Kolkata, March 8 : For Anindita Maitra Das, a Kolkata-based engineering entrepreneur-cum-performing Ghazal singer, the fallacy of women empowerment in Indian society is that women are often made equal through discrimination.

"As women, half the sky belongs to us. Half the earth and half the oxygen! No one can give anything to the women in the form of special incentives. Women need to achieve their due positions through their own strengths. Many successive governments have introduced exclusive women-centric welfare schemes but I feel that these schemes in reality have encouraged the discrimination against women. Had the society been liberal then there would have been no necessity for such women-centric welfare schemes," says Anindita, the founder-director of Citius Infracon Private Limited, a civil engineering entity specializing in buildings and bridges designs, and also a performing Ghazal singer.

She adds that instead of such women-centric welfare schemes, which are primarily dole schemes, the real necessity is to provide women with a level playing field in all spheres to increase their participation in economic activities.

According to her, research says that the percentage of Indian women going outside their homes for work is quite nominal, compared to that in China or the US. "This lack of initiative in encouraging women to be equal participants in economic activities is the real discrimination against women. That discrimination is compensated by women-centric dole schemes. That is why I am saying that in Indian society, women are often made equal through discrimination," she tells IANS.

"I refuse to accept this situation of constantly reminding a woman that she is a woman. We don't want women's magazines. All we want is a level playing field," asserts Anindita.

After completing her bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Kolkata's iconic Jadavpur University (JU) and then her post-graduate degree in management, Anindita started her career as a working professional. However, she always had the spirit of doing something of her own and thus at a later stage, she along with a fellow engineer started her company.

At the same time, Anindita continued to pursue her childhood passion for Indian classical music and over the years, she established herself as a popular Ghazal singer in the state, regularly performing in soirees, stages and musical events.

Anindita has her own explanation about how she makes an even distribution between her parallel careers as a consultant engineer and a stage performer.

"Often we waste time in non-productive activities like fruitless and meaningless gossip or unnecessary lethargy. If we avoid that then it is not too difficult to pursue two parallel initiatives at the same time," Anindita said.

Happily married to her JU batch-mate, who is also an engineer by profession, the couple has a daughter currently pursuing a PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati.

Anindita profusely thanks her husband and in-laws for whatever advancement she has made in her career -- both as a consultant engineer and as a professional singer.

"It is often said that behind every successful man, there is a woman. In my case, it is the opposite. My husband has always encouraged me to concentrate on my professional career. At the same time, after my daughter was born my in-laws took a major responsibility of nurturing her so that I could concentrate on my work," concludes Anindita.

/IANS