ENGLISH SPEECH | TOP 5 SPEECHES of 2025 (English Subtitles)

Thank you.

>> Yes.

Will they let us talk or no?

>> So folks, um I'm a film critic.

U my job is to look at films not

so much at box office

but this man doesn't give me a choice right what a year you've had

what a year um 1250 crores box office for KGF2 global grossif guys guys

54 crores only the Hindi version opening

which is a record in Bollywood

that HAS NOT BEEN BROKEN >> >> YES.

YOU KNOW, you >> Yeah.

I'm I'm going to need some crowd control from you.

>> Sorry.

>> You're going to have to help with the crowd control.

Yes.

>> So, Yash, you

and that film have been instrumental in bringing audiences back to the theaters this

year.

Uh why do you think Rocky connected so strongly just across the world?

See uh generally what happens is uh in a previous interview also I think

we discussed about this.

So the issues what uh masses have or they need some kind of inspiration.

They need uh somebody to motivate them.

So that may uh not come from books

or uh from they may not attend some you know personality development course.

Cinema is one such medium.

I know it's about action, gangster, all of that,

but deep down that's about one common manu who's got a lot of difficulties

and nothing is uh easy

or ideal situation for him,

but he surpasses all the difficulties in style with conviction

and he goes and he achieves it.

That is something which everybody today wants to uh do

or connect because we need to give them confidence. uh most of the people

they are like crushed in the beginning you know the way society tells you

that this is how

if it comes to

if I have to speak about my industry this is how our star should

be this is how we should look this is what uh these are the

type of clothes he should

so there is some set rules where society is unknowingly pushing it on youngsters

or today's generation so they're confused including me I was confused

so the moment The moment you realize it's all within you

and if you decide nothing can stop you

and everything will change,

you can change.

Change doesn't happen on its own.

You have to take actions.

So if they realize that then they will definitely get inspired.

Rocky did that to them.

And I think there is Rocky in everybody is what I feel, >> you know.

Um, one of my favorite scenes in the film is is early on, uh,

you get down from the helicopter,

you put yourself at the head of the table where all the other bad

guys have gathered,

right?

And then you drop that killer line about nepotism, which I just loved.

And then you say, "I've got here on merit."

Right?

Rocky is saying, "I've got here on merit."

And a little later in that scene,

you say that you can't create another Rocky Bai to kill me

because there's one and only peace right now

that that Yash is also you,

right?

You are here on merit.

>> You are a single piece.

I want to talk to you about this conviction, okay?

Because you you go back to it in your conversation a lot.

What does conviction mean on a day-to-day basis?

How do you have like what what do you do on a day-to-day basis?

You wake up and do what to have that belief.

>> I think um to answer your first portion

when we put that nepotism

that was not u there was no such development in the industry

that was shot much before lockdown

and all of that.

So the idea was it's a burning issue.

So it doesn't mean

that people who have come from film background

or film family.

It's not against them.

Nepotism according to me is not about um somebody some actor's son

or some producer son coming into industry.

It's not about that.

It's about them trying to put others down acting

as if they are blueblad

or they are royalty.

That is wrong.

So that's there in most of the fields.

It's not just cinema

but cinema it's visible

and people talk about it criticize

and it's like little uh vulnerable industry

if not everywhere that is there

but if as a country

or as a society

if we have to evolve

or go to next level we should encourage talent we should encourage merit

so the idea was even in gangsters even in underworld

if you are talking about nepotism I

that was a confusion

when I just you know we were discussing I said this is the best

time to tell him nepotism here also

so everybody's like that isn't it too high a word will people understand I

don't know then that became like a big thing everywhere everybody started discussing

so then most of the people understood uh

but the point is not to put anybody down from the industry it's to

inspire any individual for me I from the beginning all I had is confidence

and vision and when I look at people who are trying to intimidate you

with power or with uh just the background

if you do it good we respect you

but at the same time

because somebody has done it in your family

or that we give you love we respect you

when you mutually respect everybody that's fine in any industry

but don't use it

as a weapon to intimidate imidate others.

So somebody like me,

I think it's most of the people's issue

and they they have it in them.

Somebody like me if I represent

then that's when the city comes

and on a daily basis I think all of us go through

that.

I'm not somebody who's like 24 bar 7 confident

or I'm not somebody

but most of the time I am really >>

because because I don't uh I don't think about what to lose

or it's about you you be yourself

and whole world will sense it

if you try to act

if you try to pretend

or if you try to imprint someone that's

when you lose respect

if you be yourself

and if you don't care about uh not with arrogance uh

if you don't care about uh you know what others are thinking about you

judging you then everybody will like you

if you're real and

if you have that confidence

and I think it's a constant process I get inspired by looking at a

lot of other fellow actors

or competition is something

which I feel it is very important in the industry I always been telling

about it it's not just about one indivision

so I always tell KGF was not to intimidate.

It is the vision of KJF was to inspire

that I wanted everybody to believe

that uh anybody can go out

and achieve.

It's not like we are not inferior or it's not like an impossible task.

I always believe everybody comes to this world uh as a baby.

I've never seen or come across any story where somebody is you know come

with all might and power.

So they all develop it.

So if they can even we can uh that's that's about it.

You keep motivating yourself.

Keep set a goal.

That's what I believe.

You set a goal

and then take actions what it requires

and what kind of people you have to associate

and then just keep going.

Don't care about rest of the things.

Success and failure is like it's not trust me

when I say this even after this success it's not uh success

which gives us happiness.

It's about the journey.

When you see that

when nobody else is even thinking of it

or if they can't imagine

but you are seeing it absolutely with such clarity

that it's as if it's there waiting for you.

That's the fun part.

So set a high goal.

Set a goal which

which should look like there's a saying no

if you tell your goal people should be scared.

If not it is not a goal.

No buying a house, having a buying a car or uh settling down,

having a good family is not a goal.

That's basic.

We will end up set high goals.

Then I think individually everybody can

if everybody starts thinking like

that many things can happen for this country

because we just talk about our country was great back

then,

our civilization was like that.

So I can go on

and on about this topic

because I love because

that changed my life.

Belief system changed my life.

>> You know what intrigues me Yash is

that after this massive blockbuster you didn't give 30 interviews.

Okay.

You didn't post uh creatives talking about box office here opening there.

You in fact didn't give any interviews. you you just went quiet

which is a very unique way to approach stardom.

Why have you chosen this?

>> I think um that's how an actor should be

or a star should be

because they all are the channel for the dream world.

I'm like the bridge.

They need to pass through us

when they see some actors

or some stories. they listen to stories through those characters through us they travel

if it is too much about me

and if they know everything about me I don't know where uh they will

be able to relate to those characters

so for me I think it's my job one second

and I don't believe in going out

and talking about you know this is saying no

if you're a king

if you're telling you're a king

then you're not a king

so anybody who has success Anybody who has success

or doing really great in life,

I don't think they have to go out

and show that they're successful

or doing it.

People will know it.

I I I know my audience or my fans,

all of them are really smart.

We are trying to cope up because they consume lot of content.

They understand the world better.

So if I think I am smart and I'm trying to project something,

they will read it.

Okay, this guy is doing this

because he wants to show he's bigger than

that actor or this actor.

So, you better you better be real

and they will sense it

and they will tell the whole world.

I think it's nice when it comes from people.

>> How fabulous.

Speaking of conquering, uh what is the next big world domination plan?

Remember I told you once I told you audience will tell me what to

do next >> you asked me what do you mean by audience

or people will tell you see

if you listen to them you will know >> Hollywood >> they're thinking Hollywood

no when when when I say it's not about Hollywood it's about trying to

achieve things which always looked uh like only they can do

or again same same thing it's not

that as a country also we have

so many such inhibitions you know you know what the best CG company in

the world or the one of the best who are doing good is an

Indian uh I met him Namit

so he's got so many Oscars

so happy to see our people going

and achieving those things

and establishing and like

that there are so many people there also who are uh working there

and they've understood that market all of

that but now it's time to see what we can do

as an industry I think most of the people are looking towards

that and uh as we have India on our side we can take

that challenge because the kind of budgets we can put

or the kind of support audience are giving

and some people even say it's not about budget it's about content yes true

but there are certain things to achieve certain kind of film you need

that budget or you need

that so we can take

that kind of responsibility we'll try

and there are so many people who might do

that in our country

but I think we all should take inspiration from each other

and keep trying that's it >>

but Yash give us little more now

when will you announce >> no I I'm not saying my next film will

be Hollywood or that you just ask me what's Next for me my vision

is let me go towards it let me work towards content let me work

with people who are hungry

and passionate I don't want to work with people who are looking at my

box office number and come

and tell me that okay we'll do this film

so we can no I want to work with people who say uh you

know you've done this you you you can do this

or can we try something else here

or let us do this uh something you know very exciting

That is where I'm looking at.

I think I'm working on couple of things.

But the fact is I I've met couple of people their vision is good.

They have come up with good scripts

or I've also spent time with couple of people working on scripts.

But somewhere I think all of it uh starts with are we aligned?

Is the vision same?

because as an individual story

that might be good may not work for what I want to achieve now

or where I want to go

and there are certain talented directors who I just worked with

but I don't think their exposure

or what they are thinking right now is not the same thing

so we just aligning

and I think I have been looking for it I don't want to talk

much because um there is nothing left after

that uh I anybody won't be excited

if I come out

and tell because they will have an idea

But I'm working.

I'm not taking this success for granted. 24 bar 7 from morning to night.

I just think of cinema.

I just think of uh our people.

I always believed whenever they have given me success,

it is not because what I have done.

It is because of what they see in me,

what they want me to do.

So, so I know what they are expecting out of me.

At least I'll try doing it.

That's all I can say.

It's something very uh nice which I will enjoy.

I don't know how they will feel it but it's good.

It's uh things are going well but it will take time.

In my head there is no time for me.

Time is irrelevant.

As far as I'm waking up early in the morning, hitting the gym,

doing all my actor duties plus 24/7 uh you know,

I'm brainstorming of doing uh giving a better product film for them.

How can things go wrong?

I don't uh you know I'm not doing things

which is irrelevant to my industry.

I'm just trying to do what it takes to make a good film.

So it should fall in place.

It will looks like it is falling in place.

That's all I can say.

>> Lovely.

We hope soon.

>> Soon.

>> Very soon.

See, I I I No, no, no, no.

The problem is I I know all of you are expecting on Janet that's

my birthday.

I I really want to

but if it is halfbaked I don't think I will come out

because for me it is not about me it is not about my birthday

nothing it's about the product it's about the project

when it is right right time I will come out

and tell please I I want you people to understand

that I'm not irresponsible I'm not having fun with the success I'm really trying

to get things Right.

That's all I can say.

>> Lovely.

>> Congratulations to all the UC San Diego graduates

and also congratulations to the parents

and the friends who are attending this memorable occasion this morning.

I came here all the way from Bangladesh.

So I have to give you the greetings from the other side of the

planet.

So I come almost halfway coming here and it's worth it.

You are graduating from UC San Diego.

This is a special privilege.

You remember how many young people in the world don't has a chance to

go to school?

>> Sure.

>> How many of them can't make it to college

and those who get to college never make it to finish it?

And you're privileged.

Not only you went to college, you went to UC San Diego,

one of the most dominant universities,

top universities in the world. you just heard from by from the Shansworth.

So this privilege that you have you have to remember

and you have to ask yourself what use you're going to make of it.

That's the important thing.

Preparing for life is important one one part one one part

and using it using

that preparation is another part.

So that's the question I'll be raising with you

and probably you'll be raising with yourself to beginning today to making sure you

make good use of it

and my journey began in the campus of another university back in Bangladesh in

Chagong University and Bangladesh is a full of problems

as you can imagine

and when I went back after finishing my PhD here it was extreme seeing

kind of problems in the country

and I felt that I'm a lucky person

that I'm from Bangladesh.

I was born in Bangladesh.

It has so many problems.

If you lift a finger,

you can touch hundreds of problems right around you

and that's exciting for a young person to look at those problems

and see what I can do about it.

There are so many of them.

I can do something about it.

And I wonder if I was born in a country where there's no problem,

what would it happen to me?

I every time I think about it, I feel I'll be bored to death.

I wouldn't know what to do with myself.

There's no problem.

So this is how I reacted to it.

And I wouldn't wait for any prepackaged solutions.

I always try to do in my own way.

I look at the problem,

I try to figure out the solution on my own in my own way.

I didn't wait for anybody else to help me.

When I saw the problem in the village about the lone sharking,

it's a kind of age-old problem everywhere in the region,

everywhere in the world.

>> But nobody seemed to do anything about it.

and I see face to face in a village next door to the university

campus suddenly occurred to me I can do something about it why don't I

lend money myself if I lend money they don't have to go people don't

have to go to lone sharks

then the problem is solved what's the big deal

so I started lending money out of my own pocket there's a very tiny

amount of money needed

and I saw how eagerly they were coming to me to borrow

that money so that they don't have to go to lone shark

and that was the beginning of something

which I never dreamt of will happen creating something called micro credit

and it started lending money expanded created a bank out of it started in

1976 we converted into a bank formal bank in 1983

and it became a nationwide bank

and the thing that we do became known

as micro credit micro finance

and every other one country wanted to imitate

that follow that today in Bangladesh the Gin bank the bank

that I created has over 8

and a half million borrowers mostly women 97% of them are women destitute women

who joined Gain >> >> Not only they borrow money from Gain Bank,

they own the bank itself.

They sit in the board of the bank.

They decide the policies of the bank.

So it's a very strange bank in that way.

It's a bank owned by poor women.

It's a bank which is run by poor women as a policy makers.

And we have been let me take it off.

It's trying to blow away.

Uh it's a bank which at the service of the poor women everywhere.

The basic principle that we put right away.

People should not come to bank.

Bank should go to people.

Still wherever the micro credit programs are done, it's the same principle.

They don't have to come to the program.

The people go and serve them at their doorstep.

So all these 8

and a half million borrowers in all the villages of Bangladesh

which is 80,000 villages in Bangladesh we meet them every week serve them at

their doorstep and people think lending tiny little money is what is micro credit.

That's not true.

It's a the whole micro credit is challenging the existing banking system.

We are almost opposite of the conventional banking.

People tell me how did you decide the rules and policies of the bank?

How do you design all those things?

All the intricate details.

I say it's very simple.

Whenever we needed a policy and needed a rule,

we just look at the conventional bank how they do it.

Then we do the other way.

We do the opposite.

>> They go to the rich, we go to the poor.

They go to men, we go to women.

They go to the city center, we go to remote villages.

Even today after 40 years of our work,

still there's not a single branch of Gain Bank.

Gain Bank has 2600 branches in the country of Bangladesh.

Not a single branch is located in any city, any town,

any township in the country.

So all in the village.

So we reverse that.

Conventional banks ask for collateral.

We dismiss that thing.

We say this a wall which separates people, poor people from the banking system.

We just do business on the basis of trust.

There is since there is no collateral, there is no document.

There is no legal document between the lender and the borrower.

Since there is no legal document, there's no lawyer.

There's no lawyer in our bank. is the only bank in the world

which is lawyer free.

>> You can walk in anytime

and ask for a loan provided you are a poor person.

Only thing you have to substantiate very satisfactoryy that you are extremely poor.

Again this is the reverse of the banking system.

In the banking system you have to explain how rich you are

and then they give money.

And their rule is the more you have the more you can get.

So we reversed the entire banking system.

Today almost half the population of the entire world is deprived from the banking

services.

We wanted to fill that since it's not impossible to do that.

So the whole thing began

because I tried to do something in a way I thought it will be

a solution for the pe people to stay away from the lone sharks.

Now that became a challenge to the entire banking system

because most of the problem we created in the world is

because of the banking system.

Take the case of wealth concentration.

All the wealth of the world is concentrated in few hands. 99% of the

wealth of the world is owned by 1% of the population.

If you reverse it,

99% of the population of the world own only 1% of the wealth of

the world.

That's not a good world.

That's the challenge to you.

How do you reverse it?

That's what you have to think because this is not sustainable.

Each day is becoming worse.

So if you keep on doing exactly the way we do it,

tomorrow there'll be 99 12% of the world owned by less than 1% of

the population of the world

and it will get worse day after tomorrow.

So that's the challenge we have to take and make it the other way.

And we continue to look for those solutions.

We look at the problems that the poor people face. many problems, health problems,

education problems, sanitation problems, you name it.

Every time I see a problem in the village that I walk work in,

I try to address

that problem by creating a business

and I created a business after business

because there is so many there are

so many problems.

So I create keep on creating businesses to solve those problem.

And people say why are you doing that?

Why you must be making lot of money by doing this business.

I said no I don't make any money out of these businesses

then why do you run businesses

because I then my answer is I enjoy it

so they can figure out what how can one run business without making money

for himself and he says he enjoys it I said is there any law

in the country that

if you decide not to take profit from the company you'll be punished for

that I said there is no law

so I'm just taking advantage of it I don't take the profit out of

the company the entire company is devoted to solving problems

then I realized again I'm challenging something else the whole concept of business itself

there's only one concept of business in the whole world business to make money

personal money and I said no I don't want to make much salon money

I want to solve problems

and they started calling these kind of businesses

as social businesses and defined it by saying it's a non-ividend company to solve

human problems and I continued to create those things

and gradually it became very noticeable some big companies wanted to do business with

us we agreed to do

that among the many things

that I created as a social business one I'll just give one example out

of many in Bangladesh Bangladesh doesn't have much of electricity villages don't have electricity

they have solar they have just lamps kerosene lamps

and 22 years back.

I thought why don't we bring solar energy into the Bangladesh?

I have no idea about solar energy.

All I read in the newspaper that's all.

So I talked to people who knows about solar energy.

They said no it doesn't fit good in Bangladesh.

It's good for Europe.

It good for North America but not for Bangladesh.

I said why not?

So I figured that out.

I said I can make it happen.

I created a business created a company called Grammine Shuki

or Grammine Energy and it started selling solar home system in the villages.

In the beginning it was extremely difficult to sell four

or five solar home system per month

but we never gave it up.

We continued 20 years later we were selling thousand solar home system per day.

It became a huge business, a so social business.

Today we have more than 2 million households in Bangladesh with solar energy.

It became so popular through our company that other people came in,

NGOs's came in, companies came in to sell solar home system.

In total today, more than 4 million homes in Bangladesh are served by solar

energy just out of nowhere.

So this became largest offgrid solar system in the whole world.

So this is what become.

So it's an idea an idea you don't have to know everything.

I didn't know anything about banking

and people tell me what is the best thing

that happened that you could create gummy bank.

I said best thing that happened to me.

I never took a course in banking.

I didn't have to learn anything about it.

Since I didn't know anything I could do anything I want.

Sometimes not knowing the details is a blessing.

So you can figure it out yourself

and when you figure it out it will be different than what is in

the book.

So don't give up on something that you don't know.

Always take advantage of it.

Make sure it happens.

I mentioned lots of big businesses are doing business with us.

They are interested in social business.

I'll just give examp one example.

We have done many like with Don with Violia with BSF with McCain of

Canada one from the US we do the business joint venture with Intel corporation

what we have done we are very worried about the maternal death in Bangladesh

so out of Intel corporations collaborations we designed a part of Bengals the Bengal

which will give you uh two things one give you the signals

or alarm when the air quality in home in the house

that you're working goes above a certain level

because fume hits hurts the pregnant women

and their baby.

So we wanted to check

because one of the cause of death in Bangladesh major cause of death in

Bangladesh is the air quality in their inside the kitchen.

So we wanted to address that.

So this bengal this beautiful piece of ornament

if you look at it nobody will suspect

that you are wearing very high-tech ornament in your hand.

It gives you that gives you a alarm bell

as soon as the quality of the air goes above a certain level

and it gives you a voice message.

Get out of the house.

Open all the windows

and doors until you have a better air quality

and you come back.

Then also it gives voice messages.

This is the fifth month of your pregnancy.

These are the symptoms that you will feel.

If you feel that way, it's okay.

This is normal.

Don't worry about it.

If you have symptoms like this, press this button.

We'll get in touch with you.

So this is a communication.

This is a kind of uh giving advice to young women.

We are trying to make more

and more into that mango

so that nobody has to die at child birth.

It's a common thing all over the world.

The women die at child birth

because they don't know it was a risky pregnancy.

We are trying to identify the risky pregnancies.

So we continue to do that.

One of the major problem

that we face we the children of gamin families their their parents are illiterate.

We wanted to make sure all the children go to school.

So it became part of gamin bank's program to encourage their parents to send

the children to school

and we achieve 100% enrollment by the children of gain families

and then they came to college.

We gave them education loans

so that they can go to the college

so they don't have to worry about money

and many went to educ higher education went to get their master's degree get

their PhDs bank provided the support

then it created a problem thousands

and thousands of young people coming out of the colleges

and universities with degrees no jobs they keep complaining why did we have education

there is no In the beginning,

I didn't know how to respond to that.

Then I figured out what to say.

Then I challenged them.

I said, "Who asked you to have a job?"

They couldn't answer that question.

Did your book tell you that you have to have a job?

Did your teacher tell you to have a job?

And I tell them, always remember, job is a wrong idea.

Don't ever look for a job.

Always tell yourself that I'm a job creator.

I'm not a job seeker.

I'm a job creator.

So be a job creator.

This is a fundamental thing that remain with me.

I believe I believe

that all human beings are born

as entrepreneurs and we are told go the wrong direction look for jobs.

I said human being are packed with unlimited creative capacity

and if you take a job that's in most of the cases that's the

end of your creativity.

>> Yes.

Good.

>> Even if you

if you are allowed some part of your creativity to be used in your

job mostly in selling some insignificant product insignificant things that's about the creativity can

use otherwise it's a repetitive process.

A human being was full of energy, full of creative capacity, taking a job,

sacrificing the totality of this creativity

and rest of the life

and kind of stay in a little corner of the creative creative life.

So I said don't ever dream of

that be a creative person remain it become an entrepreneur.

So in order to make it happen, so what we did,

we created a social business fund

and ask every young person come with a business idea

and once you come up with the business idea,

we invest in your business.

We become your partner.

We invest all the money

that you need and it's a joint venture between you

and us.

Make it successful.

Return the money we gave you.

We are a social business.

We are not interested in your profit.

We are a problem-solving business.

So we solve your problem. you we put you on the orbit.

You go wherever you want to go and they love it.

Initially we started with hundreds now we have thousands of them coming with business

ideas and hopefully there will be multiples of thousands very soon in every month

they go that everybody turns themselves into entrepreneurs people said even they were arguing

that oh some of us may not be entrepreneur I said look that's not

true look at your mother your mother is a gin bank borrower she started

with a tiny loan $30 $20

and she turned herself into an entrepreneur

if millions of these women illiterate can become entrepreneur.

What good is your education

if you're looking for jobs

and then sit idle say I am I am unemployed.

No human being should remain unemployed.

So one of the thing unemployment is totally artificial concept created by our wrong

thinking.

When we came to this planet,

we're not sitting around in the caves saying that we are unemployed.

Like we're not sending job applications from cave number five to cave number 10.

Do you have a job?

We are natural entrepreneurs.

We are go-getters.

We are problem solvers.

Our education system made us forget that.

>> Made us into tiny little job seekers.

So unless we come out of this discover ourself that's the chance you got

discover yourself be somebody

that you want to be

and find out who you are what you want to do what's the purpose

of your life without defining your purpose of life everything become immaterial it doesn't

have any any direction

so what I do I put my purpose of life

or my destination of life increasing Heres zero number one zero poverty in the

world this is what I worked for every day

so that we can create a world we can create a world there's not

a single person in anywhere in the world will remain a poor person

and then I say we create poverty museums

so that next generation will go to the poverty museums to find out what

poverty used to be like

and that's a goal.

It's a doable goal.

There's nothing wrong with human being.

Only system put us in the wrong direction.

So we have to undo that system which push us in the wrong direction.

We have to fix the financial system.

We have to fix the education system so that we discover ourself, our work,

we unleash our energy, unleash our creative capacity rather than become job seekers.

The education system should not end with the job application.

Education system will end with the grand ideas about creating a new world.

Zero.

Number two for me zero unemployment in the world.

Again I said there is no reason why anybody anywhere in the world should

be unemployed.

Why anybody in the world should be on welfare?

Why anybody in the world just be homeless?

There's no reason whatsoever.

The same human quality exists in every single human being.

Third zero is zero net carbon emission.

We have to do it.

We can do it.

Finally, the non-believers are coming to become believers.

We had a signed agreement in Paris

and we make sure we make it happen very fast.

It can be done when we put all these together.

Three zeros implemented.

All the zeros are accomplished.

We lay down the foundation of another world.

We create new civilization for us.

The old civilization that we are going through is not something take us out

of the problems that we got

because our thinking is wrong.

Our formulations are wrong.

So we have to reformulate.

We have to create a new civilization

which coming out of the civilization

which based on personal selfishness,

the civilization based on greed.

We have to get out of

that selfishness and get out of

that greed and create a civilization based on human values.

That's the challenge you have.

And we can make it together.

That's the challenge.

We take it and that's what is worthwhile going to UC San Diego

and make it happen.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

>> >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH, Gertrude Mangela,

for your dedicated work that has brought us to this point.

Distinguished delegates and guests,

I would like to thank the Secretary General for inviting me to be part

of this important United Nations 4th World Conference on Women.

This is truly a celebration,

a celebration of the contributions women make in every aspect of life,

in the home, on the job, in the community. as mothers, wives, sisters, daughters,

learners, workers, citizens, and leaders.

It is also a coming together much the way women come together every day

in every country.

We come together in fields and factories, in village markets and supermarkets,

in living rooms and boardrooms.

Whether it is while playing with our children in the park

or washing clothes in a river

or taking a break at the office water cooler,

we come together and talk about our aspirations and concerns.

And time and again, our talk turns to our children and our families.

However different we may appear,

there is far more that unites us than divides us.

We share a common future,

and we are here to find common ground

so that we may help bring new dignity

and respect to women

and girls all over the world.

And in so doing, bring new strength and stability to families as well.

By gathering in Beijing,

we are focusing world attention on issues that matter most in our lives.

The lives of women and their families.

Access to education, health care, jobs, and credit.

The chance to enjoy basic legal and human rights,

and to participate fully in the political life of our countries.

There are some who question the reason for this conference.

Let them listen to the voices of women in their homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces.

There are some who wonder whether the lives of women

and girls matter to economic

and political progress around the globe.

Let them look at the women gathered here and at Huairo,

the homemakers and nurses, the teachers and lawyers,

the policy makers and women who run their own businesses.

It is conferences like this that compel governments and peoples everywhere to listen, look,

and face the world's most pressing problems.

Wasn't it after all after the women's conference in Nio Nairobi 10 years ago

that the world focused for the first time on the crisis of domestic violence?

Earlier today, I participated in a World Health Organization forum.

In that forum, we talked about ways that government officials, NOS,

and individual citizens are working to address the health problems of women and girls.

Tomorrow, I will attend a gathering of United Nations Development Fund for Women.

There the discussion will focus on local

and highly successful programs

that give hardworking women access to credit

so they can improve their own lives

and the lives of their families.

What we are learning around the world is

that if women are healthy

and educated,

their families will flourish.

If women are free from violence, their families will flourish.

If women have a chance to work

and earn as full

and equal partners in society,

their families will flourish.

And when families flourish, communities and nations do as well.

That is why every woman, every man, every child, every family,

and every nation on this planet does have a stake in the discussion

that takes place here.

Over the past 25 years, I have worked persistently on issues relating to women,

children, and families.

Over the past two and a half years,

I've had the opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing women in my

own country and around the world.

I have met new mothers in Indonesia who come together regularly in their village

to discuss nutrition,

family planning, and baby care.

I have met working parents in Denmark who talk about the comfort they feel

in knowing that their children can be cared for in safe

and nurturing afterchool centers.

I have met women in South Africa who helped lead the struggle to end

apartheid and are now helping to build a new democracy.

I have met with the leading women of my own hemisphere who are working

every day to promote literacy

and better health care for children in their countries.

I have met women in India

and Bangladesh who are taking out small loans to buy milk cows

or rickshaws or thread in order to create a livelihood for themselves

and their families.

I have met the doctors

and nurses in Bellarus

and Ukraine who are trying to keep children alive in the aftermath of Chernobyl.

The great challenge of this conference is to give voice to women everywhere whose

experiences go unnoticed whose words go unheard.

Women comprise more than half the world's population,

70% of the world's poor

and twothirds of those who are not taught to read

and write.

We are the primary caretakers for most of the world's children and elderly.

Yet much of the work we do is not valued not by economists,

not by historians, not by popular culture, not by government leaders.

At this very moment as we sit here,

women around the world are giving birth, raising children, cooking meals, washing clothes,

cleaning houses, planting crops, working on assembly lines, running companies, and running countries.

Women also are dying from diseases that should have been prevented or treated.

They are watching their children succumb to malnutrition caused by poverty and economic deprivation.

They are being denied the right to go to school by their own fathers

and brothers.

They are being forced into prostitution.

And they are being barred from the bank lending offices

and banned from the ballot box.

Those of us who have the opportunity to be here have the responsibility to

speak for those who could not.

As an American, I want to speak for women in my own country.

Women who are raising children on the minimum wage. women who can't afford health

care or child care.

Women whose lives are threatened by violence, including violence in their own homes.

I want to speak up for mothers who are fighting for good schools,

safe neighborhoods, clean air, and clean air waves.

For older women, some of them widows, who find that after raising their families,

their skills and life experiences are not valued in the marketplace. for women who

are working all night

as nurses,

hotel clerks, or fast food chefs

so that they can be at home during the day with their children.

And for women everywhere who simply don't have time to do everything they are

called upon to do each

and every day.

Speaking to you today,

I speak for them just

as each of us speaks for women around the world who are denied the

chance to go to school

or see a doctor

or own property or have a say about the direction of their lives simply

because they are women.

The truth is that most women around the world work both inside

and outside the home,

usually by necessity.

We need to understand there is no one formula for how women should lead

our lives.

That is why we must respect the choices

that each woman makes for herself

and her family.

Every woman deserves the chance to realize her own god-given potential.

But we must recognize

that women will never gain full dignity until their human rights are respected

and protected.

Our goals for this conference to strengthen families

and societies by empowering women to take greater control over their own destinies cannot

be fully achieved unless all governments here

and around the world accept their responsibility to protect

and promote internationally recognized human rights.

The in The international community has long acknowledged

and recently reaffirmed at Vienna

that both women and men are entitled to a range of protections

and personal freedoms. from the right of personal security to the right to determine

freely the number and spacing of the children they bear.

No one no one should be forced to remain silent for fear of religious

or political persecution,

arrest, abuse or torture.

Tragically, women are most often the ones whose human rights are violated.

Even now, in the late 20th century,

the rape of women continues to be used as an instrument of armed conflict.

Women and children make up a large majority of the world's refugees.

And when women are excluded from the political process,

they become even more vulnerable to abuse.

I believe that now on the eve of a new millennium,

it is time to break the silence.

It is time for us to say here in Beijing

and for the world to hear

that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights

as separate from human rights.

>> >> These abuses have continued

because for too long the history of women has been a history of silence.

Even today there are those who are trying to silence our words.

But the voices of this conference

and of the women at Huairo must be heard loudly

and clearly.

It is a violation of human rights

when babies are denied food

or drowned or suffocated

or their spines broken simply

because they are born girls.

It is a violation of human rights

when women and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution for human greed.

And the kinds of reasons

that are used to justify this practice should no longer be tolerated.

>> >> It is a violation of human rights when women are doused with gasoline,

set on fire, and burned to death

because their marriage dowies are deemed too small.

It is a violation of human rights

when individual women are raped in their own communities

and when thousands of women are subjected to rape

as a tactic or prize of war.

>> >> It is a violation of human rights

when a leading cause of death worldwide among women ages 14 to 44 is

the violence they are subjected to in their own homes by their own relatives.

It is a violation of human rights

when young girls are brutalized by the painful

and degrading practice of genital mutilation.

It is a violation of human rights

when women are denied the right to plan their own families.

And that includes being forced to have abortions or being sterilized against their will.

If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference,

let it be that human rights are women's rights

and women's rights are human rights once

and for all.

>> >> And among those rights are the right to speak freely

and the right to be heard.

Women must enjoy the rights to participate fully in the social

and political lives of their countries.

If we want freedom and democracy to thrive and endure,

it is indefensible that many women in non-governmental organizations who wish to participate in

this conference have not been able to attend

or have been pro prohibited from fully taking part.

>> >> Let me be clear.

Freedom means the right of people to assemble, organize, and debate openly.

It means respecting the views of those who may disagree with the views of

their governments.

It means not taking citizens away from their loved ones and jailing them,

mistreating them or denying them their freedom

or dignity because of the peaceful expression of their ideas

and opinions.

In my country, we recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of women's suffrage.

It took 150 years after the signing of our Declaration of Independence for women

to win the right to vote.

It took 72 years of organized struggle before

that happened on the part of many courageous women

and men.

It was one of America's most divisive philosophical wars.

But it was a bloodless war. suffrage was achieved without a shot being fired.

But we have also been reminded in VJ Day observances last weekend of the

good that comes when men

and women join together to combat the forces of tyranny

and to build a better world.

We have seen peace prevail in most places for a half century.

We have avoided another world war.

But we have not solved older,

deeply rooted problems that continue to diminish the potential of half the world's population.

Now it is the time to act on behalf of women everywhere.

If we take bold steps to better the lives of women,

we will be taking bold steps to better the lives of children and families,

too.

Families rely on mothers and wives for emotional support and care.

Families rely on women for labor in the home.

And increasingly everywhere, families rely on women for income needed to raise healthy children

and care for other relatives.

As long as discrimination and inequities remain so commonplace everywhere in the world,

as long as girls and women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked,

underpaid, not schooled, subjected to violence in and outside their homes.

The potential of the human family to create a peaceful,

prosperous world will not be realized.

Let let this conference be our and the world's call to action.

Let us heed that call

so we can create a world in

which every woman is treated with respect

and dignity.

Every boy and girl is loved

and cared for equally

and every family has the hope of a strong

and stable future.

That is the work before you.

That is the work before all of us who have a vision of the

world we want to see for our children

and our grandchildren.

The time is now.

We must move beyond rhetoric.

We must move beyond recognition of problems to working together to have the common

efforts to build that common ground we hope to see.

God's blessings on you, your work, and all who will benefit from it.

Godspeed and thank you very much.

>> >> It's a proud privilege to be India do today.

This is the institution which is the backbone of India's strategic military research.

An institution that allows us to boast of a place in select nations with

ICBM capabilities.

An institution that helps us to stay non-aligned in an extremely geopolitically sensitive world

that we live in today.

And of course, the institution

that has always helped us to maintain operational dominance

and battleworthiness every time this nation has gone to war.

I salute all of you. to the scientists, the technical advisers,

the non-technical staff who make up this great organization.

So when Tessim asked me to join all of you today,

I was wondering what I should talk to you about.

Thought to myself, these are scientists,

highly qualified people who have dedicated their life to a very serious task,

science and technology, R&D.

I'm sure a task

which means that every other priority in their life takes a backseat.

Men and women irrespective of their cast, their religion, their upbringing, their gender,

come together, work in tandem

and achieve something which is bigger than their individual name

and fame.

They contribute to the nation building cause to its security concerns.

And for this to my mind is what makes great organizations.

As we move towards a more equal and humanist world, I repeat,

not a feminist one, but an equal and humanist world,

we must begin to realize and recognize that leadership and competence has no gender.

I'm sure all the women out here will agree with me

that our mothers and grandmoms have put us on a very strong platform.

They during their time would have fought very pitched battles for issues

that we take for granted today. the right to want to study,

the right to want to work,

the right to want to marry someone of their choice

and sometimes even the right to want to take decisions on behalf of their

children whom they brought into the world.

So they have given us a strong legacy

and I think it's up to us to internalize the revolution

and take it in the right way forward.

I truly believe that the world is ready for us.

The question is, are we ready?

Do we have the skills?

Do we have the competencies to truly deserve a rightful place in the workforce?

When uh young administrators join the service,

I say young because in spite of all the kind uh observations made,

I'm not so young anymore.

I'm almost 40.

And uh young administrators do ask me nowadays

as to what I think are the attributes of a good officer.

So I often try to tell them in simple words

that one must begin by trying to lead the self.

That's a very difficult task.

It means having commitment to your goal to what you want to contribute to

your chosen field of work to have a long-term vision of where you want

to see yourself and

that involves consistency of thought.

We may be flexible in the modalities.

We may be flexible in the way we would like to achieve those goals,

but consistency of thought is extremely important to leading the self.

Good communication skills.

Every time a leader speaks, he or she should hit target.

That should be the impact of the communication skills.

And of course, there has to be core integrity

and courage to take a stand to stand up for others who you think

deserve that.

And once when you think

that you have a grip on the self

then we may try

and attempt to lead others.

It means setting a direction.

One can never forget that people come from different backgrounds,

different prejudices and uh getting them to commit to the common conscious is extremely

important in order to achieve the objective

that the team has set out to achieve.

It means aligning your forces.

I'm sure all the managers out here,

the senior uh directors out here will agree with me

that there are different skills in different people.

Some people are good at strategizing,

some people are good at supports

and logistics and some people are good at executing.

So we must choose and align the forces in the right way.

And sometimes uh there are people

that you keep thinking hard what are they capable of?

Do they really belong to the organization?

But that's where our skills as a leader comes to the forefront.

Every human being has something to offer.

It's up to us how to extract

and how to make him

or her a productive asset in the organization.

So is it that easy?

Is it that easy ladies out here?

We we learn to lead ourselves,

lead others and are we you know assured a sure shot success in our

careers?

It's not easy.

>> Very true.

But I would also like to say here

that the obstacles in the obstacle course is something

that you need to be conscious about.

You need to negotiate and largely it has to do with our own conditioning.

I say this with uh uh whatever little experience I have seen of different

women in different organizations

that women sometimes hesitate to take on new responsibilities.

We often underestimate our own abilities.

We often think when a new responsibility is assigned

that we don't know how to do a particular job.

But let me tell you that that might be an advantage.

Learning to do it your way,

going away from the beaten track may actually yield better results.

So never be afraid to take on new responsibilities.

Also in a study involving certain HR organizations,

a very interesting uh bit of trivia was uh shared

and it says that with due respect to all the men here

that men tend to overestimate their potential whereas women try to underplay their abilities

and that's the reason why women are often promoted based on their past achievements

and men on perceived potential.

So this is where we need to think straight.

Not only must you achieve,

but you must also not hesitate to demand your rightful place in organizations

because recognition is an extremely important cornerstone of personal growth

and career advancement.

You must learn to keep yourselves motivated.

And the third obstacle which across the world is the most challenging one.

I'm sure all the ladies out here would agree with me

that the biological clock

and the career clock are in absolute conflict with each other.

That is the age

when a woman is expected to have a family to look after young children

and sometimes take on the responsibility of aging parents.

It's also the time

when organizations decide to either have you in

or write you off.

So that is something

which we need to tr

which we need to challenge ourselves with.

And the only thing

that I can say here is

that by all means

when you need to take those decisions of raising the family of taking a

break please do so

but don't leave mentally till you actually leave on

that particular day.

Be in your job.

Be consciously focused till the day that you're actually working.

And when you are done with those responsibilities,

don't forget to come back and join the workforce.

We often complain that there are not enough women at the top,

not enough leaders, not enough CEOs, not enough policy makers.

The fact of the matter is

that not enough women stay in the workforce to be able to reach those

positions.

So you must motivate yourselves to come back

and let the job be interesting enough to hold your attention.

So therefore you must look at sectors

which actually challenge you

which actually have the potential to get the best out of you.

And here I think the role of policy makers leaders is extremely important.

We must create the ethos

and the ecosystem where women feel motivated to come back

and contribute and grow.

Uh again a small snippet I'm sharing.

I'm told in the in the Scandinavian countries

when an HR team looks at the promotion eligibilities of men

and women they often look at whether a man has availed his paternity leave

and if he hasn't

then eyebrows are raised.

Well, I hope the day is not far when in India too,

we have similar ecosystems in place where it is recognized

and accepted that men

and women have to share life's responsibilities equally

and that it should be a given here.

In fact, I would like to share with you proudly an initiative of the

Telangana government where it intends to support the livelihood loss cost to a extremely

poor woman maybe an agricultural labor a who goes to the fields

and works and the event uh of the time in her life

when she's carrying a child.

It is going to be compensated in the form of a incentive

which will be offered to her

as a uh you know you can say like a livelihood loss to support

her to allow her family to look after her

and also for the entire family to treat the child birth

as a happy event.

It is going to be launched from April

and uh it'll also cover critical events like immunization of the child,

safe delivery for the mother

and other certain social indices

which are extremely of concern to the world in general.

So similarly we must have better caregiving infrastructure in place in order to really

create and encourage this kind of a uh you know ethos in place.

Well, I think I've already overshot my time,

but I'd just like to conclude saying

that I'm sure I'm extremely optimistic

that the future is going to be a very exciting place.

And in specific, it's going to be a very exciting workplace where caregiving

and breadwinning will have equal respect where a man will have the right to

choose which role he wants to play without anybody questioning his manhood.

and women will be represented at 50% at every level in every workforce.

I hope the day is not far

when we have 4,000 women scientists India do

as against your 7,000.

I hope the day is not far

when young women would want to fly the Sukoys

and the Tjas just like those brave hearts who got commissioned last year.

Aani Bhavana Moana who proved to the nation

that they are officers first

and last and that women have the emotional

and physical stamina to lead men at war.

I hope the day is not far

when we have many more Tessy thomases. a woman who doesn't believe in just

breaking glass ceilings,

but she blasts through them right into space.

So, wish you a great year ahead

and I hope that every day is a celebration of you

as a woman,

as a mother, as a wife, as a friend, as a professional,

and most importantly as an individual.

Wish you a very happy woman's day and thank you for this privilege.

Well, our next guest, ladies and gentlemen,

is a well-known awardwinning journalist

and was previously managing editor of WON news channel

and hosted India's only international prime time news show,

Gravitas.

Our next guest loves a good debate

and has interviewed a huge range of political

and well-known global industry figures throughout her time.

She is now the managing editor of network 18 media

and has her own show Vantage with Pali Sharma to share the challenges

and triumphs that have shaped her career

as well as the passion

and the purpose of her storytelling.

I'm now delighted to welcome on the stage,

please give a very warm welcome to Pali Sharma,

managing editor of network 18 media.

How are you?

Thank you so much for joining us.

This is very exciting you're here.

Yes, please do uh take a seat.

How does it feel to be uh in in the in the other seat

answering the questions this time?

>> Well, I will be more sympathetic to my guest for say that.

>> Brilliant.

Right.

I wanted to start off with a a tweet

that I uh that I read online from you

and it says,

"I hope I live to see the time where the world doesn't need a

woman's day to recognize the place of women in society

and that empowerment doesn't come from marketing drives,

fancy quotes, and cupcakes.

Can you elaborate?"

I I agree by the way, but please do elaborate for us.

>> I will.

Let me also first start by thanking Manoj

and IGF for for having me here

and for us to be able to have a conversation like this

and I I totally sort of stand by what I wrote

that cupcakes will not bring empowerment.

>> Definitely >> for empowerment you need uh to be acknowledged for what you

bring to the table

which women often don't.

Uh you need freedom of choice um and uh freedom to express your opinion.

You need financial independence. you need to be in control of your life.

Um, and I think I think being uh rewarded

and being appreciated for what you contribute to this world u not just in

terms of words but I think in our world increasingly financially

as well is very very important

and that's something we're going to touch on a bit later on.

So I know f financial independence for you is a a big passion sort

of topic. um as a very successful woman in journalism sort of what challenges

have you had along the way

as a woman in journalism?

Has it been quite an easy road for you?

>> I think uh I think the challenges for women are near universal

and they are industry agnostic.

Uh though some so for journalists the time

that that we spend doing our work is the hours are longer. it it's

more demanding physically and mentally

and you you find yourself in situations

which are not always friendly.

So yes, it can seem more daunting from the outside

but I think any woman who manages both home

and work uh feels those pressures.

Having said that um in newsrooms still are are are a man's world.

I know there are a lot of women presenters

but the people who are were making the calls are more men than women

and um and I think I was I was lucky to have had some

good mentors and bosses along the way

but I wouldn't say

that it's easy for anyone uh for people in my team

and and whatever I learned u in my two odd decades I I make

sure that the challenges I face are not the same ones

that my team faces.

I'm sure they have their own set of things to worry about.

Uh but I think what we need is more women leaders uh to be

able to appreciate uh what women in the workforce anywhere go through.

And so I mean you you've become you know managing editor you were managing

editor of two networks now.

So how has that sort of journey been as a woman?

Have you had to fight your way to the top

or has it been quite a nice supportive atmosphere in both networks?

This is not so much about the networks,

it's about the industry that we operate in.

I think and um this this was famously said by someone else,

I love to borrow the code

that women are are judged on their performance

and men are judged on their potential.

So you always have to to prove both to your bosses

and to your teams

that you're deserving of the seat

that you have.

And it's that much harder for any woman leader anywhere.

Uh so no it's not easy

and sometimes you have to go against your basic nature

and push for your case uh

because I think a lot of women still still believe

that someone somewhere will recognize how talented they are

and reward them and it doesn't happen

and uh over the past few years

when I became a manager

when I started hiring people I saw

that uh and I'm I'm not saying it's a bad quality

but men were very forthright in asking for what they think they deserved

and negotiating better for their salaries

and for their designations.

Women were more they did not want to upset anyone.

Um, and I think that's that's how a lot of girls are raised.

We need to change

that and we need to to tell them

that it's okay to ask for what you think.

I've heard that in so many industries, not necessarily just media, but yeah,

we're always, you know, we don't want to offend anyone.

We're peacekeepers and we never strive

because it looks like we're being arrogant

if we want something else,

you know.

But in actual fact, if you're doing exactly the same job, why shouldn't you,

you know, exactly if you have the same skill set?

Um, let's go back to your journalism.

What drives the passion and purpose in your storytelling?

How did you get into the field of journalism?

I always say the journalism chose me.

I was I was studying to do something else.

I wanted to be a designer,

but I somehow find my found myself writing for a local newspaper

and one thing led to the other.

And then I was in a bigger newsroom.

It was quite fascinating.

So I stayed and did what I was doing.

Um but I think I I really I chose journalism after I took a

break and I did

because I don't know how much of Indian news

or television news you guys have consumed

but it it became a very very crowded place

and and the kind of storytelling

that I wanted to do was not what I was doing

or so I thought.

So I I did take a break

but when I came back I knew

that I wanted to tell new stories like stories

that are that are palatable

and accessible to people of a wide range.

We are um we have 400 news channels in India.

Um but we did not have a a global voice as it were.

So we wanted to tell our own story to the world

and not depend on someone else to do

that. and in my own own small way sort of that's what I tried

to do.

Uh we still have a long way to go

but I guess we've made a start.

We've done incredibly well so far.

My goodness.

So what about um some of the big interviews?

Can you share with us any of the big interviews

or breaking news stories

that have been memorable in your career

that you've really enjoyed

or you you know you were proud to be a part of

that moment?

>> There have been so many.

Sorry, it's quite a difficult question.

>> So many um I I think uh the big interviews one of them

I I did in Dubai

that was Perez Masharov.

He was the former president of of uh Pakistan and the army chief.

I think that was quite an interesting interview.

I wouldn't say one story is is more exciting than the other

because we tell the stories

that excite us anyway.

Uh but off late uh

so last month I was in I was in um Israel u just after

the the the conflict began the year before I was in Ukraine uh to

see what was happening

and um when you're there on the ground

and you talk to people

then you then you get a perspective

that you do not get

while you're sitting in your studio

and you realize that it's

so easy for us to sit every night

and say this is the death toll

and this is what has happened

and these are the trends

but when you've been there

then then you see how it touches lives

and it can be very moving

and it shapes you

as an individual you know all of those things.

Uh so >> being on the ground I can imagine is very very different.

Yeah because where we're just getting numbers

and you sort of become in tune to what you're sort of watching

and yeah being on the ground

and actually seeing suffering like

that must be very very different >>

that and sometimes you you you see you see a trend

that is building.

I think I think me too was one such um movement of sorts

that was supported a lot by the media.

We did not have any ground reports as it were.

Uh but but there was

or or the big anti-corruption movement

that we had in India.

You know when you

when you're part of those events

then you you see history shaping in front of your very eyes

and and you feel

that there is there has to be a a bigger purpose to what you're

doing than just just telling the news.

I mean, you are you're actually shaping um your story

and that of your your country

or your people.

>> You're making history at the end of the day.

Yeah.

>> Oh, you you're chronicling it.

>> Yeah.

Chronicling your history.

Exactly.

Um let's get back to um financial independence.

So, I was reading a staggering 62% of women uh of Indian women don't

have a bank account.

And you've been quoted

as saying that financial independence

or financial well-being is the key to women empowerment.

So what does women empowerment mean to you

and why is that

so important when it comes to financial independence?

So I think um 60 62 you said I thought I thought I thought

80% of Indian women have done

but but it's not

as much as men obviously

and it's better than the global average >> uh for India

but uh >> but I think uh in India

or I don't know about other societies

but women have a way of saving

which is not documented in formal structures.

So you a lot we are the biggest consumers of gold

and that is a form of security for women

and they you know stash away some money

but but that money is just just there it's it's not investment it's just

a a saving for a rainy day

and it's it's their understanding of security.

Uh I think even for women who have jobs

and who are earning their own money are not managing it.

I have a I have a friend who runs a podcast on financial advice

and she told me

that a lot of a lot of middle-aged women in India um are now

being struck with two D's

that is debt and divorce

and then when they're on their own with a big debt they do not

know they've never managed their finances

and so she's telling them to take charge of

and it it can't be

so difficult and I think I think financial literacy is is a life skill

that should be taught in schools to everyone uh

but especially to women uh

because because we need to know what what we're doing with what we have.

Um so I think I think financial independence is very important

and we need to uh to to I guess it's it's not on anyone's

priority list.

Not that I know of.

So >> Oh, it's not it's still something that's just sort of left behind

because as you said,

you know, there's financial independence but then as you said there's financial literacy.

Yeah.

>> Which is completely different I suppose.

So it's Yeah, it's still like that at a very early age, isn't it?

>> Yes.

>> Um other than financial independence,

what else do you think is needed for sort of women empowerment

when it comes to being more independent

and becoming more I don't know.

Yeah.

Independence.

I suppose I think it would help to have more women leaders

because they can inspire others.

Um I think um in schools

and colleges uh women tend to do better academically at least in India they

do than boys but

then somewhere along the the way they drop out of the workforce

because their career cycle

and their biological cycles clash

and a lot of them choose their family

or whatever it is

that they're doing and that's that's their choice.

But I'm saying that the we don't have a pipeline of leaders to draw

from then after a certain point.

So we need that.

We also need networks that support women.

Um to to pick a career of their choice um there's there are all

boys clubs.

There aren't such clubs

or groups for women

that enable them to make the choices