How women in India should be raised.

The reason I say raise your GIRLS right, is because women can have the most influence on people who are close to them. They are persistent, nurturing and influential and have natural maternal instincts.They can obviously sense and understand a child's need better than a man.
Hence the saying, A hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

Indian women since birth are instilled with a mindset which does not go beyond,  -Having Kids, Cooking, Raising a Family, Not going against the wishes of her family before marriage, Not going against the wishes of her husband after marriage, Working if the family needs money, Not working if the husbands family doesn't want her too, and the list goes on.

 There is nothing wrong with expecting your daughter to become a beautiful bride and raising an incredible family.What is wrong though, is to constantly inject into her sub-conscious, that this is what she is eventually going to be and it is pointless to work towards what she really wants. This might be what she eventually wants to do, but it should be HER decision. And it can only be her decision if she is raised right.

There are obviously girls, who are Doctors, Engineers, Architects, but this again is NOT always their choice'. Unfortunately, Indian parents think happiness only lies in choosing a profession that the society perceives as PRESTIGIOUS.

Teach Them HOW to think not WHAT to think.

Meddling with the child's decision starts from kindergarten. Telling them whom to play with and whom to not, without giving them a reason is sheer stupidity. Children should be taught what qualities they like in a person. I have been friends with people  whose parents are constantly meddling with their lives. Calling them 20 times a day, asking them to not interact with this one or do interact with that one. How will your child learn if you don't let them think for themselves?

I was one of the 'Bad Kids' and most of the parents would ask their daughters to not talk to me. And you know what the irony is, these girls today are either having illegitimate children or are have fallen into the deep, dark abyss of drug addiction. Yes, these same girls whose parents, ASSUMED I was 'Bad Company', just because I wasn't afraid to give my opinion.

Hence, I say teach your girls how to extract good traits from others.

Marriage is a Choice

 Indian women should be made understand that marriage is NOT the most important thing in a woman's life. She is not born solely to make babies and cook food for her husband. She is an epitome of strength, she has the power to create life inside her body and that is just what Mother nature has blessed her with. When she starts to explore her talents, her capability, her intelligence is when she will realize her true potential.

She should be constantly reminded that she is strength and beauty combined and has the power to be or do whatever it is she wants and she should only get married when she is ready or when she finds a man she is deeply in love with. Forcing someone to spend the rest of their lives, with a person they have known for a month or for a week, is highly irrational.

Parents should set better Ideals for their girls

Maximum Indians girls are highly fascinated by either  Katrina/Kareena/Deepika/Priyanka, who either have climbed their way up in Bollywood by compromising or by being  members of the ancient BollyClans. The girls feel that these actresses are flawless, despite knowing the fact that they can hardly act, they are popular, pretty and get away with almost anything.
Which is fine, how they came up is none of OUR business, what pinches me though is that they are being idolized by the youth of India. What they have achieved is NOT as important as HOW they have achieved it. That is what the girls should be taught. When at the tender age of trying to understand what you want become in life, girls are exposed this, they will think it is okay and that is how things are done. Again, I am not saying ban your girls from watching Bollywood actresses. Instead, ask them to join some acting classes or give some auditions, to make them realize the reality of it.Teach them to do things the right way,

Idolize Mary Kom, Look upto Sania Nehwal, or our very own former president Mrs. Pratibha Patil 

And by idolize I don't mean WORSHIP.  Absorb the qualities of these women and try to understand how they reached where they are.

Stop saying 'Like a Girl'

I cant believe I had to watch this video Do things "Like A Girl" to stop saying 'Like A Girl'. I am a FREAKING girl. When you say this to a child who maybe crying or whining, you sub-consciously making  it a synonym of the word weak. Is that how you perceive yourself? I don't think so. We have never been corrected and have always considered the most natural thing to say.

Women are NOT objects

The minute you hear arrange marriage, you can visualize a girl  dolled up, offering tea to the family who has come to SEE her. And you know what the scary part is, we don't think there is anything wrong with it.
 As a child I watched my aunt get ready each time some 'Ladkewale' came to see her and each time they left, she awaited eagerly to hear from them and when she did it was always things like'The girl is too dark'', 'My son is too good for her'. Can you believe this, can you believe that her parents took it from people and asked her to become better. They let her go through the hell of being shown like a piece of cloth and be rejected. DO you know what this can do to her self-esteem. It can shatter it into pieces invisible to the naked eye. 

I only realized how wrong this was when I was 18 and the exact same thing  happened to my neighbor. For 18 years of my life I thought it was the way marriages are set universally, 

If only her mother would have been strong enough to stand against her father, society and proudly said, things would have been different. If only she would have proudly said, "My daughter can decide when and who she wants to marry" 

 It is so deeply rooted in our generations that we do not even realize its wrong

Raise your voice 

If you are being wronged raise your voice. It is only you who can stand up for yourself.  If you don't want to get married say it, don't go on doing courses after courses just to delay marriage. If you want your independence work for it. If you want your freedom, show them you can do it. Teach your girls how to be independent,

Beauty Lies on the Inside 

Girls need to constantly be reassured about themselves. Make them realize that beauty lies within. Work on their personalities, rather than their superficial outer beauty. You can do this by not saying stuff like, look at how you dress, who will marry you if you look like this.
 It doesn't matter how you look. There is no need to wear 3 pounds of makeup on your face to feel good about yourself. Teach them to do something productive. It can be anything from volunteering in a zoo to joining a public speaking class.

Replace pretty, slim, fair with intelligent, well-spoken, bold, charismatic.


And while you are raising them to be strong, independent, self-sufficient women, instill in them abundant love, kindness and acceptance.