Trampled Womanhood. Time for Action

 “Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men” – Joseph Conrad

It is said that God, after creating Man, realized that his creation was not good enough and left alone, his creation would not survive for too long. There were some essential attributes that were either not enough or completely missing in his first creation. In order to improve upon this first ‘draft’, God created another version with abundant quantities of attributes like love, compassion, mental strength, sacrifice, gentleness, tact and patience and named this creation ‘Woman’.

Since then Man and Woman together have complemented each other to strike a good balance. Woman has mostly been a pillar of strength for her man. She has provided the man with a loving family to give him a sense of belonging and responsibility; extended moral and even material support when required, has taken care of his home, has showered love and care upon him and has largely remained in the background and let the man take the limelight. Yet, it is sad that around the world, a woman is still referred to as the ‘weaker’ sex?

Why?

She is the support system for the man. She bears all the pains through her life, be it the natural periodic cycles, or the pain of giving birth to a child, which a man can never fathom the extent of or even the pains that her man and family members may be going through and she wilfully shares to lessen the impact on them. Still she is perceived to be ‘weak’. Strange!

And if that is not enough, the predominantly man’s world is hell bent upon felling this pillar of strength. The news papers, TV Channels, Internet, Radio, all have umpteen number of incidents of violence against women to report. More so in the Asian countries where women are being treated as a punching bag or a sex object and are being ‘used’ by men to give vent to their sexual and other frustrations. In India, while on one hand Woman form is worshipped as Goddess on the other, incidents of female infanticide, rape, domestic violence, acid attacks, stalking have become the way of life and the authorities are doing precious little than merely watching from the sidelines.

Every year, March 8 is celebrated as International Women’s Day with the idea of felicitating the spirit of womanhood but is there anything to celebrate in these times? Simply declaring a theme, running a media campaign, holding some functions and honouring some successful women is not enough. A revolution is required. A revolution which can usher in a change in each individual’s attitude towards women.  The physically stronger Man needs to understand that “strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will” (- Mahatma Gandhi), which, the Woman has more of.

The UN has declared the theme for the International Women's Day 2013 which is ‘A promise is a promise. Time for action to end violence against women’. Yes, it sure is time for action. The need of the hour is a resolve by each and every person – man or a woman – to ensure that Women are given their rightful due. A place of equality in the society. A respect that she deserves but seldom demands. An equal reciprocal of the love and compassion that she is known for. A life that she can enjoy happily and not live under the constant shadows of fear.

Bring in the change, NOW! That, indeed, will be a true honour for the spirit of womanhood!!