Be The Change

It is International Woman's Day.

"Celebrated" all over the world with much enthusiasm and rigour.

The day originally called "International Working Woman's Day" was marked to promote equal rights for women including sex discrimination at work and suffrage in the, then, male dominated working scenario. A delegation of 100 women from 17 countries agreed upon this "historic strategy."

Through the decades this historic strategy has paved its way till it actually became a movement. The century has seen many woman-led strikes, protests and parades world-wide from Vienna in 1911 to the February Revolution in St. Petersburg in 1917 and so on.....till date.  

The west actually made this movement into a popular event. The first International Women's Day was observed in 1977 when UN General Assembly members proclaimed March 8 as the UN Day for Women's Rights and World Peace.

It was a need of the hour in those days and probably was the most prolific and creative way for women to raise their voices and views in a much suppressed environment.

We have come a long way. We have achieved much more than what the minds could fathom then and we have many a miles to go before we can rest.

Over the years which started as a strategy, culminated into a movement, has now metamorphosed into something which I cannot define. 

I feel in this new age with the new age woman who has empowered herself with her own kind of arsenal whether at work or at home, doesn't really see this day for what it was meant to portray. 

This woman probably doesn't need just A Day assigned to her. She needs the whole year. 

This woman probably doesn't need all the woman empowered messages plastered on every social media she chances upon on this very day. She needs these messages to be felt and implemented all year long.

This woman doesn't need to be treated differently on just One day. She needs to feel cherised and respested all year long.

 

So What Does this One Day represent now?

The day is a "popular" day for countless discounts, freebies and celebrations as marketed by the marketeers. And probably rightly so.

Well! We have been so busy for the past few decades fighting for what is rightfully ours that we forgot to have fun. And now that we have a lot of what we wanted it's time to kick our shoes and have some kickass fun.

For many, the day is another day to escape and find reasons to enjoy.

However, on a serious note, is that what this day is reduced to for many privileged US?

Now this is my opinion and it maybe myopic. But this is what I see around me today.

In another part of the world, she doesn't know there is an international woman's day. She doesn't know what it stands for. She doesn't know about the discounts and the freebies. She doesn't know what this ONE day year marked for her can do that the rest of the days cannot. She doesn't know...... She is oblivious........... Because she is still there .... in 1917 probably .....she still faces discrimination, gender biases, she is killed before she is born, she is raped, she is abused, she is beaten, and still treated differently.

For her this day is just any other day.

So I ask, in these two parallel worlds how does year-marking ONE day change things?

Ans: It doesn't.

The emotions felt on this day must percolate on the other days too by one and all. Otherwise it is just another day marked in the UN calender. 

Cherish your womanhood everyday. Cherish your woman everyday.

The true change lies within us.

The true change will happen when words like safety, respect, equality, love...... are not mere words in a man's dictionary. 

The true change will happen when she has all opportunities. 

The true change will happen when she can speak her mind and live freely.

The true change will happen when we raise our boys to respect women and our girls to stand-up for their rights.

Let this day not be a mere date. 

Let's make a change. 

Let's #BeTheChange