The Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards were held on 19 October, in which Jonita Gandhi was honored in the Musician category. During his acceptance speech, Gandhi expressed his gratitude and reflected on his journey.

Jonita began her speech by saying, “I am honored to be here. It is a great honor to receive this award. I moved here from Canada about ten years ago and had a lot of dreams. It’s been a fun and crazy ride. You know, singing for blockbuster films and being discovered by Rahman sir, but there have been a lot of challenges along the way. I spent many nights wondering, ‘Would things be different if I were a man?’ I realize that in many of those experiences, the people who encourage me the most are my girlfriends.”

The What Jhumka singer further added, “I really want to dedicate this award to my mother because I realize that having a very strong woman in your life can really make a difference. You know when you really need support, and I’m so glad we’re doing this to celebrate women. My mother has inspired me to be there for my friends the same way she has been for me, so I’m dedicating this award to her, and to one of the many inspirational women in my life: Beyoncé. Going to honor. Who runs the world? Girls!”

Apart from Jonita, Kriti Sanon, Ananya Panday, Gauri Khan also won big honors at the awards ceremony.

This year’s Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year awards were based on a unique feature. The aim of the event was to create a ‘chain of empowerment’ for women by having each winner award a trophy to the winner of the next category.