And the women are declaring "independent." They are begging door to door to a man, "Please give me shelter. Give me a child," and they're independent. Hmm? One American woman was…, she was speaking that "In India the woman are treated as slave. We don't want." So I told her that it is better to become slave of one person than to slave of become hundreds. [laughter] The woman must become a slave. So instead of becoming slaves of so many persons, it is better to remain satisfied a slave of one person. So she was stopped.

Our Vedic civilization says, nari-rupam pati-vratam: "The woman is beautiful when she remains as a slave to the husband." That is the beauty, not the personal beauty. How much she has learned to remain as a slave to the husband, that is Vedic civilization. Kokilanam svaro rupam. The cuckoo, it is black bird, but why people love it? Because of the sweet voice. Kokilanam svaro rupam vidya-rupam kurupanam [Canakya Pandita]. A man may be ugly, black, but if he's learned, everyone will respect him. And nari-rupam pati-vratam. And the beauty of woman is how much she is devoted and obedient to the husband.

Srila Prabhupada — March 19, 1976, Mayapur