What women want in 2022

We ask Delhi-NCR women across age groups on what they want for themselves and others like them

SAFETY AND AWARENESS OF THEIR RIGHTS

I want women to be safe especially while stepping out at night, which isn’t the case right now. Also, women need to be aware of their rights; that is when men will respect them. This will come from real education, not just holding degrees. The idea sounds utopian but that’s the world I’d like to see.

-Ratna Mala Rau (73), Patparganj

GREATER AUTONOMY

We have had enough walls. Now, we are looking for doors. We want patriarchy to recede into a curfew. We want to walk at night. The women of 2022 want wars to end. We are tired of seeing mothers lose daughters, families falling apart, humanity crumbling under the white flag of international peace.

-Jahnvi Sharma (21), North Campus

EQUAL SEATS AT THE TABLE

I want more women at the table! As cliché as it sounds, we still have so much work to do for more pay and better opportunities. On the outside, we are climbing the social ladder equally. But the ground reality still needs work. I am so often outnumbered by men at the decision-making tables. I want to sit there with more women.

-Chahat Chadha (28), Indirapuram

ACCEPTANCE AND APPRECIATION

The list of what women want this year is long. We want safety to be made a priority as it has been and continues to be an issue; I am always on tenterhooks when my daughter decides to take a cab or travel alone at night. We want to be accepted the way we are, and are open to positive criticism but do not want to be put in a box. We want to feel appreciated by the family, more respect, especially from our children, and for them to support us.

-Archna Shanker Mathur (50), Noida

TIME TO BRIDGE THE INEQUALITY GAP

Women need to be treated at par with men. When they are restricted, they aren’t able to confidently express themselves. The gulf of inequality between men and women must be bridged this year.

-Mamta Goyal (45), Rohini