their way as themselves. They may have experienced binaries, but alongside came so much delicious nuance!
Recently, I have come to realise that black-and-white thinking is an illusion. We constantly inhabit spectrums, and the only way to bridge external gaps to meet the heart within, is to hear each other’s stories. To tell our own stories. No one can live your truth exactly like you do.
I am honoured and deeply grateful that my stories have been heard and valued. More importantly, that they are connecting with hearts and sparking conversation and curiosity. Thank you, my World Pulse community, for seeing me and honouring my stories.
May they continue to weave with your stories and the stories of the world long after I have ceased to be a separate person and am united with the elements. Now I see that maybe the world isn’t sustained by binaries after all – it is instead a dance of spectrums, meant to be enjoyed with a generous dollop of love.
Read more of Arpita Gaidhane’s stories and connect with her on World Pulse.
You can follow the stories and achievements of everyone who made the World Pulse Top 50 Voices Rising list. Learn about their incredible efforts through the stories, updates, and resources they post to WorldPulse.com.
About World Pulse: World Pulse is an independent, women-led social network that is connecting women leaders worldwide to speed up global change. With a decade of experience using the power of technology to grow women’s leadership across the globe, World Pulse provides a supportive, protected online space where 80,000 women from 200+ countries are connecting, gaining digital leadership skills, and exchanging stories and resources to grow their impact.