Netritva: Can Women Lead?

Queens, scholars, and warriors

For thirty years, Ahilyabai Holkar ruled the kingdom of Malwa, and her reign became legendary for justice, prosperity, and dharma. She wasn't the exception. Indian history is filled with women who commanded armies, administered kingdoms, built temples, and transformed societies. The Dharmic answer to 'Can women lead?' is not just 'yes', it is that Shakti, the feminine divine power, is the SOURCE of all leadership. Without Shakti, even Shiva cannot act.

A Modern Dilemma

In the City

The office was buzzing with news. After twenty years, the company was getting its first woman Managing Director.

"Priya ma'am deserves it," said Arjun. "She turned around the Gujarat operations single-handedly."

"But can she handle the board? Those old uncles won't listen to a woman," another colleague wondered.

Priya's mother, watching the news at home, smiled. She remembered when Priya was just starting out, unsure if she could compete in a male-dominated industry. Her father had said: "Beta, remember Ahilyabai Holkar? She ruled a kingdom when queens weren't supposed to rule. You're just running a company."

Her grandmother, who had never worked outside the home, had added: "In our family, the women have always been the backbone. Your dadi managed this entire joint family for forty years. Leading is in your blood."

Today, Priya would lead not just a family but an organization of thousands. And she knew: the Shakti that guided Ahilyabai was the same Shakti flowing through her.

In the Village

Kamala was nervous. The gram sabha had elected her as sarpanch, the first woman to lead the village council in its history.

"What do I know about running a village?" she asked her husband.

He laughed. "You've run this house for thirty years. You know who needs help, who's fighting with whom, how to make one rupee do the work of ten. The village isn't that different."

Her mother-in-law, once skeptical, now supported her. "The village needs someone who listens. You listen. The village needs someone who solves problems without shouting. You do that. The men have tried for decades, look where we are. Now it's time for Shakti."

At her first meeting, some men smirked. But Kamala thought of her grandmother's words: "When Durga rides into battle, the demons don't surrender because she asks nicely. They surrender because she's stronger." She spoke with clarity, made decisions, and by the end, the smirks had faded.