Justice Pratibha M. Singh: India Will Develop If We Respect Our Women

If we respect our women, India will develop, according to Justice Pratibha M. Singh of the Delhi High Court on Wednesday. Giving her inaugural speech at a gathering hosted by the FICCI's WISE council, she made reference to a Gurbani adage.

Justice Singh stated that Indian women are succeeding in STEM when speaking to female participants and female entrepreneurs during the seminar Facing the Unseen Barriers: Addressing Challenges encountered by women in Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship and Mathematics (STEM).

Justice Pratibha M. Singh Speech

She also provided some statistics, showing that 43% of STEM graduates in India, 34% in the US, 38% in the UK, 27% in Germany, and 32% in France. India is at 43%, proving that we are successfully teaching our female students.

Justice Singh added that our forebears and scriptures both teach us how to respect women.

“It is also written in our scriptures that where women are respected, all the good things there.” She also referred to the verses from Manusmriti saying “Yatra Nari Pujyante Tatra Devta," she said, adding, “We are a blessed lot of women in India."

She claimed that based on her own observations, Asian nations show the greatest regard for women. Justice Singh mentioned a taboo that women lawyers are not excellent housewives because they might constantly argue with their spouses while speaking about their experience in the legal arena.

Things have been shifting recently. She said that she believes, women lawyers make the finest wife since they are familiar with the process and results of court cases. The importance of and advantages of joint family culture were also stressed by Justice Pratibha M. Singh. She suggested that a joint family would be best. In Indian society, it is a well-known custom.

“In a joint family, we have a larger support system. There are fathers, uncles and other elders who admire their women in their achievements. They know how to respect their women,” she conveyed.

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Justice Singh and other dignitaries also unveiled the WISE (Woman in Science and Entrepreneurship) emblem at this event. Director General of TERI Vibha Dhawan spoke about the importance of women in science during her keynote talk.