Acharya Prashant highlights a stark disparity in the world, stating that only 2-5% of the world's total wealth is owned by women, with 95% belonging to men. Similarly, in the world's parliaments and legislative assemblies, the proportion of women is merely 5-10%, with men constituting 90%. This trend continues in the corporate world, where top positions like CXOs are held by women in only 5-10% of cases, with men occupying the remaining 90%. In contrast, when it comes to things that enhance beauty, women's participation is 90%, while men's is just 10%. The speaker points to a direct connection between these figures. He argues that this very emphasis on physical beauty is a significant bondage for women. Until a woman moves beyond the bondage of her natural physical beauty, she will not be able to establish her existence, identity, and power in the world. He asserts that a woman's real strength is her knowledge, skill, and experience. He uses an analogy to illustrate this: a man is driving a car he owns, and the woman sits in the passenger seat, looking in the mirror and applying lipstick. The man drives, the man owns the car, and the woman's job is to admire her own beauty. He warns that if a woman remains engrossed in enhancing her beauty, she will never get the chance to enhance her life. The speaker urges women to acquire all kinds of power. He clarifies that sitting in someone else's car and applying lipstick is not a matter of power, pride, or beauty. True beauty, he suggests, is when the car is yours, the steering wheel is in your hands, and you decide the destination. This decision must come from your own understanding. He concludes by cautioning that being willful or acting on whims is not freedom.
