A Story about International Women's Day

NORTHERN TIMES NEWS:- 

MAYURI ADAK, 8th March 2021:- 

Gender equality. Stopping of harassments. Neutralizing gender roles. Seems pretty difficult, right? These things can never be erased from the society as they are deep rooted. It can never be stopped until and unless people try changing it on a personal level. Then do we qualify as people who could celebrate special days which would either empower men or women, in that case? Don’t you think it to be a little bit hypocritical to celebrate Women’s Day? It can be guaranteed that on the same day that we celebrate women, there are over thousands of women who are being abused and tortured. Happy Men’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day. Happy Father’s Day. Same for all these as well. Everyone deserves to be celebrated that too every single day irrespective of the gender, age, profession, etc. Few Facebook and Instagram posts will make no difference in their lives, but a constructive criticism or constant encouragement will help them move forward in life. This also help them work harder and gain more success in life. So, this 8th of March, when the world celebrates Women’s Day, let’s pledge to encourage not only women specifically but humans in general. 

Today I will not stand here and ask everyone to treat me any different, because I am a woman. I will ask for equality and same privileges that a man of my age gets. I will rather ask my country people to make India a place where I can do whatever a male counterpart can do at any given point of time- be it partying, be it dressing up in a certain manner, be it anything. It is the 21st century, in few parts of the country it’s still feels like the 19th century for them. Getting girls married at younger ages, and by young ages I don’t mean- 14 to 16 years, by young ages I mean, 21 to 25 years. Girls of these ages deserve to get educated and work for their own income. There are families who still think their daughters are a burden to them and think getting them married off will help them get rid of the burden. Do you think it is justifiable to do things like this? Do you think these women deserve the pathetic lives that they are living?  

Let us take into consideration the time when women had always been disrespected and considered incapable of doing anything great other than household chores. India has always been a patriarchal society, because of that there was no way by which women could raise their voice against any of the injustices. For centuries women were victims of various types of prejudices and discriminations. Even to this present day, there are couples who prefer male child over female. Women are generally assumed to be weak, dependent, caring, passive, etc. But with the passing of time, women have gathered courage to voice out their opinions, stand up for their rights, speak against what’s right and what’s wrong. Time cannot be controlled; it keeps passing at its own pace. With passage of time, even women have proved that they cannot be controlled or kept under the shackles of patriarchy. Women who were restricted to only household chores previously, have now fought against all the societal norms and have worked hard to reverse the roles. They are struggling and trying to keep up with men in every field of work despite everything.  

Women are rising. We are trying our best to keep up with the society and do what is expected out of us. There are mothers who work as well as take care of their kids and also contribute to social welfares. I will not deny the fact that, there are men who do the same, they too look after their families and also work, but the percentage is comparatively low. This is exactly why, only one specific day should not be devoted to celebrate the achievements of a person. It should be every day. Small appreciations every day motivates an individual more than anything else. 

If we work a bit harder to change or bring about a change on a personal level, then there has to be some way in which the society will also change as a whole. Respect goes both ways. If we are respected surely we will respect the rest- start respecting human beings, YOU will become a better person. Start treating everyone with compassion and love, the world will be a better place to live in. Just to ring a small bell in your heart, you have mothers, you have fathers, you have friends, you might have daughters, you might have sons, do you want anyone of your close people to suffer in any matter? If the answer is a ‘No’ then start being responsible for your actions.