Happy Women's Day, Sir!

[Guest guest]

NEW DELHI (March 12, 2007): " Happy Women's Day, Sir, " I heard a young

girl greet some one the other day. It reminded me of course that it

was the International Women's Day, March 8th. Also that it was now an

object of greeting - much like Happy Holi or Happy Valentine's Day or

Happy New Year.

 

How easy it is to kill days and occasions by reducing them to

occasions for exchanging greetings or sending cards. We wish a few

people on the streets and in the neighbourhood and our job is done,

our consciences are at peace for the next 365 days, till the day rolls

in again and by then our fertile minds would have worked out some

thing more innovative to dull and anesthetize our consciences.

 

Not that there are no deeper issues to deal with if we scratch the

surface. There are reports which suggest that nearly half of India's

women have never heard of AIDS, let alone worry about taking

precautions to protect themselves. Even as epidemics like HIV are

getting feminised, another tendency that has come to light in places

like Uttar Pradesh is the disturbing 'masculinisation' of the sex

ratio. That this has spread to states like Uttar Pradesh is a

deviation from the generally accepted norm that sex selective abortion

is a matter of concern for the richer states like Punjab, Haryana,

etc. is a worrying trend.

 

I may along with most other men mumble the usual platitudes about

women's' empowerment, but I must admit I still have a long way to go.

After all. I can curse and rave and rant about patriarchy and

patriarchal systems that are oppressive in my writing and public

posturing, but how to negate the fact that most or perhaps even all

men have this very same patriarchal attitude ingrained into their DN ,

from their earliest childhood by the manner of their socialization and

cultural expectation?

 

So many even so called so called " aware " and " sensitized " men make all

the right noises at home, perhaps even mean a great deal of the sound

bytes that they provide, but then deep rooted, subconscious values and

behaviours come into play and men typically end up contradicting

themselves. On one hand, we conduct sting operations on the occasion

of Women's Day and haul up doctors who are involved in committing the

crime of determining sex of a foetus in India and then on the other

hand join hands with countries like China to kill a UN resolution

against sex selective abortions.

 

Nevertheless, progress is slowly but certainly being made though

activists will always feel that the pace is still too slow. In the

initial days, when one third of the seats in Panchayats and

Municipalities were reserved for women, there was a lot of hue and

cry. Initially men objected, but when the law was passed anyway, most

men who lost the chance to contest often put up dummy women from their

family. The scheme worked for a while but then as many of the women

got trained and got a taste of political power, they declined to do

the men's bidding blindly.

 

Things admittedly are better in some parts of the country than others,

but unquestionably things are getting better. The bill to reserve one

third of seats in Parliament for women is still pending, but the

voices that oppose it are getting less hoarse and creative solutions

like increasing the number of seats in parliament are being thought of.

 

May be in the next year or so, we will see some progress. Meanwhile,

to conclude as I began, A Happy Women's Day to all!

 

SOURCE: One World South Asia. News: Opinion & Comment. Happy Women's

Day, Sir! By Shantanu Dutta. Dutta is a doctor by training and a

development professional by vocation.

URL:

http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/147038/1/5339?PrintableVersion=enable\

d

 

, " Devi Bhakta " <devi_bhakta

wrote:

>

> BRUSSELS, Belgium, March 9, 2007 (AP): German Chancellor Angela Merkel

> -- the first woman in more than 20 years to chair a European Union

> summit -- marked International Women's Day by calling Thursday for

> gender equality.

>

> Merkel, opening a photo exhibition of prominent women, said Europe

> cannot remain content with the position of women in the society.

> " Something must change, " she said, noting that women are

> underrepresented in top positions in politics, science and economy.

>

> British Prime Minister Tony Blair said more needs to be done to close

> the pay gap between men and women. And while the situation for women

> has improved in Britain, women in many other countries still are not

> treated as equals to men.

>

> " Things are not so great ... for all sorts of reasons -- cultural,

> traditional and historic, " he said in London. " There are real problems

> for women in getting equality and to fulfill their potential in the

> way they wish to do so. "

>

> People around the world marked International Women's Day by honoring

> women -- and pledging to improve their status.

>

> In Bangladesh, men -- celebrities, athletes, students -- vowed to

> fight the disfiguring and often deadly practice of attacking women

> with acid as a means of punishment.

>

> In Mumbai, India, a company launched a new taxi service for women with

> female cabbies at the wheel, and in Vietnam, men bought their wives

> and girlfriends bouquets, turning Thursday into the communist nation's

> version of Valentine's Day.

>

> In Beijing, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with women lawmakers.

>

> " I want to take this opportunity to send my regards to you and hope

> you are all successful in your career and have a happy life, " Hu said,

> shaking their hands in the Great Hall of the People.

>

> However, in Iran, women released after being detained for holding a

> peaceful gathering earlier in the week were warned Thursday not to

> attend a women's day protest outside parliament.

>

> Women in the Islamic republic have been pushing for equal rights and

> the nullification of a law allowing men in Iran to have four wives.

>

> And in Afghanistan, 2 million girls have returned to school since the

> fall of the ultraconservative Taliban regime -- but widespread

> discrimination and domestic violence persist, experts said.

>

> At least one out of three Afghan women has been beaten, coerced into

> sex or otherwise abused, the U.N. Development Fund for Women said.

>

> In Kabul, one woman laughed at the idea of women's day.

>

> " No one will bring me flowers. My husband won't even bring me a

> stone, " said Qamar, a 45-year-old woman who goes by one name, as she

> recounted her woes and the beatings by her husband. " March 8 is for

> foreigners because they have good lives. I don't know anything about

> March 8. "

>

> The United Nations called for an end to pervasive violence against

> girls and women during armed conflicts and demanded that perpetrators

> be punished.

>

> " Violence against women is both a cause and a consequence of

> discrimination against women, " said Rachel Mayanja, a special adviser

> to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on gender issues. " It is based

> on social and cultural practices that hold women and girls as

> subordinate to men. "

>

> In Brussels -- where Merkel became the first woman to host a summit of

> EU leaders since then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in

> 1986 -- the EU pledged to fight discrimination and domestic violence

> against women.

>

> Merkel said women must be treated as equals to men if Europe wants to

> become the world's most dynamic economy by the end of the decade.

>

> Gender gaps in employment and education are narrowing but the gap in

> paychecks remains around 15 percent across the 27-nation bloc. Women

> account for just 32 percent of managers, 10 percent of board members

> and 3 percent of CEOs of large companies, the EU said.

>

> Women are more likely to be unemployed than men, said a report by the

> EU's statistical agency Eurostat compiled from national data gathered

> between 1998 and 2006.

>

> In Paris, France's presidential candidates pledged greater attention

> to women's grievances such as child care -- especially Socialist

> Segolene Royal, who has made her gender a key part of her bid to

> become France's first woman president.

>

> And Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy was expected to win the endorsement

> of one of France's most prominent women politicians, Simone Veil, and

> name her head of his support team.

>

> SOURCE: China Post. World marks Women's Day by pledging to improve

> status. By Jan Sliva

> URL:

>

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news/archives/international/200739/104204.htm

>