What Do Indian Women Need Today To Be Really Empowered?

 Aparna Maroo Jain, Co-founder, My Second Act
 In India, the subconscious biases that we imbibe from the time we are children form the basis of feeling 'second' and takes away from feeling empowered. It all starts with chess tournaments that have a lesser amount of prize money for girls to 'reservations' at schools, colleges at workplaces. Traditionally too, there is a practice of putting the boy before the girl. For Indian women to feel truly empowered, all of this needs to change. In addition, a strong and timely legal system should assure women that their interests will be protected whenever required. The Indian woman needs to feel safe to make choices, surrounded by a community that has a support mindset and the ability to make her own choices. And finally, creating a culture of having strong women role models who mentor many others creates a trickle effect of learning from each other's stories and battles.

 Vesna Pericevic Jacob, Holistic Fitness Expert & Author
 Indian women need a mindset change about they can or cannot do. They need a change of perspective as well as about the role of women in society in general outside the traditional roles or mothers, daughters, and wives. This change needs to start with women themselves, how gender roles defined between sons and daughters at home. If you don’t empower your daughters at your own home, how do you expect them to empower themselves at home? This will set the basis for empowerment based on financial independence, training, and education.

 Saraswathi Laxman, Communication Professional
 Have a system that protects her rights.
 To be able to live without fear.

 Yoshita Swarup Sharma, Leadership Coach, Facilitator and Co-founder ReadyToAscend
 Other than what I have already spoken about, I believe that the Indian women need people to get out of her way! Women are scaling heights like never before in all arenas…we have witnessed young Indian women acing competitive/ board exams, winning sports competitions like Gymnastics & Wrestling, running top organizations as well as their own ventures with great success. We need to recognise the talent they inherently have and not become roadblocks in their success. Many women fade away as they reach mid-life due to social/familial expectations & the guilt it builds in them.

We just need to encourage them, champion them and cheer them on, no matter what age or life-stage. They will do the rest!

 Annu Kalra, Author, Artist & Guide
 Indian women need to understand themselves and their environment better. They need to take charge of their own lives. They need to take responsibility for their own lives. They need to rid themselves of dogma, travel the world, enhance their exposure, widen their horizons. They need to add value to themselves and stay relevant in their respective environments. They need to pull other people, especially women up as well. They need to not alienate men and make it just about women either. True empowerment is not just about uplifting oneself but also all associated with oneself through empowering them. To break out of oppression and become an oppressor oneself is no solution at all. It has been historically proven that when oppressed become oppressors, they become the worse kind of oppressors. Women should not become part of that statistic anymore. The incidence of bride burning and dowry harassment by mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law were kind of contributing to that historical trend. Hopefully, women would break out of it.

 Shalu Bhuchar, Certified Emotional Intelligence and Life coach, OD Practitioner and Consultant
 Nobody’s help. Maybe catalysts for each other, without pulling each other down, and being each other’s back, being space for each other to just be and to spread their wings.

Faith in ourselves and the ability to withstand the onslaught of being independent, having a mind of our own and of living life on our own terms.

Resilience to stay true to our own path, despite a lack of support, despite even a stripping away of necessities, despite active push-back.

A deep, unshakeable sense of self-worth, no matter what. As Whitney Houston crooned -" no matter what they take away, take cant take away our dignity!"

Most importantly, staying in touch with that child within who was not afraid of anything and in connection with that energy that every human being has with the Universe.

 Vandana Saxena Poria, Entrepreneur and Talent Ecosystem Expert
 The men and women in her family must support her and be willing to share the load. If they are worried about the children, then they should work together to find a solution - not just expect the woman to stay back and resolve it. The network around her should be there to support her and her for to support them. The media should stop parading women as beauty objects and start parading them as tireless managers (of families just as much as workplaces), contributors (to the house, work and society in general) and uniters (from family disputes to work ones). This would show our kids and younger women that the role of a woman is as complex as running a million dollar enterprise.