Qatar's Woman Leader award!

Pleasantly surprised to have been nominated for and awarded the 2021 Qatar's Woman Leader Award at the World Women Leadership Congress.

Speaking at the event, I conveyed my views on Leadership - not being about directing or managing from an ivory tower, but about being in the trenches and helping individuals, teams, organisations, and even our societies to succeed as a unit. And doing so requires a people-centric approach which of course comes from building knowledge and constant learning.

In JFK's words - Leadership and Learning are indispensable to each other!

Gifts to mankind!

Yoga is a physical, mental, and soulful discipline that promotes good health through breathing control, meditation, physical postures or asanas. Widely practised for over five millennia, Yoga promotes holistic development of the body, mind, and spirit; enhancing our senses, increasing flexibility, and achieving deep relaxation.

Yoga shows us a way of mindful living aimed at a healthy mind housed in a healthy body. June 21st 2021 marked the 7th International Yoga Day with an apt theme - “Yoga for well-being” coinciding with World Music Day.

Music is another important aspect of everyone’s lives, bringing about relaxation and promoting well-being. Let us celebrate everyday with increased awareness of and mindfulness towards these great gifts to mankind!

#Internationalyogaday #health #mentalhealth #mindfulness #relaxation #music #Worldmusicday 

Women leadership, biases and biology

Came across this interesting research which shows that women are better than men in a vast majority of leadership competencies measured - Research: Women Score Higher Than Men in Most Leadership Skills (hbr.org)

The summary of the study is in fact misleading, stating that women are every bit as effective as men. Wrong. By this data, statistically, women are clearly better and more effective than men in every competency measured except two where very marginally men are better. 

The study points out another interesting aspect where women rate themselves much lower. This is no surprise to me, as I know people of my gender are masters at doing this. We constantly tell ourselves to be humble and firmly believe that there are many ways of doing the right thing or getting a job done. This somehow gives the idea to the other gender that we are indecisive or lack the capability to take immediate and rash decisions as they mostly do. We do lack the arrogance that our male counterparts seem to be born with and that society loves to encourage in men starting right after their birth!

A woman achieving success in a corporate environment is a mix of sheer hard work (many times more than men), talent (needs to be proved constantly to compete with men and there is no scope for errors at all), and multitasking like a super human being (you have no idea!). All this while fighting biases continuously, tackling them from subordinates and superiors. 

As the research tries to explore, why do most women step out of the race? Many times they are forced to! Senior leaders, men mostly and some women, are very united in their thoughts to not allow a woman to be elected into senior positions. Or at a certain point the women give up the fight. In spite of all the hard work, who would want to deal with constant pressures and biases and bad mouthing by colleagues for no reason except that she is a threat? 

After all this throw in biology. If the woman wants a family, she is doomed. Please don't try to give me the far and few examples of some women who have made it while also raising a family. They are a rare exception and the other 99.9% of women are proof of this. Women work with guilt all the time if they have kids. They plan their work while at home and plan other home errands while at work too. This is a superhuman requirement that only seems to affect women. Men are never expected to do this and they would never be bothered even if someone expects them to. 

This post - Why Women Do the Household Worrying - The New York Times (nytimes.com) - regarding the mental load for women to bear is very interesting and bang on. Cognitive labor divided into four parts - anticipate, identify, decide and monitor is solely left to women in most cases. 

Women also deal with fluctuating hormones everyday (menstrual cycle), pregnancies, menopause and many other hormonal problems at different stages of life. These are amazing statistics that in spite of all this, women shine in leadership skills. Kudos to all the exceptional women in any level of professional career and relationship status. What you all do is completely exceptional and magical!

#women #leadership #cognitivelabor #equalparenting #mothers #men

A rape, a fast-track court and a death penalty

Last month a five year old was raped by a 20 year old man. The entire process of investigation, filing of case, the trial in a 'Protection of Children from Sexual Offences' (POCSO) court and the awarding of death penalty to the accused was completed in a record 26 days. 

I am indeed happy and proud to read this news todays and hope such police officers and courts continue their exemplary work. While we recognise the obvious parties and their dedication in bringing this judgement to fruition, we should also laud the parents, family, friends and cousins of the girl who all played an important part in not only aiding the rescue and treatment of the girl, but also provided enough witness power and direct & circumstantial evidence to identify and arrest the culprit within five hours. 

This in a country which routinely feels ashamed to admit rape and protects the accused by not filing a case in order to protect the victim. Yes, it is a highly confusing and vicious cycle which enables most rape perpetrators to go scot-free!

This case is an example of all systems - families, villagers, police and judiciary - coming together to do the right thing in a very timely fashion. It will serve as a good lesson and send out a strong message to society at large. We applaud everyone involved and hope the POCSO courts continue their good work. Justice delayed is indeed justice denied!

Remembering the Trailblazers of Iceland on International Women's Day 2021

One of my most favourite historical events took place on the 24th of October 1975 – the day the women of Iceland went on strike!

90% of the women of the country, to demonstrate their importance, decided to not show up to work and perform their routine responsibilities for just one day. They came together in the streets to rally for equal rights. The strata of each woman in society did not matter; it did not matter if she was educated or not; it did not matter what kind of job she held. Homemakers, cleaners, white-collar employees, business leaders, MPs, girls - all rallied side by side. Rural women who were not able to physically join the rally in the cities, still followed their sisters and took the day off. I cannot think of another historical event that showcases the tremendous power, solidarity, and strength of women as this one does. This was surely not the first women’s movement however it was the most powerful, changing the course of Iceland’s policies with respect to women completely thereafter.

The country came to a standstill. Businesses had to close and, if open, dads had to take their children to work. They had to cook, clean, and be responsible for childcare. All for just one day. Things came back to normal the next day but with the knowledge that women are equal pillars of society. This proved to be a watershed moment, bringing to the fore the sheer force of and need for women.

Over the next five years, main changes included electing the first female president for Iceland - Vigdis Finnbogadottir – a divorced, single mother. Also, Europe’s first female president and the first woman in the world to be democratically elected as president. She was so popular, she remained president for the next 16 years!

While there were some reports of men not supporting this movement, most realized that they would come across very poorly in the face of such unity showed by the women. Some joined and fully supported the idea behind the movement. The husband of one of the main speakers was allegedly asked by a co-worker, "Why do you let your woman howl like that in public places? I would never let my woman do such things." The husband shot back: "She is not the sort of woman who would ever marry a man like you" (BBC). How we need more such men!

On this International Women’s Day 2021, it is important to recall such events, the strength it took, the mindset changes that it brought about in both men and women, and the empowerment it generated.

Let us invite all men to unite with the women in fighting for women’s basic rights, which are in fact human rights. Break your deafening silence and join the ranks of great men who were pioneers for women’s rights and liberation even more than women.

I honour some of such great men from India.

1)   Raja Ram Mohan Roy

The first Indian man to, as early as 18th century, work for upliftment of women. Worked to abolish the barbaric practise of Sati and fought to break the shackles of caste system.

 2)   Jyotirao Govindrao Phule

Activist and reformer, worked especially for women of lower castes. Together with his wife, Savitribai Phule, he started the first school for girls, despite being ostracised by their families. He advocated widow remarriage and also started an orphanage to reduce the incidence of female infanticide.

 3)   Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar

The chief architect of the Constitution of India, Babasaheb is renowned for championing the rights of Dalits and their upliftment in society. Apart from this, he was responsible for the introduction of the Hindu Code Bill - which allowed women the right to file a divorce petition, and the right to inheritance.

 4)   Subramania Bharathi

One of the pioneers of modern Tamil literature who strongly opposed the caste system and worked tirelessly to uplift women through literature. He fought for the emancipation of women, against child marriage, stood for reforming Brahminism and religion.

Happy International Women's Day. But more than happy, let us make it a thoughtful and productive day, continuing through the years to come!

 

Disappointing reaction

Tennis superstar Serena Williams lost the semi-final match in the Australian Open against Naomi Osaka. 

Her reaction of bursting into tears during the post-match press conference leaves me baffled and disappointed! Any sports person, let alone someone who has won 23 Grand slam championships, would be expected to handle a loss with more sportsmanship. 

It was clear that she was disappointed in herself, but losing a match should be treated just as that - losing a single match. There are always good and bad days for anyone in any profession, especially demanding ones like in sports or any performing arts. 

Such reactions might teach younger girls and all youngsters really that losing is bad. Which is not what you want them to learn. Celebrities in such positions especially have the responsibility of behaving appropriately in public and setting the right example. So, while I admire Serena, this is highly disappointing behaviour indeed.  

I hope easily impressionable youngsters and others see this for what it is - just one day's loss and a poor choice of reaction owing to probably many factors. Failure is a big part of any work that one takes up and should only teach better methods of approach and way forward with lessons learned. 

Web series - "Delhi Crime" my review

I like good web series but am not a crazy fan of television to watch series after series. This might be a reason why I have just watched the series "Delhi Crime" almost two years after it released on Netflix!

I must say I really did love the attempt. It gave me a fresh perspective on many issues regarding this case. I was one more citizen watching with absolute shock as this case was reported on news channels in 2012 and supported fully the protests by fellow citizens. However, I realised how fast this case was actually solved by the police and against potentially how many difficulties. How could it be simple to track six rapists in a city of 17 million plus surrounding states from where most of the culprits were? How could the police have possibly prevented such crimes when the ratio of police to regular citizens is so low? 

The kind of political and social pressures while dealing with an emotionally draining crime was fascinating to know more about. The actors of course going by the ratings, had done a fantastic job and the series kept up the pace and involvement of the audience through all the episodes. Kudos to the director for the background research done and the extremely good presentation.

If you have not watched this, I highly recommend that you do. But before that do expect to continue to be shocked by this crime as that is never going to go away!  

Catch-up

A long gap again!

Life suddenly got busy again in this eventful COVID-19 year. I became a student again at none other than Yale University and what an experience it has been!!! Deserves another post in itself.....

Following this I was invited as a Guest of honour and key note speaker for the 53rd Engineer's day event organized by the Institute of Engineers in India, Qatar chapter. The selected theme was one of the best I have spoken on - Self-reliant India. 

The event had such an impressive line-up of distinguished guests and eminent speakers including 

H.E the current Ambassador of India- Dr. Deepak Mittal, 

Prof. K.K Aggarwal, Chairman, National Board of Accreditation, India and

Dr. Mylswamy Annadurai (Moon man of India), Chairman of National Design and Research Forum, India.

I thoroughly enjoyed the event and talks and leave you here with some pictures :)

Daggers drawn for the Duchess of Sussex as usual

I cannot understand the level of hate that goes around for the Duchess of Sussex. Wait, on the other hand, maybe I can. When a woman comes across as confident, self-assured, self-sufficient and is successful in life, it is the duty of society to take her down a notch or more than a notch if possible. Hence all stops are pulled by people who generally have no business poking into her life. Her past career as an actress apparently has people deciding that she does not deserve life as British royal or better yet, she 'got' Harry due to some diabolical plan along with her mother! Seriously? They seem happy and she has handled all crap with more grace and maturity than anyone so please move on people.

Take the most recent outburst for example. Markle merely encouraged the American people to use their vote at an online event that she spoke at. She has reiterated the importance of using one's right to vote and honour the past and future which is a reflection of the care for the community. Some of the statements made include very general statements like "If you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem, if you are complacent, you are complicit" etc., Note that Markle did not endorse any specific candidate.

These are very general statements, applicable for any democracy where your vote matters and has to be exercised. As a person who is well known, it is encouraging to see someone who uses their voice to say the right things. It is amazing to see how even this is a fault and has led to a TV show host, Piers Morgan, recommending that their titles be stripped. This after the couple have made it abundantly clear that they do not care for the title, power or responsibilities that come with it. What is his qualification to make such a recommendation in social media to the Queen is beyond most of us. A woman is shamed because she comes from the show world, but media is also show business today and does not provide any value in that case to his opinions.

His argument makes no sense; he thinks that since royals by UK law are not expected to comment, Markle has overstepped. Maybe he is not aware that she is a US citizen, and in the US , she is not expected to abide by UK law? Even in UK, in typical British confusing fashion, the royals have a right to vote but considered unconstitutional if they do (eye roll). What does that even mean?!!! 

Get a life people and please stop trying to make headlines using someone else's fame and name. 

Dr. Shyamala Gopalan - a thank you

I found this wonderful article which followed the Democratic VP candidate, Kamala Harris's mother's achievements and spoke more about the contribution of immigrant women especially from India to Western countries. 

https://scroll.in/global/970540/while-celebrating-kamala-harris-we-shouldnt-forget-her-trailblazer-mothers-contribution-to-the-us

It indeed made me very proud to read about Dr. Shyamala Gopalan, Harris's mother. She hailed from my State in India, Tamil Nadu and we also seem to have chosen similar fields of study and the very same area of research albeit in different decades. Dr. Gopalan's parents later settled in my city of Chennai following their retirement, pretty much in the same area I hail from! Other than these superficial reasons, there is so much more to be proud of though. 

In fact to better understand both Kamala Harris's and Dr. Gopalan's trailblazing lives, we might need to go one generation back and look at Dr. Gopalan's parents. We are talking about the 1940s and 50s when they have been so broad and open minded, looked to educate their son and daughters equally and in fact were not happy with Dr. Gopalan's first choice of education in Home Science as they were ambitious for their daughters. They wanted them to shine as doctors, engineers or scientists rather than learn just good home science, no offence to the subject at all. It goes on to show from where Dr. Gopalan gained her brains and confidence from. Did they think women were not suited for careers and need to be married off at an early age in order to procreate and be good wives and mothers? No, this does not seem to have featured in their discussions at all!

Later their daughter Shyamala decided to apply to the US and got admitted to Graduate school. It never occurred to them to stop her from travelling so far alone to study. In fact they used their retirement funds to partly fund her first semester of study and housing. Shymala then went on to complete her PhD and continued her important work and career until her last days. What a contribution to society!

Not only professionally, but personally she had joined the Black Civil Rights movement in the 1960s and that's how she met her future husband, not an Indian but a Jamaican. She felt confident in her decision and of her parents acceptance of her decision to go ahead with the marriage. She had two daughters from the marriage and brought them up with so much panache by of course following her role model parents. She was comfortable enough to also divorce and end the marriage when finally it did not work and had no need to worry about society and the 'shame' and stigma that divorce still carries in many parts of the world including India. She retained her maiden name till her death in 2009. Hats off to you mam, Dr. Gopalan, for being such an inspiration for us women everywhere. We are very proud of all your achievements, personal and professional. 

The article in the link I shared above focusses on immigrant women and how their contribution is overlooked. It also touches upon how generally immigrant women tend to be more productive than native women and I believe it is very true. Especially Indian women who reach American shores for an education. A good percentage of us have carved our own paths and owned our chosen careers. A word of request for the Middle East countries - please take note. Most migrant women work here and yet the sponsorship rules tie our lives here with our husband or father who are our 'Sponsors'. We need a 'No objection certificate' from them to work anywhere and I don't think there could be anything more insulting than this for a woman. Please also see the potential misuse possible here. Hope things will change soon. Till then I hope. 

You all go girls, keep rocking until changes become inevitable!

Little Sisters of the poor? I don't think so!

Today's US news had my blood boiling. The US Supreme court decided that companies, which find that it is against their religious beliefs, can deny their female employees the right to preventive healthcare! The most amazing thing is that this has been brought about by the case of Little Sisters of the poor against the State of Pennsylvania! It is precisely the poor who need such healthcare measures more than anyone else.

With all due respect to each individual's religious beliefs, a woman's decision to get pregnant, abort or have a child is none else's but her own, as it should be. You don't believe in it? Fine - don't do it, but imposing this on millions of women who might not feel the same is not religious freedom. Quite the opposite!

First and foremost, let's break this down. Preventive healthcare - what does this mean? Prevent something before it happens - including contraceptive pills and morning after pills, which stop pregnancy from happening. Isn't this a win-win situation for everyone? This is valuing life enough that you don't unnecessarily create it if you can't cope with the responsibilities. So do the sisters prefer that we bring in more lives to suffer in this world with overpopulation, no resources, more orphans and much more suffering? 

Abortion - maybe this is ending life, but again the earlier the abortion is done, the more chances that the foetus's heart has not even started beating yet. Then it is not technically a life that has started yet. But forcing women to keep the child will cause undue suffering to the mother and the child. In today's cut-throat competition, I think the kid will thank you for not bringing him/her into a world with no resources! Again slashing funding and giving the option to employers to not provide this as part of healthcare will affect the poorest of the poor the most. 

Now that the Supreme court has given a choice, employers who did not care or have a moral stand on this issue might find it profitable to suddenly become Catholic! let's hope the lower courts have better sense and common sense and justice will prevail in each state. 

If you want to read more, please find below good links:

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/biden-says-he-would-rescind-exemption-for-little-sisters-of-poor/

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-07-09/supreme-court-little-sisters-birth-control-preventive-care

Fox news is just a propaganda for the Republicans and has been hailing this as a personal victory.

In my opinion, no uterus, no opinion! So men, your opinion does not matter, as simple as that. Nuns fall in this category for me. No children, no opinion too please, as you do not know what it takes. Little sisters of the poor care for elderly. I am not sure why this was made their mandate! 

Kids, Moms and work ......in that order

 

I found these quite common but funny videos of kids crashing on their mom's video calls while working. Especially when they were on live TV! 

 https://scroll.in/video/966264/mummy-whats-his-name-daughter-crashes-professors-live-interview-on-bbc 

The struggle is very real and it is especially so for mothers. Sorry dads and I know some of few are quite hands on too, but children always seem to seek out their moms to ask for any kind of approvals or suggestions. I love how they have their own priorities and are so focussed on getting their job done, regardless of what is going on around them. They are perfectly justfied....in one case the boy wanted the mom's approval to have two cookies and in the other a little girl was just trying to find the perfect place for her unicorn painting! 

The way the two hosts handled the issue was also very different. One ended the interview abruptly and said quite seriously how these can happen in the times now. The other included the kid in the conversation, although she humorously then dominated the rest of the interview :) But you could clearly see relief on the mom's face when it was handled much better. Notice that both moms are holding senior and important enough jobs to be interviewed but motherhood is not negotiable. It is one responsibility that once accepted lasts forever. 

 I am glad I have mostly phone calls or team meetings without video, but I am sure people can usually hear my little one demanding to also speak to whoever is on the other end! :)

A woman as supreme leader?

The title said it all in this headlines yesterday: "Kim Jong Un's banished uncle may overtake his sister to rule over North Korea because he is a man". This is in this modern century, into the third decade of it! A banished, old uncle has a better chance of being the ruler next in line than a young, energetic and not banished, direct sister. Sad world indeed.

What can you expect when a great nation like United States of America has not yet produced a woman president? The conservative people even chose to vote for an African American, but not a woman! The lesser said about the current president the better......

Although not really interested in North Korea, I will keenly watch the news in coming weeks. As mother of two beautiful girls, what else do I have but hope!

Women leaders in the news

I came across this article by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox in the Forbes site and am a new fan! 

It is a well written article regarding countries with women leaders and how they have handled the response to COVID-19 most successfully. The words empathy, humane, simple, innovative, originality, clarity and decisiveness jumped out at me through the article.  

I also loved the way the write-up ended. The author wrote "there have been years of research timidly suggesting that women's leadership styles might be different and beneficial". The word 'timidly' seems like a small word, but actually means so much. Why are we afraid to recognize that women have different styles of leadership and that is ok? Not just ok, but even quite successful? Why can't we agree that both genders can learn from each other and yet have differences? Why can't we agree to disagree and see that it is a good thing? It is indeed time to recognize this and elect more women to various corporate boards, decision making committees and even government offices throughout the world. 

Full link here for people who want to read the article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/avivahwittenbergcox/2020/04/13/what-do-countries-with-the-best-coronavirus-reponses-have-in-common-women-leaders/#50e087883dec 

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013- India

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 passed today in India does the following:

• Amends various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Indian Evidence Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

• States that an offender can be sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 20 years or more to life with a fine

• Defines stalking and voyeurism as non-bailable offences if repeated for a second time.

• Terms acid attack finally as a crime and perpetrators of acid attack will attract a 10-year jail. Plus the victim is granted right to self-defense!

• Also seeks to widen the definition of rape, broaden the ambit of aggravated rape and enhance the punishment for such crimes

• Also provides that all hospitals shall immediately provide first aid and/or medical treatment free of cost to the victims of acid attack or rape

• Also seeks to amend the Indian Evidence Act to allow a rape victim, if she is temporarily or permanently mentally or physically disabled, to record her statement before a judicial magistrate with the assistance of an interpreter or a special educator. It also has provisions to video-graph the proceedings.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/pranab-mukherjee-assent-anti-rape-bill-sexual-harassment/1/260483.html

Doomsday

Doomsday came and went. Nothing happened, as expected. Then why did I still wake up yesterday feeling just a little dissappointed?

We, mankind can continue wrecking havoc on the environment, on animals, fellow humans and continue living so unchecked. Just a tad dissappointed that there is no end to all the nonsense and a new beginning after many centuries, if only doomsday had been true!

A Mom!

Wow is the only word that came to my mind when I read the below article.

http://news.yahoo.com/argentine-mom-rescues-hundreds-sex-slaves-221110530.html

Proves that a mom on a mission for her children cannot be stopped by anybody or anything. The system sounds so much similar to India with the same problems and support that such actions get from politicians and the police. So happy for the hundreds of women who have been saved by this lady and praying for the many more still not freed.

Would love more articles that motivate and make people think rather than useless celebrity news. Well done Susana!

Social initiative

An amazing article about a great organization, started by this fabulous lady here in The Hindu:
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/article2308291.ece
I can only imagine what struggles and dangerous situations this individual has had to go through in her work in rescuing and rehabilitation of sex workers! Hats off to this great initiative Prajwala and its fabulous contribution. I am truly inspired and intend to participate at least in some ways with this organization and others of this nature. Just sharing it here with other readers for your information.

Women and India

So much bad news about the treatment of women in India in recent times. Today's news screams that a third rape has occurred in UP in the last 48 hours:
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/up-third-rape-in-48-hours-victim-burnt-alive/160892-3.html
Another headlines screams that women have been made guinea pigs due to poverty:
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/170095/driven-poverty-ap-women-turn.html
All such incidents, well known trafficking, female foeticide and infanticide have got this name last week for India too:
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/india-4th-most-dangerous-place-for-women-survey/159395-3.html
This survey done by Thomas Reuters, has declared India to be the fourth most dangerous place for women in the world!
However, lets analyze the causes which have led to this kind of a survey.....there are hundreds of issues that of course have to be taken care of and controlled by the legal system of India, and the government has to come up with severe punishments for people being involved in acts such as prostitution, trafficking and killing of innocent babies or foetuses. Every individual should be made aware of such problems, whether they live in rural or urban India. Every person should also take responsibility for these actions, whether theirs or someone else's and do something from their end to help eradicate such issues. Write your opinion on these issues, try to educate people, empower women, or if nothing else at least contribute financially to some of the organizations trying to help and working for these causes.
All this said, I completely also oppose this survey and the results! Who were the participants? It could have spanned over many continents, but what do other people know about life in India? Maybe they just read news which is sensationalized, or just guess since they think these are the backward countries. As a girl who grew up in India, I know there are some issues, but on the other hand, I know the whole country is not 'dangerous' for women as this survey claims. A lot of cultural contributions, poverty and so on contribute to these issues, but the rest of the world can be rest assured that this century is already different from the previous. By the end of this century, it will be clear which countries are actually dangerous and which are not.
If anyone is thinking that life in countries such as the US is excellent for women, please get rid of such misconceptions! I had the opportunity to follow the entire preliminaries of the 2008 elections in the US, from within the US. My blood had boiled so many times while listening to National Public Radio, where men - American men- had made statements such as "I can never bring myself to vote for a woman", "I don't want a woman ruling this country", etc., These remarks were all made against Hillary Clinton, who was a much better candidate than her opponent Barack Obama, competing for the presidential candidacy of the democratic party. The people could bring themselves to vote for an African American man for the first time in their lives, but still not even a white woman!
At the same precise time, we in India had a woman president in office- Pratibha Patil! Indian women may not have the same freedom and independence as an American woman in day to day life, but we have a chance to hold the highest office in our country! I don't have to remind anyone of Indira Gandhi in the 70s and 80s, long before women in the US had so much freedom, who was acknowledged as a peer and equal by the greatest politicians of the world!

Someone also please explain to me why in the US is it so important for the wife of the presidential candidates to made their specialty dishes and have them judged? I cringed at this insult to all women. Are you indicating that this is the woman's job? There were also digs at former president Clinton, even though Hilary Clinton was not a presidential candidate then, speculating what would have happened if she had been? What would Clinton have done? Would he have made his specialty dish? This was an important topic of conversation in the US that whole week!

So yes people, we do have issues in India. But for such vast population, problems are to be expected. We are overcoming them and the rest of the world will witness just how in this century, surveys like these notwithstanding!

Women and Naipaul

This is what VS Naipaul had to say about women writers: http://shine.yahoo.com/event/summertimefun/vs-naipaul-says-women-writers-arent-as-good-as-men-can-you-tell-the-difference-2492834/
This from a man who was married for 41 years in what was publicized as an unhappy marriage! He is known to have visited prostitutes regularly, had an affair in which he was abusive and was seeing his current wife prior to his late wife's death in 1996!
I don't think women really care about his opinion of women or women writers. We don't have a very good opinion of him either.