Our society has a set of ideas about how we expect men and women to behave and present themselves but there are some gritty women who are breaking down these stereotypes to become their best selves.

This women’s day, let’s celebrate the strength of three women officers from Delhi, who share how they are nurturing their children to build a society free from the patriarchal notions.

While girls are expected to follow the stereotypical ideas of femininity and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing, the men, on the other hand, are prodded to grow strong, aggressive, and bold. But Deputy commissioners of police Vijayanta Arya, Monika Bharadwaj, and Nupur Prasad are making sure that there is no such notion as a “man’s job” or a “woman’s job” when it comes to raising their children.

Vijayanta Arya, DCP of Northwest district, is a mother of two boys. She shared in a recent interview how she wants her sons to grow up into men who are not ‘misterfits’ or ‘misfits.’ Backing up her ideas of genderless parenting is her husband who also happens to be a police officer.

She shares, “I tell my children that blue is not for boys and pink is not for girls. I am trying to de-blue and de-pink them in a lot of ways. Because by the time they grow up, the roles would be more unisexual in nature. I want them to grow up to become men who are fit for society and not ‘misterfits’ or ‘misfits’. I have the overall responsibility of managing my house with my spouse sharing a large bit of responsibility. Since he is in the same profession, he understands the constraints.”

DCP Monika Bhardwaj has yet another reason for her emancipated ideas and thought process. Despite growing up with three siblings (one sister and two brothers), she never saw her parents differentiate between them. She shares, “My brothers do not mind doing stuff that is traditionally done by girls. I will teach the same thing to my children. They know they have a mother who is a police officer and is in a very masculine job and if I can do that, there is no harm in them doing the girls’ thing.”

Add to it the fact that she is the only woman to have served in the west district after Kiran Bedi in 1980, a feat which, of course, came with its own perks, boosting her confidence and belief in herself. Her job taught that there is no such thing that a woman can’t do if she sets her heart on it.

Monika’s husband also supported her career and ideologies. “I joined service before we got married. He was aware of how it will be. He had no issue with it and that is one of the reasons I married him. He was with me in school and his mother has had a huge role to play in making him a balanced human being,” she shares.

Nupur Prasad, who is serving as DCP (North), shares that her parents allowed her to fix electricity plugs in their home while her brothers would manage kitchen which speaks tons about the kind of environment she grew up in. Speaking about how she plans to bring up her daughters, she says, “I will bring up my daughters that way. They should know how to play football, how to jump a wall and how to cook. It is important how you raise your kids to be an independent individual.”

H/T: The Hindustan Times