It’s been over a century since Freud thought about what women wanted. To mark Women’s Day, TOI asked women from different walks and walks of life about the changes they want
We worked non-stop during the pandemic. We only want a fair salary
Avantika Giri, anganwadi worker in Delhi
Even when my family fell ill during the Delta wave last year, I worked eight hours during the pandemic without any leave. I held my sixth-month-old son and visited the house to conduct surveys, examine pregnant women, persuade people to take the vaccine, and even distribute rations for young children. This is difficult and time consuming work. But even after so many agitations, the Delhi government has promised to give us an honorarium of Rs 12,000 per month only. Tell me is this enough to raise a family? Or even pay for medical expenses? Why are we treated differently from government employees when we are expected to work for the government? Is it not fair to demand that we be paid at least Rs 20,000 per month?
Let’s end the shame around sex
Lisa Mangaldas, sex positive content creator
Sex has long been constructed as if it is necessarily heterosexual, and sex has long been constructed as if it is necessarily binary. In terms of how sex is conceived, most of us have inherited the framework such that sex is necessarily sex for vaginal penetration, and men are necessarily predators, and women, only in the context of marital relationships. Are reluctant and/or dutiful participants, or otherwise required gatekeepers, refusing to seek or express their desire or pleasure. Sex is also deeply linked to shame – but ironically, people are ashamed to have sex as well as not to have sex. I want us to fully see how we view sex as we eliminate shame, and our vision to enable greater equality: centering consent, enabling women’s sexual agency and autonomy, sexual orientation and ending discrimination based on gender identity, making more room for identity and asexuality, and ending the violence inherent in the making of our masculinity.
Women shouldn’t be looking for a clean loo
Supriya Jan, Right to Urinate Campaign, Coro India
When I say I want a gender-friendly city, I mean a city in which if women need to use a toilet, they don’t have to look for a toilet or think if that’s enough. Will be clear I am thinking of all the women in the unorganized sector who do not have access to fancy malls and cafes, and often have to stop it. It also means considering women, trans people and others when land use and planning are in process, when budgets are set, and public transportation is planned.
Remove barriers to recruitment of women judges
Pinky Anand, Senior Advocate and former ASG
In India, 256 . Of these, only 11 are women judges (of which three are currently serving). Supreme court Judges (4.2%) in the last 71 years. The increase in female judges means women get visibility and a voice to bring their views. This will allow justice-seeking women to face less stigma, especially when reporting violence and abuse. It will also make the courts more representative and democratically legitimized. A major hurdle in the recruitment of women as district judges is the eligibility criteria for the entrance test. Lawyers are required to have seven years of continuous legal practice and must be between 35-45 years of age. This is a disadvantage for women as many get married at this age. In addition, the long and inflexible working hours in law, coupled with family responsibilities, force many women to leave the practice and they fail to meet the need for continued practice. Then, of course, there is the infamous gender bias that permeates the system.
The biggest problem for female founders is funding
Ragini Das, Founder, Leap Club
Being a founder is hard, and doing it as a woman is very hard. You don’t have access to the real network. People don’t know who to approach, how to reach an angel, how to make a pitch deck. This is something that comes up in our polls and when we discuss them with the thousand founders we work with. Among them, 50-60% agree that the biggest problem is to be investment ready and make people invest. We don’t have reliable networks and very few role models to be celebrated. I have even been asked what are my long term plans in life, which no man is asking. My biggest hope is that we will one day not have to use terms like ‘female founders’ or ‘woman founders’ and move towards being more gender-agnostic in the way we think about entrepreneurship .
Break this male hero universe with stories from women, by women
ornamentation Srivastava:the director
The male protagonists of the upper castes have been the epicenter of Hindi cinema. The male protagonist will be cast not unlike the woman he started his career with, but with a heroine who is 20-30 years younger to perpetuate the idea that he is still young. On the other hand, female actors over the age of 30 play aunty, mother or sister-in-law on screen, and are usually seen as asexual, one-dimensional or heroic. This male hero must break the universe. I don’t think women stop being sexual or ambitious once they cross a certain age. When I look at a woman in her 50s, I see a woman who has lived a full life, not someone who has to merge into the background. It is interesting to know what makes these women what they are and uncover their living reality. That’s why it’s important that women tell more stories because they see other women differently. I hope that there are all kinds of real, complex women of all ages, the heroes of the stories they’re telling.
Parliament full of women
Tara Krishnaswamy, co-founder, Political Shakti
When India adopted its constitution in 1949, Indian women not only got the franchise, but also got the right to stand in elections. Unfortunately, the second is not talked about as much as the first and has never been fully redeemed by Indian women. I want to see that political parties make genuine efforts to become hospitable organizations for women, increase their political base and contest elections. If we had a parliament filled with half women, we would have seen improvements in many areas which today suffer from lack of attention such as road safety, school education and clean drinking water because half of our talent is not implementing their vision for governance .
My second hope for Women’s Day is that the Women’s Reservation Bill is introduced and passed. In local bodies that have reservations, the percentage of women is more than 33% in many states – more women are being elected than in general seats. We will see the same natural progress on other levels as well.
More Muslim girls in school, with or without hijab
Zakia Soman, co-founder of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan
I want more and more Muslim girls to enroll in school, finish it and move on to higher education. Unfortunately, the recent hijab controversy puts women’s education in the background rather than at the fore. This will have a psychological impact on other girls from conservative and economically weaker families and will contribute to dropouts. Girls must be in school with or without a hijab.
In my work at the grassroots level I have found that even among poor parents there is a great desire to educate girls in English medium schools so that they can get good jobs. To make this a reality, we need an enabling social environment that is sensitive to the needs of girls, more schools in Muslim neighborhoods, and support in the form of books or fees.
Laws should legitimize women’s claims on land
Shipra Dev, Director (Women’s Land Rights), Landesa Global
Land has always been and has been a powerful productive asset. For a woman, ownership of a piece of land creates a perception of her own identity, provides a life of dignity and flexibility and exerts greater influence over household decisions. However, current land policies and laws neglect to acknowledge the independent identity of women. This creates a huge gap between the rights of women and men and access to land. The root cause of this difference lies in pervasive patriarchy, which is expressed in stereotypes, attitudes and norms operating at all levels, from the family to the local community, from land administration to public institutions.
It is important that we realize the power of land rights for women in tackling some of the most important challenges of our time: gender equality, food security and climate change. To bridge this gap, we need to review and amend laws, along with efforts to establish the social legitimacy of women’s claims.
We worked non-stop during the pandemic. We only want a fair salary
Avantika Giri, anganwadi worker in Delhi
Even when my family fell ill during the Delta wave last year, I worked eight hours during the pandemic without any leave. I held my sixth-month-old son and visited the house to conduct surveys, examine pregnant women, persuade people to take the vaccine, and even distribute rations for young children. This is difficult and time consuming work. But even after so many agitations, the Delhi government has promised to give us an honorarium of Rs 12,000 per month only. Tell me is this enough to raise a family? Or even pay for medical expenses? Why are we treated differently from government employees when we are expected to work for the government? Is it not fair to demand that we be paid at least Rs 20,000 per month?
Let’s end the shame around sex
Lisa Mangaldas, sex positive content creator
Sex has long been constructed as if it is necessarily heterosexual, and sex has long been constructed as if it is necessarily binary. In terms of how sex is conceived, most of us have inherited the framework such that sex is necessarily sex for vaginal penetration, and men are necessarily predators, and women, only in the context of marital relationships. Are reluctant and/or dutiful participants, or otherwise required gatekeepers, refusing to seek or express their desire or pleasure. Sex is also deeply linked to shame – but ironically, people are ashamed to have sex as well as not to have sex. I want us to fully see how we view sex as we eliminate shame, and our vision to enable greater equality: centering consent, enabling women’s sexual agency and autonomy, sexual orientation and ending discrimination based on gender identity, making more room for identity and asexuality, and ending the violence inherent in the making of our masculinity.
Women shouldn’t be looking for a clean loo
Supriya Jan, Right to Urinate Campaign, Coro India
When I say I want a gender-friendly city, I mean a city in which if women need to use a toilet, they don’t have to look for a toilet or think if that’s enough. Will be clear I am thinking of all the women in the unorganized sector who do not have access to fancy malls and cafes, and often have to stop it. It also means considering women, trans people and others when land use and planning are in process, when budgets are set, and public transportation is planned.
Remove barriers to recruitment of women judges
Pinky Anand, Senior Advocate and former ASG
In India, 256 . Of these, only 11 are women judges (of which three are currently serving). Supreme court Judges (4.2%) in the last 71 years. The increase in female judges means women get visibility and a voice to bring their views. This will allow justice-seeking women to face less stigma, especially when reporting violence and abuse. It will also make the courts more representative and democratically legitimized. A major hurdle in the recruitment of women as district judges is the eligibility criteria for the entrance test. Lawyers are required to have seven years of continuous legal practice and must be between 35-45 years of age. This is a disadvantage for women as many get married at this age. In addition, the long and inflexible working hours in law, coupled with family responsibilities, force many women to leave the practice and they fail to meet the need for continued practice. Then, of course, there is the infamous gender bias that permeates the system.
The biggest problem for female founders is funding
Ragini Das, Founder, Leap Club
Being a founder is hard, and doing it as a woman is very hard. You don’t have access to the real network. People don’t know who to approach, how to reach an angel, how to make a pitch deck. This is something that comes up in our polls and when we discuss them with the thousand founders we work with. Among them, 50-60% agree that the biggest problem is to be investment ready and make people invest. We don’t have reliable networks and very few role models to be celebrated. I have even been asked what are my long term plans in life, which no man is asking. My biggest hope is that we will one day not have to use terms like ‘female founders’ or ‘woman founders’ and move towards being more gender-agnostic in the way we think about entrepreneurship .
Break this male hero universe with stories from women, by women
ornamentation Srivastava:the director
The male protagonists of the upper castes have been the epicenter of Hindi cinema. The male protagonist will be cast not unlike the woman he started his career with, but with a heroine who is 20-30 years younger to perpetuate the idea that he is still young. On the other hand, female actors over the age of 30 play aunty, mother or sister-in-law on screen, and are usually seen as asexual, one-dimensional or heroic. This male hero must break the universe. I don’t think women stop being sexual or ambitious once they cross a certain age. When I look at a woman in her 50s, I see a woman who has lived a full life, not someone who has to merge into the background. It is interesting to know what makes these women what they are and uncover their living reality. That’s why it’s important that women tell more stories because they see other women differently. I hope that there are all kinds of real, complex women of all ages, the heroes of the stories they’re telling.
Parliament full of women
Tara Krishnaswamy, co-founder, Political Shakti
When India adopted its constitution in 1949, Indian women not only got the franchise, but also got the right to stand in elections. Unfortunately, the second is not talked about as much as the first and has never been fully redeemed by Indian women. I want to see that political parties make genuine efforts to become hospitable organizations for women, increase their political base and contest elections. If we had a parliament filled with half women, we would have seen improvements in many areas which today suffer from lack of attention such as road safety, school education and clean drinking water because half of our talent is not implementing their vision for governance .
My second hope for Women’s Day is that the Women’s Reservation Bill is introduced and passed. In local bodies that have reservations, the percentage of women is more than 33% in many states – more women are being elected than in general seats. We will see the same natural progress on other levels as well.
More Muslim girls in school, with or without hijab
Zakia Soman, co-founder of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan
I want more and more Muslim girls to enroll in school, finish it and move on to higher education. Unfortunately, the recent hijab controversy puts women’s education in the background rather than at the fore. This will have a psychological impact on other girls from conservative and economically weaker families and will contribute to dropouts. Girls must be in school with or without a hijab.
In my work at the grassroots level I have found that even among poor parents there is a great desire to educate girls in English medium schools so that they can get good jobs. To make this a reality, we need an enabling social environment that is sensitive to the needs of girls, more schools in Muslim neighborhoods, and support in the form of books or fees.
Laws should legitimize women’s claims on land
Shipra Dev, Director (Women’s Land Rights), Landesa Global
Land has always been and has been a powerful productive asset. For a woman, ownership of a piece of land creates a perception of her own identity, provides a life of dignity and flexibility and exerts greater influence over household decisions. However, current land policies and laws neglect to acknowledge the independent identity of women. This creates a huge gap between the rights of women and men and access to land. The root cause of this difference lies in pervasive patriarchy, which is expressed in stereotypes, attitudes and norms operating at all levels, from the family to the local community, from land administration to public institutions.
It is important that we realize the power of land rights for women in tackling some of the most important challenges of our time: gender equality, food security and climate change. To bridge this gap, we need to review and amend laws, along with efforts to establish the social legitimacy of women’s claims.