Krishna Pujara is the Chairperson of Women Economic Forum UK and the Chairperson of the Enfield Domestic Abuse Operational Forum. She is the President of Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (WICCI)UK and the Chairperson of All Ladies League UK and, Justice and Equality Chairperson of Ladies of All Nations International and Chairperson of Women’s Wing of the Lohana Mahaparishad UK. And now, she is part of The India League which was established in 1916.
Ms Pujara has uncountable laurels to her name. And with these laurels, is a greater level of responsibility and accountability that rests on her humble shoulders. Those which stand in solidarity with every woman fighting the regressive views and cultural practices of the community. Krishna Pujara has become a support system for all those women who do not have the strength to speak up for their rights. But how did Krishna embark on her journey into community service in the UK and why did it become so important for her? It was when she was studying, that she grew aware of the challenges that students faced in balancing their academic life and caring for elderly relatives with physical disabilities.
Speaking about her campaign, she said, “I decided to do something about the challenges that these students faced, and over the next four years, a group of us helped campaign for the carers support in Brent. When carers' support developed and was recognised by the council, we began to tackle the problems for young school students who were looking after parents with disabilities. Our campaign for young carers was so successful that HRH Princess Anne decided to offer the Carers Support her name, The Princess Royal Trust for Carers – Brent Carers Centre.”
While she was pursuing her post-graduation, Krishna found herself growing more passionate about social issues. She says, “I worked with the Carers Centre, which helped me discover deep-seated problems that women faced including domestic abuse, which people hardly talked about in those days. Refuge centres for women who were experiencing domestic abuse were few and far in-between, so not many women could be accommodated. That is when I was headhunted to help in developing the Women’s Aid Refuge. They especially needed my expertise on how to help women rebuild their lives in a culturally sensitive space.”
Krishna was keen to take up the technology industry by its horns with a blueprint in her head designed to pivot the male-dominated industry. But her daughter had just turned eleven years old, and she wanted to be there for her. Thus, she relinquished her high-profile corporate job to support her daughter and family. Gradually, supporting women with her charitable projects became more important to her and she grew further away from the glamour of the corporate world. Embedding her values and ideas around women empowerment, Krishna Pujara is now the CEO of Saheli. Over the course, however, Krishna has collected several other accolades by lending her imagination and voluntary services to several organisations.
“I joined Women’s Aid Harrow on their Executive Council as a volunteer and was appointed the Chairperson Elect in 1996 to support the Refuge Manager going through a transition to housing Association. I felt a sense of self-satisfaction by giving something back to the community. I joined Brent Indian Association on their Executive Committee and have served in various roles from Executive Committee member Secretary-General from 1997-2011.
“Being inspired by Sardar Patel’s life, I was delighted when I was asked to join the Sardar Patel Memorial Society in 2009 as the Secretary-General. I continue to provide my services to society to propagate the values of Sardar in the Spirit of Unity. In 2011, I was invited to join the Executive Committee of the National Congress of Gujarati Organisations (NCGO)UK. As a Gujarati, I was delighted to be asked and accepted the honour. NCGO UK is an umbrella organisation for Gujarati Organisations in the UK and campaigns for the needs of Gujaratis in the UK. Since then I have been giving my voluntary time and have served in various roles as Secretary-General, Treasurer & at present the Public Relations Officer. I joined Lions Club in 2007 and have been an active member in London Central Host Lions Club. I have also been recognised by the top honour of Melvyn Jones Fellowship Award for Humanitarian & Charitable work in the community.”
Discussing the challenges that women often face while navigating through the patriarchal world she said, “We know that women are better at dealing with crisis and can juggle work alongside domestic chores. But what I have learned is that while your work may be appreciated but you will never be good enough to take on the role of the Chairman, especially within these male dominated organisations. The positions don’t make a difference to me as long as I know I have made some sort of difference in society. But my fight for gender parity continues.”
She is now looking forward to launching the Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (WICCI) in the UK. We now have a Council of over 30 Women with different backgrounds that make up a lovely team. Besides, we have a Virtual Women Economic Forum UK taking place from 23 & 24 January 2021.
