International Women’s Day, 2024 and India
Some serious issues related to women –
- Why do we always have to talk about the issue of Women’s safety even when we have reached the Moon successfully?
- Why do we feel that there should be stricter rules to check atrocities against women and girls?
- Why do women still need men’s escorts while going out after dawn?
- Why this or why that when it comes to our concerns about the safety of women and girls?
- And more recently, why did the Uttar Pradesh government in India decide to bar female students from evening coaching classes in the name of their safety?
- Where are the revered slogans’ vibes “ Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao”?
- What is the future of women’s education, employment, and eventually empowerment that every other government proudly advertises?
- Where is the quest of giving due respect to half of the country’s population?
- Why are women forced to stay at home in the name of their safety?
- Why is the government not confident about the law and order of the country, and instead, it is going backward to hide its inability to make the place safe for women?
- Why is the situation like a danger for women and girls even in broad daylight?
- Why is the integrity of women and girls always questioned instead of offenders?
- Why is there a steep rise in crimes against women and girls even after the implementation of the POCSO and Nirbhaya Act?
- Why do women and girls of today society have nightmare-like experiences when they go alone or even when they go in a group/
- Why do numerous cases of stalking, staring, mental, and sexual harassment remain under wrap and unnoticed by the administration?
- Why do women always have to suffer for no or little faults?
- Why does the government look for an escape route to ensure a safe environment for women and girls?
- Why is illegal abortion increasing rapidly in the country, and why is the sex ratio declining drastically in the country?
- Where are we heading when our women folk do not feel safe?
- How does the government hope to curb the problems of eve-teasing and sexual harassment of female students by making them stay at home?
- What is the status of unreported cases of molestation and harassment?
- Why do we have several self-proclaimed Godmen who got arrested on the complaints of sexual exploitation of female devotees?
- Where is the fear of law and order when governments fail to check cases of female infanticide, ill-treatment in public places and workplaces, issuing of bail to the habitual culprits, and even letting them go without giving proper punishment?
Maybe I wrote too many problems ahead, but these are for real. A civilized society needs all its elements in a cohesive and inclusive format.
Apart from all the comprehensive efforts to make society livable, we should self-examine our perceptions and prejudice.
It’s the 21st century CE, and in India, our female population is advised to follow the rules in Manu Smriti, written by sage Manu during the 1st-3rd century CE.
Isn’t it unfortunate and uncalled for half of the population under-estimating their prowess, downgrading their existence, and silencing their voice in the name of their safety and security?
Women are real heroes when given sufficient space for them. They epitomize resilience, talent, patience, tolerance, and multitasking.
It is not like they ask for the sky. They simply want a respectable position in the society that they deserve.
It is not they came out with their umpteenth demands. They just want a dignified, safe life.
It is not the concept of ‘feminism’ and ‘male chauvinism’ that matters for most of them.
Hinduism, a religion with Goddess Sarasvati regarded as the Goddess of Education or learning, did not allow women to be educated.
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule
It is necessary to mention that while the women of Eastern countries were raising their voices for their rights during the Great European Renaissance, the women of India were at the center of society and played a vital role.
Ensuring a safe environment for females in society, we are ensuring a prosperous and peaceful society in any way.
Much ado about the notion of ‘Women Empowerment’. The hype and hypothesis behind wrongful theories of not letting women do what they deserve as human beings destroy the equilibrium of the social structure.
Instead of removing impediments in the way of the female population, how could a democratic government issue such detrimental guidelines?
Every government, especially elected ones has a declared or undeclared motto of making rules to educate every section of the community irrespective of caste, creed, community, religion, faith, gender, and place.
Opinions matter but the implementation of absurd and dwindling guidelines barring female students from attending evening coaching classes at a time when there is a dire need for education among them will make the downgrade of the principles of humanity.
At this juncture of time of development, we need every element of society to go strong and yep, the maintaining and managing of the law and order is still a duty of all civilians and not only of government.
According to the latest NCRB ( National Crime Records Bureau ) 2023 reports, there were 445256 cases of crime against women in India in 2022 and Uttar Pradesh records highest number of crimes against women with 65743 registered cases.
This shows the pathetic condition of women in India. This indicates our failure as half of the country’s population is still vulnerable to crimes against them even after 77 years of our independence.
This shows that we only pretend to provide a safe environment to women, girls, and children, and make their lives hell.
The only solution is to educate them, empower them, ensure them and encourage them instead of making terrible mistakes against them.
In the wake of the International Women’s Day, 2024, we should pledge to make the world a safe and harmless place for them.
Also, women have to debunk the existing myths about their societal position.
To read more about organic thoughts on women, you can read another article – https://lekh-lekhni.com/international-womans-day2024/