Women’s Day

                       Women’s Day

          

      Women’s liberation in an Indian society and its celebration is restricted to the urban elite pockets which organize ‘kitty parties’, etc. to celebrate Women’s Day. In remote villages of India, life is really tough for women. The real India, which reels under poverty, struggles for survival and earns daily bread to sustain life, is least concerned, bothered and impacted by such events like Women’s Day. So to say, women empowerment is really non-existent in rural India. Women have to do most of the family chores, but have no exposure to growth opportunities or health facilities. Most girls, not boys, handle household chores from childhood, at the cost of going to schools. Women are suffering from malnutrition, neglected health ailments, domestic and sexual violence. Women are in commanding positions in many areas of private and public life in our country. Even in rural India, women are greatly empowered through their presence and positions outside the four walls of their homes. Initially, this change needed support but now it is on an auto mode. Yet, the challenge of dignity and freedom remains. The empowerment that we talk about has certainly given them positions, but not necessarily the dignity and freedom that they deserve. Mahatma Gandhi used to say that real independence would be when a woman in this country can walk around on the streets alone at midnight. An easy way to think of this would be from security perspective. But another interpretation could be about dignity. The other extreme is equally demeaning. In the name of security, we deny women their natural choices and freedom. Laws for women’s protection are important, but not enough.