Resist, Reclaim, Rejoice

What do women want? The answers came from 25 women, all of them leading lights in their fields, at the third edition of the annual Outlook Speakout in Delhi on October 19. Consensus congregated under one roof as a glittering evening saw powerful thoughts and contrasting opinions on issues that confront Indian women—each moment of her life divided between contradictory demands and expectations, between aspiration and anxiety, fear and freedom, choice and coercion, prejudice and progress, hope and happiness.

From safety on the roads and home to health and menstrual hygiene, the thought-leaders spoke their mind with candour, giving a glimpse into their collective minds. The evening saw presentation of the Outlook Speakout Award to 10 women, among them a nine-year-old,  by Union women and child development minister Smriti Irani, who also addressed the gathering. As a media group concerned with women’s lives at all levels, the Outlook Group proposes to take up a signature campaign, before submitting the charter to the WCD ministry.

Photographs: Jitender Gupta, Tribhuvan Tiwari, Vishal Koul, Suresh K. Pandey, J.S. Adhikari