Another March.
One more Women’s Day.
One more effort to accomplish the far-fetched dream of equality.
The year 2023 Women’s Day collided with the festival of Holi in India. People across all strata were soaked in colours and enjoying their hearts out, yet the strong presence of this day could not be ignored. Women’s Day has now gone beyond a single day.
The whole of march month is dedicated towards the issues of half of the world’s population. UN gives a theme to women’s day every year. People and organizations all pledge to bring worth to this cause.
Yet these efforts are not sufficient. We know one day is not enough for equality still year after year women celebrate the day with much fanfare. We concede the fact that our struggle is long at the same time women realize that we still need that one day to make their voices audible at varied levels of society. Do you realize what keeps us going? Despite all the challenges, mocking the name of feminism and equality, women are still taking one tiny step at a time. They are NOT STOPPING for sure!
As Helen Keller said, “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” Maybe this is a genetic mutation in a woman’s mind – she may be sluggish; she might get tired but she doesn’t back down!
Past, Present and…
It is surprising and intriguing how out of two genders in the world one became superior and the other inferior. Nature made us equal and handled the responsibility of progeny to both and giving specific roles but alas the roles got us walls and barriers rather than support and opportunities. What has happened over centuries is an open book. I do not need to mention the statistics of crime and inequality in society because there are enough pieces of evidence. We are much aware of the crime that women (across the world but I would refer to Indian Women in the article) face during their lifetime. We cannot move away from the fact that society treats women differently. This whole scenario is deeply rooted due to the mental conditioning as a result of years of patriarchal thought processes with which Indian society was being run. Yet the hope and optimism pushed us to break the shackles. In the last 100 years when women’s education began due to the effort of strong-willed women like Savitribai Phule, Fatima Sheikh, and others strong-willed women, the race has changed paths. The women in India have pushed themselves hard and competed with men. Within 100 years, Indian women made their presence felt in every venue. You name an orb, women have been there and done that!
As I write this, the country is celebrating winning an Oscar in the short film category for which the credit goes to two fierce women who believed in themselves and their dream and broke the glass ceiling in the man bastion.
What is changing?
I always feel it is important to speak up. To speak against the atrocities. To speak what we feel is right. To speak and raise my voice for fellow women. Expressing oneself is one of the important tools which women need. The expression does not only help women share their desires but it also compels them to think beyond the boundaries which society has set up for them. The urge to express themselves makes them courageous. A thinking woman is a ‘dangerous’ woman as she asks questions. She wants logic in your answers. She looks out for equal opportunities. In this whole path, she gains knowledge, and wisdom and leads her life differently. She believes in holding hands and moving ahead rather than ruling others.
This is my idea of equality and feminism which I wanted to take ahead through my literary art platform – KalaManthan. In my journey of being a social entrepreneur and holding the hand of women and steering ahead in the world of literary art, we created a community of women who are not afraid of expressing themselves. KalaManthan has more than 19000 followers and a closed group of 2000 passionate writers who are being mentored and guided. I feel humble and proud to say that a team consisting of 99% participation from women, with the same ratio of novice writers who want to express themselves on certain substantial issues and subjects. KalaManthan has women from all strata, cities, and ages. Helping them to get recognition for their passion and expressing themselves while gaining immense confidence is what KalaManthan has achieved in the last 4 years. The idea was to bridge the gap between experienced stalwarts in Hindi literature and the newbies who want to pave their path into the world of literature. With year-round work and four consecutive literature festivals, KalaManthan is now a known name with senior writers and passionate literature lovers. The groundwork and genuine approach to bring a difference and the lives of others along with working for Hindi bhasha got KalaManthan the love and support from the ‘who’s who’ of the fraternity. We are also taking stories as a tool to make society a better place with our ‘Aao Kahani Baatein’ project. The changing scenario of society can be handled with strong-willed people. Taking emotional intelligence to the forefront, this project deals with students of all age groups and all levels. Focussing on life skills and enhancing emotional wisdom is our way to make the world a better place.
As I steer toward my dream, I just wish women across the world understood that life is not easy, it was never meant to be but then we too were not meant to be weak. We need to change the things that are not acceptable and the first step is to raise our voices and express ourselves!
