March 8: Time to Reflect and Celebrate

[Guest guest]

Today is International Women's Day. And here, a list of reasons to

rejoice and ponder over:

 

March 8 is International Women's Day. Yet again we will go through

the tokenism of remembering that one half of our population — a

declining half — consists of women. So is this half of the

population better off? Are women in India feeling more "empowered"

today, in an India that some claim is "shining", than they did two

decades back? Can Indian women dream of a day when they will be

treated with the same respect and rights as men, in fact as all

human beings, men and women, should?

 

International Women's Day — and the very fact that there has to be

such a day — is an occasion to celebrate and reflect. We can

celebrate the fact that some things have changed because of the

relentless campaigning and struggles by women's groups in India and

worldwide. And we can sit back and reflect on the long and rocky

road that still lies ahead for the majority of women before they can

be confident, secure and safe.

 

But first let us look at the "celebrate" part. What can we

celebrate? (Given below is a rough and ready list. I am sure readers

will have many more suggestions that they can send to me at

ksharma ).

 

* That despite efforts to kill them off before they are born, and

after they are born, girls in India are surviving and growing up

into confident young women.

 

* That more girls are now going to school than in 1984 — with many

of them topping board examinations.

 

* That the women's hockey team won the Asia Cup despite no support,

no sponsorship and pathetic living conditions compared to their male

counterparts.

 

* That the women's cricket team now has a sponsor — even it if is a

stereotypical women's product, jewellery, small change compared to

the level of support for the men's team.

 

* That women entrepreneurs and managers are making their mark in a

world of men, even if recognition comes by way of separate women's

awards.

 

* That despite the obduracy of male politicians with regard to the

Women's Bill in Parliament, more women are visible in the political

spectrum and in the run up to the forthcoming general elections.

 

BUT, even as we celebrate all this, we must pause, reflect and ask:

 

* Why the numbers of women as compared to men continue to decline in

India?

 

* Why despite changes in the rape laws, the convictions for rape are

few and far in between while the incidence of violent crimes

continues to grow?

 

* Why despite the Supreme Court ruling in the Vishakha case on

sexual harassment there is little change in the reality on the

ground with a majority of women being unaware of their rights and

the majority of men blithely confident that they can get away with

it?

 

* Why despite the fact that India has the largest number of

professionally qualified women in the world do parents continue to

sell their daughters into marriage, often miserably unhappy ones, by

paying unaffordable amounts as dowry?

 

* Why despite progress in science and medicine, millions of Indian

women die each year giving birth?

 

* Why despite mountains of words about women's right to participate

as equals in politics, the Bill to reserve one-third of the seats in

Parliament for women dies an unnatural death in successive Lok

Sabhas, unable to be introduced, leave alone discussed or passed?

 

FORTUNATELY, despite the depressing answers to these questions,

there is a glimmer of hope. One sees it when you listen to the views

of girls like the daughter of a taxi driver in Mumbai who lives in

one of the typical "chawls" (one-room tenements) that dot the city.

She spoke in English to a television channel recently and

confidently stated her desire to join the media when she finished

her studies. Why, she was asked. "Because it will give me a chance

to meet so many different types of people," she said.

 

If girls like this daughter of a Mumbai taxi driver can dream, and

have the confidence to share their dreams before a television

camera, then there is reason to have at least half a celebration.

For it suggests that even as things get worse for many women in the

country — as the gap between the rich and the poor grows, as levels

of poverty stay static or increase, as water and fuel become scarce,

as survival continues to mean the ability to find enough for one

square meal a day, as they continue to be victims of violence of the

feuds perpetuated by their men — they have improved for some others.

 

Yet, the glow from these stories of success, of girls and women who

have overcome obstacles to achieve something, should not hide the

continuing areas of darkness. The "feel good" motto of the ruling

coalition has rubbed off on the media. There is a lot of writing

about the achievements of individuals, including women, and

institutions. Yet, you hear little about the women away from the

media glare, for whom things are not going so well. As a result, it

is easy to build an illusionary world, one that highlights the

successes without balancing them with failures.

 

On March 8, we have to look at both. It is only if we have a real

sense of what is happening with women, all women, rich and poor,

young and old, can we hope to arrive at strategies and solutions

that can make a difference and go beyond rhetoric and

tokenism. "Real women" have no problem dealing with both — the

celebration and the reflection.

 

Source: The Hindu, Chennai. THE OTHER HALF: Time to reflect and

celebrate by KALPANA SHARMA

URL: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2004/03/07/stories/2004030700390300.htm