Women's Day - Time to Reflect And Celebrate

[Guest guest]

Women's Day - Time to Reflect And Celebrate

March 4th, 2008

Kalpana Sharma

CounterCurrents.org

 

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.)

 

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 so 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.

 

http://www.countercurrents.org/gender-sharma080304.htm