On International Women’s Day in 2018, the Hindu Council of Australia decided to institute an award for outstanding women in Australia who make good role models for growing-up Hindu girls and women. The award will consist of a commendation letter and will be awarded in multiple categories.

The award is named after an ancient Indian philosopher considered to be the first woman philosopher Gargi Vachaknavi (c. 7th century BCE). She is honoured as a renowned expounder of eternal knowledge in Vedic Literature. She participated in a philosophic debate and challenged the established male sage Yajnavalkya, the only lady to do so. She is also said to have written many hymns in Rigveda. (Source: Wikipedia).

Nominations for the 2025 Gargi Awards are now open from 11th January 2025 to 11th March 2024. The award ceremony date will be announced soon.

Please read the selection criteria below before filling out the form.

Click here to submit the nomination form for the Gargi Awards 2025

Selection Criteria

Demonstrated leadership abilities and contributions in their respective fields.
Positively influenced or significant impact created in the lives of others globally or within the community.
Individuals who have overcome challenges, barriers, or adversity in their personal or professional lives and have emerged as inspirational role models for other women.

Nominee Eligibility

Resident of Australia
All women over 18 years of age from across Australia
Not be an office bearer of the Hindu Council of Australia
Not an elected representative of any local council, state or federal parliament.
Not an office bearer of any political party
Should not be a previous Gargi Award winner

Award Categories

Sports (Athletics, track, contact, racket, combat, coaching & mentoring)
Frontline Emergency Services (Defense, Police, Fire, emergency services)
Performing Arts (dance, music, opera, theatre, magic, illusion, mime, spoken word, puppetry, circus arts, stand-up comedy, teaching & mentoring)
Language & Literature (novel, poem, short story, drama, prose, biography, autobiography, memoir, play, teaching & mentoring, creating awareness)
Science and Research (AI, Diseases, genetics, medicine, nanotechnology, renewable energy, global warming, robotics, mental health, climate change, teaching & mentoring)
Social Welfare (prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure, chaplaincy, aged care, Housing, food, medical care, and financial assistance, teaching & mentoring)
Community Service (domestic violence, emergency relief, blood donation, family support, social housing, emotional support, elderly care, minors & young people, mentoring)
Visual Arts (painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture, teaching & mentoring)
Journalism (research, compose and edit news stories, reports and opinion pieces for print or electronic publication, independent journalist or work for a publication, whistleblower, an activist reporting on a specific topic or a specific issue regularly, teaching & mentoring)

Nomination Process

All nominations will be filled out online.
The nominated person should consent and agree to be present in the award ceremony if their name is shortlisted among the top three contenders.
Evidence should be provided through internet links or assurances by those who know or ought to know about the nominee.

Selection process

The Gargi Award committee will filter all the nominations and remove those whose nominations are either incomplete, inaccurate, not supported by evidence or do not meet the selection criteria.
Each of the remaining nominee’s details will be sent to the judges. The judges will assess based on the provided selection criteria
The score given by the judges will be added to get the overall score for each nominee. The nominee with the maximum score in this round will be the winner.
Accepted/rejected nominees will be informed as soon as the committee shortlists the nominees.