India's Women

‘Woman’- without her, ‘they’ say, there can be no ‘man’. But, does it apply in

the practical world? Being a woman myself, I can understand how ironic the

statement is, especially in our country.

We are, unfortunately, the citizens of a nation where Nirbhaya’s soul is still

anxiously awaiting justice after seven years. On the one hand, thousands of

‘Dishas’ are raped, and murdered every year, and on the other, we worship

women as ‘Laxmi’,‘Durga’, and ‘Kali’.

The question that has disturbed my peaceful sleep is why our ‘Indian tradition’

is still about teaching women how to be cautious, and defend themselves, and

why not about teaching men to be humane and respectful.

History provides evidence of how women have always been victims of male

dominance, and have faced gross repercussions by stepping out of the

boundaries set for them. It is evident in the examples of Draupadi being stripped

of her dignity, Sita’s character being questioned after being kidnapped, and

Padmavati’s decision to burn herself, that women in India have always been

struggling and surviving in a dark world.

Thousands of women have been strangled to death by the endless restrictions

imposed on them. From being enchained to the constraints of domestic life to

practises like sati and child marriage, the entire journey of a female from a girl

to a woman has been predetermined. It is high time that women seriously take

up the task of bringing about a change by educating their friends, husbands,

sons about how women ought to be treated. Men will have to understand that a

simple word such as ‘NO’ uttered by a woman is a complete answer, and

respecting them would, nowhere, hurt the male ego.

Women are now excelling in every possible arena by multitasking vigorously.

However, their security has become an issue that needs to be prioritized. Why

do we (Indian women) not deserve to walk on the streets at 2 a.m. alone,

fearlessly? Why do many little girls still have to sacrifice their studies? Is it due

to the absence of practicality in their family members’ minds? Why do many of

the rape, and acid attack survivors (and their family members) still await justice

while their culprits enjoy their life finding the next victim? Such questions need

to be answered.

Law-making and disposal of justice in our country is undoubtedly

unquestionable. The case files are stacked into the unmaintained and dirty store

rooms for years, and it takes years to deliver justice in the true sense. But, why

does it take so long? Millions of cases get compiled because till the judges close

some cases of the past years, a lot more come up, which further add to the burden. Human tendency, too, is against working 24/7 in the literal sense.

Serious changes need to be introduced in our system so that no other victim

returns hopelessly from the court. It is time to celebrate ‘womanhood”, and

permanently bury terms like ‘mansplaining’ with the conventional picture of a

woman. Women of the 21st century are capable enough to question, but those

questions need to be answered so that new questions arise to question every

unfair phenomenon.

Efforts like providing permanent commission to women in the Short Service

Commission by the Supreme Court instil a spirit into each Indian woman to

cross the barriers, and emerge out of the complexities with flying colours. The

dream captured in the statement made by the UN Women Executive Director

Michelle Bachelet—‘21 st Century will be the century of girls and

women’—must be realized by taking small steps which would eventually lead

to the celebration of the utopian India dreamt of by each woman.

So, it is high time to try to up the ante by working tirelessly to create a secure

haven for women. Each woman is a magnum opus of the Creator. They must be

provided with care and a proper environment to live in, just like we divert our

energies towards preserving the gateways of the Sanchi Stupa, a magnificent

marvel. I tried to draw a comparison between the two to highlight that both of

them are strong to withstand terrors of darkness, and both are fought for.

But, women, today, cannot (and should) not be compared to anyone or even

each other, as each one of us is unique. But, we all aspire for a unified and a

common understanding of a ‘liveable’ India.

By,

Bhavna Dahiya

1st BA Programme ( Batch of 2022)