Lt. Cdr. Jayakumar talks about women leading the Navy contingent

This Republic Day, India saw its women in a new light. With women contingents marching down the Rajpath, and an American President talking about women empowerment; there seems to be some hope for the country. Lt. Cdr. Jayakumar, the Navy contingent leader, agrees. She told IANS, "In India, the perception is that women are the weaker sex. But when we marched on Rajpath, we broke the convention," reported Business Standard.

This year we saw Indian women like Captain Divya Ajith and Squadron Leader Sneha Shekhawat who led the army and the air force contingent respectively. We also saw Wing Commander Puja Thakur lead the ceremonial guard of honour for Obama at Rashtrapati Bhavan. After numerous reports about rapes and molestations and torture; examples set by women like these would surely ensure a better future for Indian women.

Lt. Cdr. added, "In our country, every morning you see newspaper reports about female foeticide, rape, molestation, even two to three old girls are raped... But at the same time, making Nari Shakti (woman power) the theme for Republic Day shows the country is progressing and things are changing.” Talking about their march, she said, “Mr. Obama is the president of US, the most developed country in the world. We wanted to impress him with the march, and we gave our 100 percent.”

Wing Commander Puja Thakur

Picture By: NDTV

Lt. Cdr. Jayakumar said that the women were keen on putting on a great show and for the chief guest and the chilly rains did not deter them from doing so in any way. Business Standard further reported her saying, "On the Republic Day, we assembled at 3.30 a.m. There was a dress inspection and after that we went to the Rajpath at 5.30 a.m. The rain did upset us, but the enthusiasm was very high and weather was no hurdle…We were just thrilled and excited, and knew we had to give our best."

She also seemed optimistic about the future of women in our country. She said, "There are more and more opportunities for women, and I am sure the display of women power will send out a strong message and more people will educate their daughters and understand daughters are no less than sons."

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Business Standard

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