Armed with education, all-powerful staring at the sea of opportunities that come their way, women of today are extremely focussed and thrive to attain as much as they can during the life span. The days of them being expected to do certain things or behave in a certain way are a thing of the past. Today, they are free to decide on their careers and how they wish to live on their terms.

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Despite their empowerment, there are certain issues that continue to burden them. CNBCTV18.com spoke to a few women – all in their 20s -- to find out the one thing they would want to change in India.

Here's what they had to say:

Marriage should be a choice, not a compulsion

Tara Chowdhary, a 23-year-old progressive writer from Kolkata shared, "The concept that a woman needs to be married to feel complete in life is wrong. A woman can feel complete in her own way and live a comfortable life. Marriage should be a choice, not a compulsion!"

No constraints on travel

Pooja Jhanjhri, a fashion designer from Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur, who is also pursuing Chartered Accountancy is of the view, "Women should be set free and there should not be any restrictions on their travel. They should have the freedom to travel where they want and when they want and not worry about their safety when travelling across the world."

Let bygones be bygones

Twenty-four-year old Priyam Bhandari from Kolkata, who works for SVF Entertainment stressed, "There is still a need for change in multiple traditional customs and laws in India. We need to leave behind some of these archaic traditions and move on. There are multiple laws that are not made from the female perspective."

I'm not ashamed of my periods

Rajul Jain, a 25-year old working as an HR executive at Skillenza, Bengaluru said, "No girl should be ashamed of menstruating. The red stain on her dress or the spare sanitary pad in her handbag shouldn't bring down her confidence. All should accept their physiology. Whenever a woman hears the word menstruation, they should not feel uncomfortable. They should be able to speak about it openly. Even young girls and boys should be taught to do the same."

Outlawed dowry, still a big deal

Sanjana Mittal, 27, a Project Consultant at the Max-DDB Mudra Group highlighted that although dowry is illegal, there are parents who start saving for their daughters as soon as they are born, not for their education, but to pay dowry at the time of marriage.

"Indian parents should save money for their daughters to fulfill their dreams and ambitions. Our society has so many rituals where a girl's parents are put pressure under pressure to give their daughters ample of money after marriage – read dowry. Men should realise and take a stand to remove any price tag put by parents on their marriage. Marriage should be take place on the basis of compatibility between two people and not how much a girl's parents can invest in the marriage."

Say no to moral policing

Ashna Shaw, a homemaker of 25 years says, "To wish for or want as a change in India, as a woman, in itself is an uncertainty. To choose for one among education/employment/ safety is like 'settling'. But for me, moral policing is what I would want to end, both on social media and public domains. Personal choices of say life partner, lifestyle, career, clothing should be respected."

She added, "The world has been forced to reconsider its habits after COVID-19, it's high time to be and let be."

(Edited by : Aditi Gautam)

First Published:Mar 8, 2021 7:55 AM IST