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Wonder woman of India

ISP Delhi Bureau 

She is probably the only woman commando trainer in the country. Meet Dr Seema Rao who is an inspiration to crores of women globally. She is breaking the glass ceiling as she coaches elite forces and shatters stereotypes.  

She stands shoulder to shoulder with Indian elite army personnel and wins their respect. She can run 40 km marathons, shoot an apple off your head with an AK-47, split 5 targets in 2 seconds with a Glock pistol, defuse a complex explosive device and neutralise armed assailants in seconds. She is in fact India’s first commando trainer. She has an unparalleled record of three Army Chief citations for single civilians. 

Despite being a weak child and scared of almost everything. One episode of eve-teasing changed her personality forever. She trained in Taekwondo and achieved a Black Belt. She also trained in boxing and Israeli Krav Maga art. She took up Air Rifle shooting to improve her focus and ultimately ended up becoming a combat shooting Instructor.

Seema decided to confront her fears by doing what she thought was tough. To overcome her fear of heights, she did her mountaineering course from Army Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and got the silver medal. To overcome fear of water, she completed her scuba deep sea diving course from the US. She overcame her fear of seclusion by doing the Jungle Survival course.

Seema spent more than 20 years as a guest trainer for 20,000 soldiers from Indian armed forces, paramilitary and police free of monetary compensation as a selfless service to the Nation.

She has trained commandos from every elite force including Army Special Forces, NSG- Black Cats, IAF Garudas, Indian Navy MARCOS, BSF, Commando Wing, ITBP Commando School, Army Paratroopers and Ghatak units. Seema Rao and her hubby invented the Rao method of reflex shooting which was used by many Indian forces. Her husband received an honorary commission into Parachute Regt TA by the President of India, for the work done by the Rao couple.

Seema Rao is today known worldwide as an epitome of empowerment for her efforts to break the gender barrier and help people achieve maximum potential. She was ranked by Forbes as No 6 in Woman Power and voted ‘Woman We Love’ by Femina. She was selected as the most influential woman in the world, Indian Express ‘Dynamic Woman of the Year’.

She studied immunology from Harvard Medical School & Leadership from Westminster Business School. Her achievements have made her a global speaker, a TEDX star and has published ten books.

A Documentary on Dr Seema Rao’s life “Equal” won the Los Angeles Film Festival Award.

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