Vancouver entrepreneur Bir Kaur Dhillon, who won the Mrs India Globe title in 2013, is a beauty on a mission in her homeland.

Growing up in Punjab, she had seen how women, especially in the rural hinterland, lacked on the education and unemployment front.

When Bir won the Mrs India Globe title, she decided to use this platform to highlight social issues in Punjab, reported the Times of India.

Today, the main focus of this model, social activist and philanthropist is working for women empowerment.

In line with this, Dhillon founded the "WOWW foundation" (Women on Women Welfare), an initiative to empower girls and women through education and vocational training to enable them to attain economic independence.

Bir and her sister Rose Khera launched the foundation in 2013.

Bir is also contemplating jumping into the political arena in Canada.

She has adopted three Punjab villages -Kheri Gujran, Haji-Majra and Ablowal -and two Haryana villages -Soortiya and Sukhchain -in Sirsa district for her project.

She has transplanted the Phulkari tradition of Punjab in Canada. She employs women in rural areas to embroider Phulkari products and Punjabi apparel and sells these in Canada under the label "Kaur couture".

Funds raised through the sale of these traditional items are used for educating the families in these villages.

In the villages adopted by her foundation, Bir meets and urges parents to send children to school and provides money for their fees and books.

At the vanguard of the effort to boost women's lot, she is concentrating on different areas.

"Empowerment of women is an important issue all over the world, including India. Many agencies of United Nations have emphasized that gender issue is to be given utmost priority. . . . This new phenomenon has also given economic power to women for which they were earlier totally de pendent on males. Economically independent women feel more confident about their personal lives," she points out.

Bir is of the view that once women are economically independent, the next step is to be strong physically and mentally .

She will be organizing the first workshop on self-defense at Kheri Gujran village in July-end and then in other villages of Punjab. She has mastered martial art forms of Jujitsu and Wushu.

Her WOWW foundation brings the beauty pageant for married women

"Mrs. India Beauty Queen". The pageant provides enriching opportunities for personal growth, challenges and inspires women of diverse backgrounds and cultures to come together nationally and internationally, supports lifelong commitment to uplifting those in need and develops a sense of global responsibility.

In an earlier interview, with Drishti , Bir said: “As Mrs. Globe I will accelerate my efforts for restoration of ancient monuments. Qila Mubarak, a breathtaking piece of Sikh architecture in the heart of the royal city of Patiala, which is also my hometown, that faces extinction anytime due to the deteriorating structure. To save this monument I started the Save Qila Mubarak campaign.”