22/08/2026
Consent does not begin in a courtroom or an HR complaint. It begins in how we raise our children.
At the India Today Woman Summit 2026, CSR Director Dr. Ranjana Kumari joined Niyati Sharma, Smita Bharti and Prof. Madhavi Menon for the session "Why Consent Matters at Home, Work and Everywhere Else."
Her point was direct. In most families, girls are raised to accept, to adjust, to surrender. Boys are raised with entitlement. It happens subtly, often unknowingly, including in homes that consider themselves educated and progressive.
What is shifting is the generation itself. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are redefining these values from inside the family. They are asking a simple question: why me and not him.
At the workplace, consent is frequently taken rather than given. Hierarchy, economic dependence and the fear of losing a job make refusal expensive. Having served on nearly 40 Government of India committees on sexual harassment at the workplace, Dr. Kumari observed that the generation still holding power has yet to internalise one principle: no means no.
And this is not a conversation about girls alone, or about sexual relationships alone. Consent belongs in every part of life, and the work is incomplete until it includes men and boys.
India Today Ranjana Kumari ._ranjanakumari
