Gender Equality Needs To Be Promoted: Ananya Birla

My Inspiration
In my personal circle my mom is my inspiration and if I look out in the world then Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany is someone I look up to, because when the German economic situation was so challenging, she stood by her own value system and made a huge difference. On the softer side, I look up to Mother Teresa, because she really proved that taking care of people through selfless love can change the world and that is something I believe in as well. I think love conquers everything, love conquers ego, love conquers every negative emotion and that is what I also try to do in my daily life too.

On Gender Equality
I’m of the opinion that instead of having an international women’s day, we should have an international gender equality day. I believe that is more important, women are already empowered. Now, it’s a matter of looking at equality where men appreciate women and women appreciate men. I think equal wage is a big problem, whether you look at the corporate world or the entertainment space or from aviation to services; I think wage is something that is really affecting women all over the world. I don’t understand why there is such disparity since women definitely deserve as much as men do. So, I think this difference in wages is a huge problem that women are facing currently and all of us have to do something about it.

Objectifying Women In Popular Culture
I think it really boils down to personal choices. For example, objectifying oneself, which people tend to do in the film industry; now men do it all the time. I think it depends on how much you believe in it or not believe in it as an individual.

Overcoming Life’s Challenges
In my case, because I was so young, age was my barrier. By the time I proved myself to myself, to my family and the world, my gender identity didn’t matter as I proved myself. So for me my age was a barrier than anything else.

Challenging Patriarchy
I think it all boils down to the ego. If you look at South India, it is largely a matriarchal society and it is very successful as a society. So, it is possible to have a well functioning matriarchal society. I think it is just about the notion that patriarchy alone is the best system which has kept it relevant till date; it is a kind of superiority complex which has to be beaten by love.

On Her New Musical Journey
I think living life is all about spreading love. My new remix album with Afrojack puts across this message in a peppy way, which is a deep message, and I want to continue to make great music which is impactful and relatable for as long as I can.

Celebrate Womanhood
If you are a woman, I think you need to feel proud of this fact. Moreover, I think it’s important to voice your opinion and never give up. Most importantly, as stated before, the gender equality needs to be promoted. As a woman I feel proud that I can become the voice for this generation, especially to the women of this generation.