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Journalism of Courage
A Bengaluru-based CEO has sparked a lively debate online after sharing his views on who must decide when a woman should have children. Deepak Shenoy, founder and CEO of Capitalmind, took to X to say that the choice rests squarely with women, pointing out that men “don’t have to go through labour, nurturing, social obligations or even monthly cramps” yet often feel entitled to weigh in.
“Women should have kids when (and if) they want to,” Shenoy wrote, adding that men frequently mansplain on a subject they have no lived experience of.
Shenoy’s post struck a chord and racked up over 69,000 views, with commenters jumping in from all sides. Some echoed his stance, saying that the person who actually carries the child should have the final say. One wrote, “Exactly, choice belongs to the person who carries the weight, not the ones offering commentary from the sidelines.”
Others pushed back, insisting that parenthood affects both partners. “Are you saying the male partner has no say at all??? The couple should decide and stick to their family and financial goals,” one user asked.
Another netizen said they saw room for both autonomy and opinion: “We live in a democracy. Adults should have the right to choose… Suno saab ki kao maan ki.”
Responding to the growing chatter, Shenoy later clarified that his post was not aimed at couples but at strangers who tell women when to start a family. “In general, my comment was towards unrelated men telling women to have children early or late or what not… but I believe it’s terrible for a woman to be forced to have kids when she’s mentally or physically not ready,” he explained.
His remarks surfaced shortly after another influential tech leader weighed in on the topic. Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu recently encouraged young entrepreneurs to “marry and have kids in their 20s” as part of what he called their “demographic duty” to society and ancestors – an opinion that many felt reflected a more traditional view of family life.
