Women

To my knowledge, the celebrations for the International Women's' Day falling on the 8th of March came into existence only recently say within a decade, atleast in India. Having said that it is also an encouraging sign that the celebratory voices are on the increase year after year. One can turn reasonably happy atleast about the importance given to the upliftment of the status of women, leave alone emancipation.  But then every day, something or other is being observed and no wonder this has also taken its place due. Truly how much have the women raised themselves or allowed to? Is there a reason observe leave alone celebrate it? This is an honest attempt to explore this.

This is a land where women are always given a pride of place, as it is rightly named as the land of Bharata Matha. So, there is no wonder that women are expected to be respected, appreciated and supported. But then, this land has its own conservative culture as is remarked by Kasturibha when asked what her dignity is and she replied "My dignity is following the footsteps of my husband"! So while there is always a mutual respect for women there also exist some high expectations from the women in the family upbringing and it is to the credit of Indian time tested culture that both are co-existing.

In my days of youth, we could see girls in half saree and elderly family women in nine yards, while the customary dress was a saree- jeans were never heard of. In the late 70s, while I was working in the Personnel Department of a Bank, there was a whisper doing the round that a new girl has joined our Department and that she has come in a Chudithar, normally considered to be a North Indian favorite!

In those days, it was rare to see women in offices and after the recruitment of 1979, slowly the situation started taking a colorful turn which helped increase the daily attendance  at the office , parallely the productivity also, one hoped !! Now, if not entirely filling up the office, it is proud to note that every walk of life , women have forayed into -  be it Airlines Pilot, Astronaut, Entrepreneurship, Police, College Professors, all positions across  IT and other sectors , Bus & auto drivers and even train drivers normally considered male bastions! This is indeed appreciable as women were once considered fit only for positions such as school teacher and nurses. So, there seems to have been some equality given in employment and education and it is indeed a giant stride.

It is reported that there has been a tremendous increase in the registration of two wheelers for non-working women and that it is more than men! This shows that women not only vie for great positions but also strive to empower themselves towards this.

 The earliest women I adored due to her position was Kiran Bedi, when I saw her photo leading the Republic Day parade. Until then, women candidates for the civil services and more importantly the Police were pretty rare.  Names that come immediately to mind about whom I am proud of are M.S. Mother Theresa, Bachendri Pal, P.Susheela, S.Janaki, Nithyashree,  Sudha Chandran, Junko Tabei, Indira Gandhi, Koneru Hampy, Dr Shantha ….. and it goes on. These are not chosen just because they are famous personalities but these are individuals who have made a mark in their respective field, fighting against the odds and a mostly male dominated society, when the years were not as ripe or understanding as they are today.

There is another breed of women who make silent revolutions, right at your own backyards.  Spare a thought for your mother, a home maker, who keeps pace with the lightening requirements of the day and satisfies all the demanding but affectionate requests of her sons, daughters and spouse all before 9 AM, when they fly off for education or work. Ask her about 'stress', she will blink & ask what is that?

Then, there is your own wife, the working women whose day normally starts by 5 AM and ends up by 11 PM, neither time would have been seen by many of the men folk.  Until 9 AM she is a mother packing her kids off to school, between 10 and 6 she is a Secretary or a software professional or a teacher or a Banker or a Manager. Back home at 7, she dons the robe of a mother and a spouse preparing food and doing a bit of shopping. These are the real heroines, who don various roles all in a day, just for making her home a happy place to live in by her own family.

True, women are improving, they are into all professions, throwing  a stiff challenge to men, willing to do all the work others are capable of doing and are also into self defense techniques , as a support tool for protecting their career ambitions and ward off the rogue elements. These are all done through their own sweat and how much the society has or more precisely the men have contributed to it. No doubt, many of the men understand and supporting their working spouse and pitch in with all the domestic activities that were hitherto women's area.

On the other hand, are our women safe? How many rapes are we reading about in a Newspaper daily? Are they safe while commuting to their workplace either by bus or train or alone in an auto or taxi? Are they safe at the work place?  As Gandhiji once remarked, our country is not safe/liberated until our women are able to walk alone in the streets at night!

At office, are they being treated equally by their bosses?  Are they being offered the same chances on par with others?  Effectively, are they being 'allowed' to grow?

While this may be the picture in cities, deep inside the villages, we still hear of girl child being killed on birth, though the instances are dwindling, there are still demands for dowry and the story continues.

Though, there are proud women faces around the city, it is for the society to continue to support them and bring them on a level where they could contribute to the society that will make them proud. Until such time, the women from the rural side has to be backed and our folks educated on the need for the same. Until then, the efforts to continue with the same vigor of celebrations and we have miles to go!

Amongst the many shared  on this day, the best that summarizes a woman is shared below

பெற்றோரைப் பிறந்தகத்தைப் பிறந்த ஊரை விட்டுப்

பிரிந்து வந்து, பெருநோக்கில் கடமையறம் ஆற்றப்

பற்றற்ற துறவியெனக் குடும்பதொண்டேற்றுப்

பண்பாட்டின் அடிப்படையில் பதியைக்கொண்டு

நற்றவத்தால் நல் வாழ்க்கைத் துணையாகிப் பெண்மை

நல நோக்கில் அன்போடு கருணை இவை கொண்டு

மற்றவர்க்கும் தொண்டாற்றும் மாண்புமிக்க பெண்மையை

நாம் மதிப்போம், வாழ்த்தி மகிழ்வோம் !!- - வேதாத்திரி  மகரிஷி