One more International Women’s Day went by. Are we celebrating, reflecting, or correcting ourselves on some of the pertinent issues related to women worldwide?
Historically, the movement was established to honour women for their social, cultural, economic, and political achievements. Clara Zetkin a German activist proposed this event way back in 1910 in a conference on working women. The United Nations declared this as an official event in 1975.
In today’s context, International Women’s Day is celebrated on political fora, organisations, communities and any platform that deems it to be celebrated. But has anything changed for women? Yes and no.
Quoting Michelle Obama yes, since she clearly states, “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish”.
Space is provided, opportunities are given but it is not often that women can achieve what they want. Malala Yousafzai’s quote, “We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back”, aptly explains this. There is not a day that goes without media, social media platforms flashing news on atrocities on women. Why is this so?
Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that despite the initiatives, knowledge exchange, debates and dialogues, one is not able to peg as to why women still suffer — in urban, rural and in any environment. Gender disparity, inequality, wage gaps, lack of sufficient opportunities in decision making, violence against women is still something we deal as a daily routine.
March 8 should not merely be a day of celebrating women but also be an opportunity to understand. Address and execute viable solutions to problems they face. Learning from glorious achievement invariably becomes a source to accept that achieving and addressing some of the problems and challenges is possible.
Quoting Eleanor Roosevelt, “A woman is like a tea bag—you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water”, is apt to understand the strength and the willingness of women. Ideally, the achievements of women clearly showcase creativity, resilience and leadership qualities.
More emphasis needs to be given to how challenges and problems can be addressed using actionable solutions. Some of the areas include education, health, leadership, equal opportunities, strengthening legal frameworks, including men and boys in initiatives and change attitudes and social understanding to name a few.
Citing Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made”, in a way fits the cycle of addressing challenges.
The primary concern of any government is to ensure equal access to education should be given to ensure that women can learn, be empowered and know their rights. Communities and families need to understand this more importantly. It is not merely earning a degree or educational qualifications but more so creating awareness and help in taking right decisions. Law enforcement wheels and drivers of the same need to step up their duties to ensure that gender-based legal frameworks are not only understood and read but enacted at the right moment.
In communities and political scenarios, women leadership is just a puppetry while men still continue to rule and hold the reins. Representation of women in corporate, communities, families is still a “utopian dream” in many situations, though to be honest there has been a significant improvement. But clearly this is not sufficient since the climb is still a long way.
Engaging boys and women (who in many cases are the instigators) will provide a holistic view that gender issues are not merely problems of women. Changing societal attitudes and norms in several ways will help society to emerge out of deep-rooted beliefs which does not hold any significance in today’s world.
Combining strengthening of support systems and providing equal opportunities will add more value to understanding how support systems and mentorship programmes help women navigate challenges.
The shackles of equal opportunities and employment will be broken without much as seeing women as a manager, women as doctors and women as engineers. They are professional and are as well capable as others.
India as a nation has promoted women’s empowerment by initiating some well-meaning programmes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao which has improved the status of the girl child. The Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana has encouraged several women entrepreneurs to access credit and start small businesses.
One of the most important programmes is establishing the Self-Help Groups (SHGs), a movement that changes the roles of women in economic aspects and strengthening their financial independence.
To conclude, as Indira Gandhi said, “You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist”. This says it all.
Banner image by Tima Miroshnichenko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-low-angle-shot-of-women-wearing-blazers-in-different-colors-7202776/
