UPSC CSE Group A Job

With The Chief of Naval Staff !!

With the Air Chief Marshal

With the Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat

Addressing the Defence secretary

This is my first answer on Quora!!! So I took the chance to write about two topics close to my heart. Women and a respectful career!!!

I ( though lucky enough to have a few awesome supportive family members and friends) am from a very conservative and patriarchal surrounding ( like most women in India). They strongly believe that

1)The workplace of women is in the kitchen.

2)The work of women is only to take care of family members

3) A women working in a family will lead to family discords

4) The four walls of the house be her restricted boundary

5)Women going to work is a disrespect to the family and shows the incapacity of men to earn.

6)Adjusting to any domestic abuse is the ‘way of life’ for every women.

A women in such a surrounding is

1)Being judged for whatever she does

2)Constantly working to please everyone .

3)Made to believe that to dream big is a crime.

4)Never given opportunity to take any big decision regarding life or family.

5) Forced to believe that being independent is a bane to the family .

Many of you who are reading this might probably think whether these problems still exist in 21 st century?! Yes!! And if you ask any girl grown up in such a surrounding she will be definitely be able to relate to it!!!

Now what does all this have to do with life like after getting a government job?

From my childhood I never wanted to confine my aspirations! I always wanted to live a more meaningful life , contribute in some way to the society, a life with high goals and purpose! Thanks to my family,I graduated in engineering and joined a leading Private Company( sadly many girls in India don’t get to do higher education even)! Though my Parents supported my decision, they were blamed for sending a girl out of town, that too to earn! And as a daughter I never wanted my parents to put their heads down!!

Soon , I realised that I will be made to resign the job, get married and forced to live the life as I mentioned above! As most of the girls succumb to!

So I decided I should reach a position with high societal respect where they hesitate to question me for working Or my parents for raising an independent girl!! I decided to pursue civil services as a career( though I knew no civil Servant personally before that)!With so much of difficulty, failures, demotivations and societal pressure (which most of them appearing for UPSC civil services will face), but with the support of my family and friends , I managed to clear civil services and landed in Indian Defence Accounts Service!

Though I know I haven’t achieved something very great ! But it was this government job that gave me an opportunity to

1)Prove that Women are capable of paving their own way and achieving more than just what the narrow-minded society wants them to do.

2) Travel nearly 20 states and Union Territories as a part of my job.

3) To go to U.S.A for a Foreign Study Attachment

4)Officially visit the World Bank

5) Attend a three days attachment in the Indian Parliament.

6)Visit the US congress.

7) Meet the Defence minister, minister of state for defence and all the service chiefs.

8)Bring a change in the minds of the people with a patriarchal view!!

9) Give a hope to girls to fly high

10) Bring out that a job means more to a women , rather than measuring it in only monetary value.

11) Show that women are Assets to the family, not liability. Women are a Pride,a boon !!!

Thus the life after a government job has given me confidence as a woman, a zeal to atleast be a tiny ray of hope for more women to shatter the blockades!! The job has made people who looked down upon women for dreaming big to respect such women!!!

The work culture of my job is such that

1. ‘Ladies First' is strictly followed as a Protocol even in dining!
2. I have experienced that in many gatherings the Army officers stand up when a women enters or leaves a hall ( as a mark of respect) .
3. In the Navy,whenever any girl/woman( even be it a 3 year old) enters a ship she is saluted.

It is so humbling to see the way the women are treated!! And I can definitely feel the stark difference!! The happiness in being recognised as equals knows no bounds!!!

The job has given me wings to Fly!!! Hope many girls earn their wings to fly too!!

To all the women

1)Follow your their dreams, however big or small it might be!

2)overcome the hurdles with positivity!

3)Find solace in people who support you( there are many such people) and ignore the rest!

4)Answer the criticisers with your success!!

5)Break the gender stereotypes with your strength!

6)support other women

To all men,

If at all you can

Try to lessen the difficulties in their( may be your mother, sister, wife, girlfriend, or friend) earnest Efforts to live their own lives!

Be different from those around you !Set an example for other men.

To the society,

I really hope that change will come , that women will no more have to fight for support and encouragement to unleash their potential .

Our time will come 😀अपना टाइम आएगा 💪🏻எங்களுக்கும் காலம் வரும்😀

Best wishes to every one to have a contented and purposeful life😊


-Aarthi Chandrasekar, IDAS at Government of India (2018-present)