From her academic pursuits to her career as a politician, Girija has succeeded in all she has attempted. She has given everything she has to help the nation's citizens. She advocates for women's rights and has significantly contributed to the advancement of women.

Dr. Girija Vyas is an eminent politician and a distinguished professor. She is a former union minister, five-time Lok Sabha MP, former Rajya Sabha MP, ex-Pune Congress President, and ex-chairman of the National Commission for Women. She has also written six books.

Girija was born and brought up in Nathdwara. Her father was a freedom fighter, whereas her mother was a teacher and a women’s empowerment crusader. While growing up, she was highly inspired by her mother and her profession, and hence decided to pursue her career as a teacher. Even after excelling in government exams such as IAS and RAS, she decided otherwise and continued her journey as a teacher. She did her graduation and post-graduation in Udaipur and then enrolled at Delhi University for her Ph.D. She was a university topper in all three faculties—science, commerce, and arts. After the completion of her PhD, she received offers from seven US universities for postdoctoral fellowship programs in the US.

Girija shares that she entered the world of politics in 1977 on the advice of her mother, who encouraged her to support Indira Gandhi. She joined the Congress as an acting PCC president. Soon she fought in the assembly elections and won the Udaipur seat for the Congress after several years. She was made a minister in the state government with 11 portfolios.

On Rajiv Gandhi’s request, Girija moved to politics at the center. However, she regrets that, due to his early demise, she did not get an adequate opportunity to work with him. She became a union minister in the Narasimha Rao government.

Girija says that she has always followed value-based politics. As an avid woman politician, she wishes to bring about change in society in the best way that she can. During her tenure as chairman of the National Commission for Women, she worked on the amendment of several laws, such as the Domestic Violence Act, the Sexual Harassment Act in the Workplace, and others. Even the Government of Britain asked her to draft a law for them on domestic violence, as in Britain, six out of ten women suffer from it.

Girija says that she faced several adversities but decided to continue her work no matter what and played a pivotal role in the upliftment of women, especially those belonging to backward sections. Being a former teacher, she used her vocational skills to succeed as a parliamentarian. It served as a foundation for many things, along with filling her with confidence and appealingly sharing her views and ideas.

Girija advises the younger generation to first find in themselves the courage to accept their personalities, then identify their unique qualities, and go on from there.

Girija firmly believes that corruption is not necessarily a part of politics. She feels that more than 70 percent of the MPs are not corrupt. She also feels that to prove themselves, women have to work twice as much as men, as they are considered vulnerable and prone to giving up, so people try to bring them down more often than not.

Girija considers her mother her supreme role model, who was also an advocate for women's empowerment in her time. Her mother started women's education in their hometown and even supported widowed women to avail themselves of education and stand on their feet. Also, great women politicians—Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi—are also her role models and became an inspiration for her to pursue true politics.

Girija feels that a leader is someone who listens to everyone, offers the best advice and solutions, and addresses all the problems of people.