INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: A HOMOGENOUS FUTURE
When God conceived life in the form of humans, he created Adam and Eve. Apparently (according to fairy tales and folklore), Adam and Eve were not two separate beings but one whole being who eventually split into two. Ever since, a man and a woman have been considered to be each other’s significant half and each other’s soulmate.
Regardless of how significant either’s role and responsibility in the society is, a woman has had to prove her worth to the society. While a man’s honour goes undisputed, the same does not seem to be applicable in case of a woman. Since the emergence, formation and evolvement of the society, women have had to go through a lot of hardships to establish their identity in a society which they constituted of.
Women, throughout the world, have always been subjected to humiliations, torments and harassments. Their vanity has been put to test, their chastity demeaned and their character assaulted. Yet, women have always risen back like phoenix rising back from ashes. The position of a woman in the society has always been scrutinized and then regarded. History has it that women have had to fight for accessibility to basic privileges like education, livelihood, etc. Yet, despite being projected towards vehement prejudices and bigotry, women have emerged out as diamonds and made their respective nations boost pridefully of their accomplishments.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: A DAY TO CELEBRATE WOMEN AND WOMANHOOD
Every year on March 8, the entire world celebrates the joyship of women and womanhood in the form of International Women’s Day. Women from around the world desire and deserve a world free from stigma, stereotypes and violence and a future that’s sustainable, peaceful, with equal rights and opportunities for all. To get us there, the world needs women at every table where decisions are being made.
The simple pleasures of being a woman are enormous. Women are not just sensitive towards their own needs and the needs of their fellow humans, but are also strong and resilient. Women have grown strong over these years. With the tides of feminism rising high with every year, women have fought and acquired their rights to accessibility to basic necessities of life.
Throughout the years, the world has witnessed some fiercely intelligent, powerful and inspirational women who have been pioneers for women’s rights and racial equality and have defined the worlds of science, mathematics, aviation and literature.
Whether these famous females were inventors, scientists, leaders, politicians, or literal Queens, women undeniably changed the world for the better and drafted new chapters in the history of mankind.
Women like Anne Frank, Jane Austen, Maya Angelou and Savitribai Phule have aroused as the epitome of change and fortitude in the past, on the other hand women like Malala Yousafzai, Michelle Obama, Greta Thunberg Kamala Harris have stood out as the guardians of peace and embodiment of brawn.
WOMEN AS COVID WARRIORS
Women stand at the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis, as health care workers, caregivers, innovators, community organizers and as some of the most exemplary and effective national leaders in combating the pandemic. The crisis has highlighted both the centrality of their contributions and the disproportionate burdens that women carry.
This year’s theme for the International Day, “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world”, celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is also aligned with the priority theme of the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, “Women in public life, equal participation in decision making”, and the flagship Generation Equality campaign, which calls for women’s right to decision-making in all areas of life, equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work, an end all forms of violence against women and girls, and health-care services that respond to their needs.
When women lead, we see positive results. Some of the most efficient and exemplary responses to the COVID-19 pandemic were led by women. And women, especially young women, are at the forefront of diverse and inclusive movements online and on the streets for social justice, climate change and equality in all parts of the world. Yet, women under 30 are less than 1 percent of parliamentarians worldwide.
This is why, this year’s International Women’s Day is a rallying cry for Generation Equality, to act for an equal future for all. The Generation Equality Forum, the most important convening for gender equality investment and actions, kicks off in Mexico City from 29–31 March, and culminates in Paris in June 2021. It will draw leaders, visionaries, and activists from around the world, safely on a virtual platform, to push for transformative and lasting change for generations to come.
EFFECTIVENESS OF OBSERVING WOMEN’S DAY
From the boardroom to Hollywood and the floor of the House of Representatives, women today are making their presence known.
In 2021, the wage gap may still exist between men and women — and even more so between different racial groups — but with movements such as #MeToo and Time’s Up maintain momentum and more women are involved in politics than ever before, women are also more powerful than ever.
On January 20, Senator Kamala Harris sworn in as the first female and first Black and South Asian vice president, with President Joe Biden nominating a number of women to cabinet posts.
Irrespective of how faithfully we celebrate women’s day, the observances and celebrations will go in vain unless and until we start respecting women on a regular basis and start treating them as normal human beings. Before being treated with respect and dignity, women need to be treated with extreme humanity.
No matter how much women empowerment quotations are shared on social media, no matter how many lengthy speeches on women empowerment are delivered on and off stage, no matter how many ballads are sung on appraisal of women and their underrated strength, until and unless women are treated with paramount empathy and compassion, all the efforts of our fore mothers and forefathers have fought hard enough to bring about.