I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples! ˜Mother Teresa
Womanhood needs to be celebrated and what better than to share about inspiring women, doing some great work? Social Media is such a powerful tool, as it helps you e-meet wonderful people around the world. I came across “Lilsakos” on Instagram and with each passing day, I started adoring Ms. Saakshi, the woman behind this page. Her clear thoughts and her vision towards Gender Neutral & Stereotype Free World, prompted me to share her thoughts with all my readers, this International women’s Day . Being a mom of two children, she quit her lucrative career, without any guilt. Today, she is an author of 20 books, take group talks and personal Counselling sessions with Kids and parents!
Continue reading, as we chat with her on multiple aspects of womanhood, this International Women’s Day .
What does the word Feminism mean to you?
Saakshi Singla: Feminism for me means the freedom of choice to be whoever we wish to be, equal opportunities, gender parity and equal representation for both genders at home workplace and in politics, literature, and media. My one ask from the world, is to give everyone an equal chance without limitations of what gender we belong to. To feel like a feminist, I don’t need to do man-bashing as I believe they don’t have it easy either with so many gender stereotypes.
Who is your Woman Inspiration and why?
Saakshi Singla: Sheryl Sandberg. She has done a lot of work in bringing into light, the gaps between men women in authority positions in the workplace. Her book “Lean In” is an inspiring read as she invites women to lean into their families and friends and start sitting on the board tables.
Amongst many, what is that ONE thing, you’re proud of being a woman?
Saakshi Singla: I am a regular person proud of my strengths and accomplishments, my work, my heart-connections with people in need and hard work through which I have built and nurtured good relationships around me. I don’t think of myself in a form of any gender instead I consider myself a human who is forever learning. None of these accomplishments are because of or inspite of my being born a woman.
Women Supporting Women has often been spoken about. How important is it for women to lift each other and why?
Saakshi Singla: Sadly the custodians of most of the gender stereotypes in this world are women too. It’s extremely important for women to lift each other simply because men won’t do it and it’s up to us to stop the infighting and bring our power together to help those women for whom life hasn’t dealt a fair hand.
As a woman, we are assumed to sacrifice our happiness at every step; we don’t ask enough for ourselves. What have you to say about it?
Saakshi Singla: Yes, I see a lot of women sacrificing their opinions and their life to keep peace in their homes. I try hard to inspire and get inspired by women of strength. I feel to change this dynamic we need to bring up our children differently. Both our boys and girls should see role models who have made this world a better place by their actions and not by keeping quiet and being a sacrificial lamb.
What do you think will be the greatest challenge for the coming generations?
Saakshi Singla: The greatest challenge for the coming generations according to me will be their readiness to take in their stride what comes with women empowerment… more people working outside the home. Hence, developing good relationships of trust and love would be imperative for their next-generation to get enough love and in this new norm of a gender-equal home.
How do you create a supportive and gender – equal environment at home?
Saakshi Singla: In my family, good relationships live and it all comes from supporting each other at all times. We all play roles that are needed by the family at a particular time. We can all cook, clean, drive, and work outside, change bulbs and flat tyre. We are a family where our kids have seen no specific gender roles but instead all roles being played by both their parents whenever needed.
You’ve created a very beautiful brand and community “Lilsakos”. What are the main virtues you have been building it around?
Saakshi Singla: Thanks a ton for reaching out. I believe most of the problems in this world can be rooted back to parenting and teaching styles & the environment kids grow up in. Lilsakos vision is to help create a Gender Neutral & Stereotype Free World for our kids. We are actively bashing stereotypes like boys shouldn’t cry, girls are princesses and need to be handled with care, aggression in boys helps them protect their families in the future, differentiating and treating people differently based on skin tone, race, gender, caste etc. Also, we are working to bring about a change in parental mindsets and make them see the importance of providing cognitive stimulation along with physical care, and in the same measure through gender-neutral and stimulating products, parenting connects Teen workshops and teacher trainings.
Have you faced any barriers in your career being a woman? Share with us, how did you cross it?
Saakshi Singla: My privilege of having a fantastic education along with a progressive family setup has given me the strength to speak up, have an opinion and a choice to go after my dreams. I did give up a lucrative full-time career when my second child was born. The barriers were there in terms of monetary growth in those years but it was good to have a choice without worrying about earning the bread for the family. My child development understanding helped me in getting some very good work around the schedule of kids during their growing up years. I remained guilt-free of leaving a full-time career and used my time to keep learning, doing courses to up my skills and travel extensively to see some amazing school systems and beautiful countries in this world.
Which are the 5 best books, you would want every woman to read? You’re yourself an author, share with us some of your best-selling books.
- Lean In -Sheryl Sandburg
- Year Of Yes- Shonda Rhimes
- You Can’t Spell Truth Without Ruth- Mary Zaia
- Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More- Janet Mock
- Very Good Lives, J.K.Rowling
I have written over 20 books for pre-primary and primary level children and three parenting books. My four bestseller books that sold over 10,000 copies each are The Rendezvous Series – An Exciting Trip to Egypt, Italy, China & Japan. The books are priced pretty low and were written to make travel stories affordable for kids who don’t get to buy expensive books about travel.
Finally, on this International Women’s day, what is that one important message you would like to pass on to our readers?
Saakshi Singla: Invest in your learning and also your relationships, don’t expect the world to come to you, work hard yourself – don’t leave it all to the men, find your authentic self and take it forward to become the best version of yourself!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Ms. Saakshi! Let’s pat each other’s back and truly empower women this International Women’s Day.
Read more featured stories #InternationalWomensDay
Padmashree Women Awardees (2018)
Much Love,
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