Bengaluru CEO's Viral Statement on Women's Reproductive Rights
A prominent Bengaluru CEO has ignited a significant online discussion about reproductive rights and gender roles in modern India. Deepak Shenoy, the founder and CEO of financial services platform Capitalmind, took to social media platform X on November 19, 2025, to express his strong views about who should decide when women have children.
The Viral Post That Started the Conversation
In his now-controversial post, Shenoy made a clear declaration: "Women should have kids when (and if) they want to." He elaborated that men often engage in what he described as mansplaining about a subject where they lack lived experience. "Men will mansplain but we don't have to go through labour, the nurturing, the social obligations or even the monthly cramps to have our opinions matter," Shenoy wrote in his post that quickly gained traction online.
The message resonated with thousands of social media users, accumulating over 69,000 views and sparking responses from various perspectives. Many commenters supported Shenoy's position, emphasizing that the person carrying the physical burden of pregnancy should have the ultimate say in reproductive decisions.
Clarification and Context of the Statement
As the discussion grew, Shenoy later clarified that his comments were specifically directed at "unrelated men telling women to have children early or late or what not" rather than couples making decisions together. He explained that his post aimed to challenge the common phenomenon of strangers offering unsolicited advice to women about their reproductive timelines.
"I believe it's terrible for a woman to be forced to have kids when she's mentally or physically not ready," Shenoy stated in his follow-up clarification. His remarks gained additional significance as they emerged shortly after another technology leader, Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu, had encouraged young entrepreneurs to "marry and have kids in their 20s" as part of what he termed their "demographic duty" to society and ancestors.
The contrasting viewpoints from these two influential figures in India's technology sector have highlighted the ongoing tension between traditional expectations and modern perspectives on family planning and women's autonomy in contemporary Indian society.
