Independent women

I don't know why, repeatedly I return to the subject of women. I am not a die-hard, bra-burning type of a feminist. But I wish women, today, were more assertive about themselves. Now heres a list of what I expect from the woman of today...
1. Grow up and beyond jewellery, clothes, hair and make-up and husbands and boyfriends!
2. Be bold about choices and be responsible.
3. Come out of the shadow of haggling parents who want to get you married.
4. Live an independent life. A life on your own terms. A life thats free from inhibitions.
5. 'Getting married' should not be an ultimate goal of life, for god's sake!
6. Marriage is okay as long as your own individuality is not sacrificed and hidden under yards of sarees and pounds of gold!
7. It is okay to retain your maiden name after marriage and it is okay to be Miss so and so instead of Mrs so and so.
8. Be assertive about your sexuality. Assertive but not overtly promiscuous!
9. Be and look dignified in everything you do.
10. Drinking, smoking and wearing tiny clothes does not define modernity. Modernity lies in the way you think, in the kind of lifestyle you aspire to.
11. If it is possible, wearing sindoor and shankha-pola or chooda should be abolished. I feel they are signs of 'bondage'.
12. Have an outgoing personality. The only man you speak to/have lunch/dinner with/go for a drink with should not be your husband or your boyfriend!
13. It is better to remain unmarried and lead an independent life than to have a chauvinistic pig as a husband.
14. Do something on your own in life. Even if you don't have a high-flying job that pays you lakhs, do something that ensures your financial independence. The worst thing that the woman of today can do is ask for money from the men!
15. Wear good lingerie! I don't know why I am including this in the list but it is imperative for women to wear the right kind of lingerie, the kind that best complements what they are, bodily!
16. Travel a lot ladies! I don't mean travelling on your honeymoon with your beloved hubby! Travel alone/with friends/an unknown group of backpackers, the likes...! That will give you a whole new perspective in life.
17. Learn how to drive a car! Nothing feels greater than sitting on the driver's seat 'with your eyes on the road and hands upon the wheel...'!
18. Ladies, read Isadora Duncan's autobiography. Its marvellous. I think being an independent woman in the turn-of-the-century-Puritan America can be quite challenging. And Miss Duncan has lived her life on her own terms in the early 1900s, something that women in the year 2009 cannot dream of doing! Pull up your socks ladies! Or shall I say panty-hoses!!

I think thats enough gyaan for the day! I should now turn to my sci-fi imagination and churn out some more pulp!