Earlier in the week, a picture of lawyer
Deepika Singh Rajawat
, who is fighting the case of the 8-year-old Kathua girl who was raped and murdered in January, went
viral. The picture shared by a
Twitter user
Ashwaq Masoodi
shows Rajawat flanked by male lawyers. Masoodi shared the picture with the caption, "How often do we see a photograph like this? A confident, professional woman flanked by men who are not lecheroulsy staring at her."
While many were quick to hail Rajawat for her fearless attitude, others disagreed stating that it was indeed very 'normal' to see women not being stared at by men around her.
One Twitter user was quick to point out that Masoodi may have missed the phrase "in India?"
Another Twitter user noted that "people are easily impressed nowadays"
While Twitter users heavily debated about women in powerful positions on Masoodi's picture, few women find a place in parliaments or the boards of major corporations. In India, there’s only one woman to about nine men in both fields.
Scandinavian and African countries that have the highest representation of women in parliament practise some form of reservation. In Europe, many countries require that up to 50% of party candidates be women, while many African countries reserve seats in their parliaments. European countries with more women on corporate boards also have quotas.