Najma Heptulla Appointed as First Woman Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia

Najma Heptulla has been appointed as the chancellor of the Central University- Jamia Millia Islamia. With this, this Manipur Governor and former Minority Affairs Minister has scripted history by becoming the first ever woman to hold this post in the University.

According to Jamia's Vice Chancellor, Talat Ahmad, she has been appointed for a stint of five years. She will be succeeding Lt Gen (Retd) MA Zaki, who completes his five-year term this month.

The University hasn't seen a woman chancellor handling affairs since its inception in 1920.

Acknowledging her contribution in the political sphere of the country, Mr Ahmed said, "The University will greatly benefit from her rich experience in both political and public life. It will be our privilege to work with her and to learn from her distinguished career in Parliament and internationally.

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Dr Heptulla has been a five-time member of the Rajya Sabha. She has also been its deputy chairman for 16 years. She served the minister of minority affairs in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet following which she was appointed as the Governor of Manipur.

She was also the President of the women's Parliamentarians' group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in 1993.

She has also contributed significantly to the human development activities. She was nominated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as its human development ambassador.

Seeing women at the helm of affairs gives us a ray of hope that the participation of women in the decision-making process of the country is no longer a distant dream.

Image credits: OneIndia

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