Meet Rekha Bohra; Raj Suri Mrs India Australia 2022 winner

It is often a pleasure to meet women who dare to take up challenges and build themselves to pave their paths of life and careers. Not only that but they also dare to empower other women and help eachother grow. What a delight to have a conversation with Mrs. Rekha Bohra who recently won the Mrs. India Australia Title. She was the only one from Brisbane to participate in this contest.

Interview with Rekha Bohra by Amrita Deshpande (Community News Editor)

Tell us about you, who is Rekha Bohra?

I was born and brought up in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. I am a doctor by profession. I did my schooling and MBBS from Bhopal. I got married and moved to Jaipur where I completed my Post Graduation in Gynecology then moved to England for 15 years. I practiced as a gynecologist and a General Practitioner in England before I moved to Australia 6 years ago with my husband and 2 boys. I continue to practice as a GP and a cosmetic physician here in Brisbane.

Tell us more about the contest. Who can participate in this contest?

Any married woman of Indian origin living in Australia is eligible to participate in this competition. The judges mainly look for passionate, confident and talented women who have a purpose and goal in participating in this pageant and how they will use this title to bring a positive change in society.

What intrigued you to participate in the contest?

Firstly, I have always had an interest in beauty and fashion but practicing as a doctor in the western world for a long time, I feel that there is a big percentage of women who lack self-confidence, self-love and self-esteem, which is the root cause of mental health issues. I needed a platform where I could help these women and spread my message around. This particular pageant gave me that platform hence I decided to participate. Secondly, I wanted to challenge myself as I strongly believe that one grows only when one comes out of the comfort zone. I wanted to do something that I had never done before. Did you have to prepare for this contest?

Participating in this pageant was a challenge for me as I had never done anything like this before but I wanted to try my best and get the most out of it. I did a professional photoshoot to learn about camera facing.

I did mentorship sessions with the trainer. Spent hours learning ramp walk and recording myself on camera. For my talent, I wrote a poem on women empowerment as I am a writer too.

Who helped you and supported you in this venture?

My mentor Mr Raj Suri helped me a lot. I gained immense confidence under his mentorship. I realized my strengths and worked on my weaknesses.

Your profession as a doctor did that help you win the pageant?

My profession as a doctor helped me as it made me realize, when I had conversations with my patients that I need to do something more for the women outside my clinic as well. Further, my confidence and communication skills certainly helped me in the contest. What message would you give to future participants? My message for every woman is that nothing is impossible if you believe in yourself and if you put your heart and hard work into it everything is possible. I also want to mention that age is just a number, dreams can be chased at any age. To me “ Every woman is a queen and every girl is a princess, it's just a matter of them realizing it “.

What message would you like to give our readers, women and the Indian community?

As Mrs India Australia 2022, I believe that women need to have more financial independence as financial independence brings social and emotional independence. As a Doctor specializing in women's health, I see women struggling with mental health and mental health services are not freely accessible. I hope in the future, we will see development in these areas. My message for the Indian Diaspora living in BrisbaneFirstly, I want to say a big thank you to the Indian community in Brisbane for their love and support. We are a very big community and the way we are preserving and celebrating our rich culture is commendable. I think we can do more to support Indian women. I have started a Facebook group called” empower Brisbane Indian women, where women would support women, promote their businesses and share their talents.

What’s next for you?

I am representing Australia in “Mrs India Worldwide 2023 “ which will be held in Pune in June. I am very Excited about it!!