In honour of International Women’s Day (IWD), the UK Prime Minister’s Office asked female leaders in their respective fields to share a message to their younger selves. Contributors included women who serve in the government, media, military, corporations, and religious institutions, and PM Sir Keir Starmer was on hand to meet them. Among the women selected for the video compilation, featured on the @TenDowningStreet X account, was Visakha Dasi, Temple President of the ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Manor in Watford.

Although the campaign only gives brief snippets of their longer messages, the entire message to her younger self was, “My dear younger self, you’re a bit confused about what success is. You think success may be money. You think success may be power. You think success may be comforts or fame or popularity. But actually, success is none of those things. Success is understanding your self, your own identity. Success is understanding divinity with you and within all beings. And success is relating to yourself and to others according to those understandings — that is, with affection and love.” Click here to watch.

Speaking of the experience, Visakha said, “It was a pleasure to meet the extraordinary women who attended the International Women’s Day event at 10 Downing Street. Most of them happily accepted me being amongst them, dressed in a sari and adorned with tilak, and readily shared stories of the challenges and difficulties they faced being women in male-dominated fields.”

IWD, celebrated annually on March 8, is a global event recognizing the achievements and contributions of women in social, economic, cultural, and political spheres. Global events typically highlight progress made and the challenges that remain in achieving a more inclusive and equitable world.

This year, in honor of IWD, ISKCON’s Int’l Vaishnavi Ministry and Vaishnavi Ministry North America recently released a series of interviews with Vaishnavis entitled “Celebrating the Sacred Feminine.” You can watch the entire playlist HERE