I am proud to belong to a family that has, since times immemorial, held the women of the house in the highest esteem possible. History has indeed a lot of proof of women empowerment, as per  the rich writings of the wise men who wrote the Vedas, Upnishads, the Bhagwat Gita and other ancient scriptures. True, "parents must celebrate daughters as much as sons, recognizing their contributions to both family and society", in the words of Jaya Row, who wrote this article under the aegis of "Speaking Tree" on Page 15 of Ahmedabad City Edition of the Times of India dated 11th January, 2025. "India has long celebrated women's power. Wealth is personified as Goddess Laxmi, knowledge as Saraswati, and strength as Durga", she also writes. Some of the Rishika's, as per the Upnishads, were powerful women who were also Gurus, like Gargi, Maitreyi, Lopamudra, Paulomi, Savitri and Andal from the Vedic period. And these are just a handful of Rishika's named in ...