The sensitisation of boys on gender equality must begin at home and mothers must have this conversation with their sons even if it is uncomfortable, actor Kareena Kapoor Khan said at NDTV World Summit today.
She was responding to a question linked to a 31-year-old doctor’s rape-murder at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The incident sparked nationwide outrage, with several voices stressing the need to raise boys better instead of restricting girls.
“It starts at home, it starts for boys at a very tender age of 4-5 years when they start understanding the difference between a boy and a girl… how a girl should be respected… it is for mothers to understand and tell their little boys. This conversation is important to have with your child, however uncomfortable, they must be told, they must be shown the way,” said Ms Kapoor Khan, mother to Taimur (7) and Jeh (3). She is married to actor Saif Ali Khan.
The actor said children understand actions more than words. “If they also see their mother doing (work) things… Taimur understands now, I have told him that I am speaking at a very important event, so he is excited, he’s like ‘What are you gonna talk about?’ When I go home, he might ask me. So we will talk about different things that I said… These conversations are important,” she said.
Earlier, while responding to a question about her son Jeh, Ms Kapoor Khan said she would want him to grow up into someone who would always stand by the truth. “He (Jeh) has a brother, but that does not mean he does not have a (duty) to protect other girls, he will be somebody’s father, husband someday so I hope he values what his mother has done for him because he sees his mother and father go to work. So he understands that it is important for women to be safe to go to work, to feel happy. These are things that he is watching every day. I want him to grow up knowing and normalising that women are equal to men and they can also be frontrunners,” she said.
