Caution: This article is only for people with a good sense of humour! Others can give a shot but at their own risk. :p:
#beboldforchange is viral as the tagline of International Women’s Day. WOMEN’S DAY!
Sounds cool?
Or uncool?
Or Feminist?
Dunno !
Before seeing “Happy Women’s Day” floating around in my office emails, I didn’t even know something like this existed. Very low on GK! Yeah! Though thereafter I starting noticing everywhere, FM, newspapers etc.
But now a days we have a day for everything and everyone. Soon all 365 days of the year would be booked.
Women’s Day brought with it myriad thoughts. And questions! And even more interesting answers. The first question that came to my mind was:
Q: Is there a men’s day too, or there is just a women’s day?
A: My intuitive answer was NO. There must only be a women’s day. Of course because women are special. But to mine and more to my sexist guy friends’ surprise, we do have a men’s day observed on November 19. So chill! Bank Of America might be women-friendly but the world altogether is not biased against men. 😀
Q: Will we get a holiday on Women’s Day?
A: Of course, not. Or I would have known about this day earlier. But this is a really important question. Nothing marks the magnanimity or importance of a festival or occasion more than a holiday. Why do you think we have an off for Independence Day, Republic Day, Gandhi Jayanti, Holi, Diwali, Christmas etc.
8th March i.e. Women’s Day is a public holiday in 28 countries worldwide. It is not a public holiday but unofficially off in 9 others.
And do you know only 4 countries celebrate this day in its true spirit. They have declared it as a public holiday only for women. They are China, Nepal, Madagascar and Mongolia. Don’t believe me
Do only these countries celebrate and value their women? ( I am serious !). We Indians too are not third world anymore. And by no means are we behind China. And a solid step to prove it would be declaring 8th March as a public holiday. What say? And I believe in equality, so I would request a public holiday for men’s day i.e. 19th November too. 😛 😀
Q: Be Bold For Change? Bold? So you think women are weak?
A: Firstly, if you are a guy, get married if you think so. I promise your opinion will change.
Ok, let us get serious. If I compare men and women on physical strength, in general men are physically stronger. They are naturally built that way. (This doesn’t apply to tomboys and MMA folks).
And just like men are generally physically stronger, women too have their fair share of gifts. They are more flexible, have a stronger immune system and live longer. Bingo!!
Emotionally? Can’t say. Yeah, you need to control emotional outbursts if you are a boy. Tears is a strict NO-NO. If you slip, you will definitely be labelled a girl. That’s hard on you guys, I know. The world is not a fair place dude.
In these never-ending comparisons, I forgot, the question was do you think women are weak?
Well, yes they are.
And this weakness doesn’t stem from comparatively less physical or emotional strength. This comes from the way they are brought up, the bias they face every day, the fears and insecurities that are forced onto them. And with time, this weakness becomes a part of most of them.
Though gone are the times when women didn’t have right to vote, or freedom to work, or follow their heart and passion. Agreed, certain ridiculous things still prevail.
In Saudi Arabia women can’t vote, drive, can’t leave their home without their husband’s permission, STILL. In Yemen, women are considered only half witnesses. Female feticide and infanticide is still prevalent in India. The national capital of India, our very own Delhi is practically the capital of crime against women.
But this can change, or rather this will change the day
When a newborn girl would be as welcome into a family as a newborn boy,
When parents would feel that a girl is in no way lesser than a boy,
When age old customs would change and girls wouldn’t have to leave their home after marriage,
When in times of war only children would be spared, not women and children,
When women would be warriors by spirit,
When women would not be referred to as “the weaker sex”
When there would be no need of reservation for women in educational institutions and corporate.
When everyone would understand that a guy or a girl, a man or a woman is individually complete and independent, a relationship just makes them interdependent. But alone too, they are complete.
And perhaps many more whens.
That would be the day when women would be equals. We have so many examples. Rani Laxmi Bai in wars, Indira Gandhi in politics, Kalpana Chawla in technology, Saina Nehwal in sports, Chanda Kochhar in business and thousands more. Bold is a small word for them.
We don’t need any laws or revolutions to be bold or to change. We simply need to make ourselves strong, independent and happy. If each girl/woman does that for herself, we are already over any gender based debate.
Too much seriousness! Huhh, lets end it on a happy note.
Q: I have a friend, Abhinav. He feels so oppressed by girls, that he wishes he was one too. And I couldn’t agree more.
Being a girl born in a liberal family, I have always felt privileged. In fact, if being a girl or guy would have been a choice, I would have chosen to be a girl.
Be it Rakshabandhan, Bhaiyadooj, Kanjak ,name it. Any occasion, any festival, girls are the ones to get gifts.
In college, there was something like a single girl child quota too. It never made sense though. What if you were 2 or 3 sisters? Then no quota. :p Unfortunately I have a brother, so I didn’t get it. (Though I am fortunate to have one).
Some IIMs even give points for being a girl.
Most corporates need to maintain minimum 33% female workforce.
But the best thing is, there is next to nil competition in sports. In my office more than 100 guys play TT well, and just 1 girl, that’s me. :D. Okay, accepted, there are 2-3 more.
And the kind of respect and friendly atmosphere girls and women get in BOA, I am sure soon guys would need special attention here. 😀
For instance, every female employee gets a martial to accompany her home, who doesn’t leave till she has entered her house.
It is Women’s Day. And I feel: Happy, optimistic and special, because I choose to feel so.
Happy Women’s Day
Manu
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