To continue from my post last week, what then is feminist leadership? We find great examples of feminist leaders if we just bother to google a bit - you will find names like Malala Yousafzai, Alicia Garza, Gloria Steinem, Tamara Burke, and Kamla Bhasin, Ruth Manorama, Vandana Siva, closer home. There might be even male feminist leaders that we dont know about and there might also be women leaders who are not feminists.

Apart from many aspects, one of the markers of feminist leaders is self-awareness, leading with empathy rather than ego - accepting our own vulnerabilities and acknowledging the strengths. For example, it is a well-known fact among my team mates that I hate having difficult conversations but recognise that in order to lead an organisation you have to have one some time or the other. The way I have tried to overcome this is not to go into a difficult conversation with any expectations, rather surrender to what the situation is. Instead, I have tried to focus on listening in order to understand where the other person comes from. Listening is another aspect of feminist leadership . A study done by Jack Zenger, CEO of Zenger/Folkman, a strengths-based leadership development firm, did a study in 2015 on Age, Gender and Ability to Listen and found that when comparing males to females, the study found females to be significantly better listeners. Females also demonstrated a significantly stronger preference for listening than males. Connected to this is taking care of our own physical and mental well-being and encouraging and supporting others to do the same. An RCT in 2009 by Lori Beaman, Raghabendra Chattopadhyay, Esther Duflo, Rohini Pande, and Petia Topalova on "Powerful Women: Does Exposure Reduce Bias?" found that the women panchayat leaders across rural India were investing their budgets in building drinking water infrastructure. This is also exactly what the women voters wanted. Women leaders reflected the preferences and the needs of woman more than male leaders do. Shows that they were listening, and were empathetic and cared for the well-being of their constituents. I wish such behaviours can be at scale and across all sections of women leaders, political and otherwise.

Another reason why women are natural feminist leaders is this - as home cooks they are constantly listening to the demands of their family members, adapting their recipes to particular taste and health preferences, and taking care to put forward healthy and tasty food on the family table.

Here's a particular adaptation of a well-known recipe to family preferences : tehri. Tehri or Tehar (as called in local language),also known as Turmeric or Yellow rice is a ubiquitous traditional Kashmiri recipe and is inherently vegetarian. Many people add meat and chicken to it though. My version is a family favourite and a variation of the Kashmiri tehri. The recipe is a hand me down from my mom-in-law who used to be an awesome homecook but didnt much care for turmeric in her vegetarian food, hence the white colour rather than the traditional yellow. We love it because of the use of gobindobhog rice and the touch of sweetness to it. You will need:

Potatoes and cauliflowers cut into large cubes - about 1 small cauliflower and two small or one large potato can feed a family of 4.

1 TBSP white oil

1 TSP sugar

1/2 TSP whole cumin

1 bay leaf

1 TSP of cinnamon (1 small piece), cardamom(2), and cloves(2)

1 handful of Gobindobhog rice, washed and soaked for 15-30 minutes.

In the heated white oil you add sugar, temper some cumin and bay leaf, add cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Add the veggies, saute till they change colour, add salt and then add the rice. Add salt, water and cover and cook till the rice is done and the veggies are cooked. Add 1tsp ghee for flavor. Add slit green chillies and some chopped coriander on top. Instead of Gobindobhog you can use any short grained, aromatic rice - haven’t ever used basmati so can’t vouch for that - sticky rice might work too. Enjoy hot on a winter afternoon and think about your own leadership qualities. Are they feminist enough?