10 Inspiring Snippets of Thought From FWD Women Circle 2017
- 15 Mar 2017
- Sunaya
- Features
FWD Women Circle 2017, held at Le Meridien, Kochi on March 12, saw avid participation by the panelists from different walks of life on the topics at hand. With a panel of 10 inspiring personalities talking about relevant issues and causes, the day invoked thoughts and views on gender norms and had many of the panelists sharing anecdotes. While many inspiring words were spoken at the event, these are some of the quotes that stuck with us.
Session - 1, Today’s Women Are Expected To Do It All
“Most of the time, Women have tried to be like men, rather than a man trying to be like a women. Maybe that’s where the expectations on women to do everything came in. Growing up, I tried to look and act like a man. I was always troubled by how my male cousins and my brothers were treated by certain set of people in the family or extended family. The kind of attention and importance they were given was something the woman inside of me could not accept.”
- Monica Suri, General Manager, Le Meridien.
“It’s not easy to balance work life and personal life. There are choices that we make and they are not easy. But sometimes the guilt that comes with it makes us try harder to compensate for the choice.”
- Manju Sara Rajan, CEO, The Kochi Biennale Foundation.
“People make fun of me when I leave work at 6, 6.30 in the evening, I tell them I’m leaving for my second shift, at home. It’s all said in fun, but it’s true as well.”
- Rekha Menon, TV Anchor & Media Personality.
“In order to break out of anything, you just need to believe in yourself. Everything you want is available to you, it’s out there.”
- Annah Chakola, Founder & Creative Director of Boho Gypsy
“I think Gender Norms are an interesting dimension. When we have defined genders, the roles get defined too. That’s not what we’d like to have in the long run. It shouldn’t be a merger, but a symbiosis which will aid both genders to take society forward.”
- Meera Haridas (Head - Marketing, Mannapuram Finance Ltd
Session - 2, He For She
“We should understand and educate our children to be compassionate human beings. We should raise our sons to be a He that stands for She.’
said PTM Sunish, the CEO of gender park
“Back in our time, gender roles were the norm. Now a lot has changed. But we see that more is expected of a woman than man. She now has to handle both the house and her work, whereas, at the most, men just handle their work. I think Women are becoming stronger and men, weaker, because of this. There should be an equal distribution of work. It will take us time to achieve what we’re trying achieve, that is gender equality”
- Sheela Kochouseph, MD of V Star Creations
“We talk about how women are to be treated with respect like your sister, mother, etc. That’s not how it should be. Treat her as an individual. He should treat She as a person.”
- Meenu Batra, Consultant - Fetal Medicine Unit, Cimar Fertility Centre
“Women should support other women. She For She should be equally as important as He For She. Because women judge other women for their choices.“
- Nisha Jose, Social Changer
“It’s a balance of He and She. All women should create a He within herself. All men should create a She within himself. Each should learn to think like the other. If so, a lot of problems that we face would be gone”
- Pearle Maaney, VJ, model, anchor, and actress
Words By: Susmitha Suresh
Image Credits: FWD Media
