“Mobility and physical fitness when coupled with financial independence will help women empower themselves. This when combined with the innate feminine qualities will help women outperform their male counterparts,” said former IPS officer Kiran Bedi here on Wednesday.
Addressing students at the inaugural function of Women Empowerment Cell of Shri Nehru Maha Vidyalaya, Ms. Bedi said that restrictions on mobility and lack of physical activities made women weaker and dependent.
“Mobility will help women explore the world and expand their horizons of knowledge while financial dependence will embolden them to take decisions on their own. Girls should also learn self-defence to protect themselves,” she said. “Motherhood should be a choice and women should have the right to decide whether she wanted to have a child and when. Being a mother brings in drastic changes in the life of a woman and she should plan it ahead,” Ms. Bedi said. She urged the students to take up community service projects which would lead to social empowerment. She asked the students to discourage their parents from giving dowry. Instead of treating marriage like a transaction, if parents deposited this money in fixed accounts it could form financial security to their daughter, she said.
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In the interactive session that followed, Ms. Bedi said women should lead the fight for justice in society. “Engaging with social issues and understanding the injustice should make us angry. This anger should be channelled into positive action.”
She called the students to join the non-violent struggle for a corruption-free country.