Another Women's day is just around the corner. It sure feels good to have a day dedicated to you and to have so many nice things said about you.  Yet the undercurrents like a fly in an ointment remain - the atrocities, as in the rapes, the injustices, harassment. It would be Women's day every day if these atrocities ceased. On one hand, you have the Ashok Leyland advertisement, encouraging and uplifting women and on the other, you have a woman in search of a makeup artist for her soon to be wed daughter and shown pictures of only very fair girls wearing makeup. 

Women's day would be more meaningful if women pledged to empower and uplift one another... says a friend. 

The Dark Side of Fair.

Woman is often referred to as the fairer sex. ‘How fairly am I treated?’ is the burning question in most women's minds. There are creams to brighten her skin tone and matrimonial advertisements ask for ‘fair brides.’ That’s as far as fair goes.  The Indian woman doesn't have it easy at all and yes she is angry, very angry at this gender bias. Her very birth is sometimes looked upon with disappointment. Her choice of career may not go down well with her family. Her single status is fodder for gossip mongers or she may be forced to marry a man of her parents’ choice. , she is told what kind of clothes to wear, where she must or must not be seen.  Parents are afraid of 'log kya kahenge?

  "Being human" is a popular tagline.  How humane is Indian society towards the Indian woman? Will she ever be treated without prejudice? When was the last time that a man was frowned upon for the clothes he wore or the habits he cultivated or the friends that he hangs out with?   While volumes are spoken about the upliftment and empowerment of women, a noticeable change is yet to be seen. Crimes related to dowry, rape, acid attacks, molestation, incest etc are inflicted on her every day. There is never a day when a newspaper does not carry a report on crime against women. 

The educated Indian woman is on a better wicket. In the professional field she has entered male dominated bastions; her wage quite often equals or exceeds that of her male colleagues. She is capable, smart, efficient and talented. However these qualities appreciated in men, will be subject to raised eyebrows as far as the ‘fairer sex’ goes.  Her every action and reaction is judged.

Kudos to the parents of the Sindhus and the Sakshi Maliks who have allowed their daughters to bloom and have not “married them off.” Being financially independent or at least contributing to the income of the house is a huge plus point for a woman today.  They have stood firm and have allowed their little girls to grow into women of substance.  Wonderful would be the day if more parents followed in their footsteps.

 The plight of the rural Indian woman is no better.  More often than not, she is simply a doormat to be trampled upon, used and abused.

Movies like Toilet..Ek Prem Katha  mirror the plight of our rural sisters.It is perfectly okay for a woman to defecate out in the open and cover her face with a ghunghat when a male passes by.Keshav(Akshay Kumar) first cajoles his educated state topper wife into joining the ‘lota party’ but she will not have it. His extremely rigid and orthodox father is scandalized by the thought of having a toilet in the house. Jaya ( Bhumi Pednekar) is finally successful in changing his attitude and Keshav is finally able to convince his father about the necessity of having a toilet in the house. Lipstick under the Burkha unveils the suppressed passions of four women in different age groups.  Rural or urban, it is time that Indian society recognizes the worth of the Indian woman and treats her with respect, care, and dignity.

 In the words of Swami Vivekananda, “It is very difficult to understand why in this country so much difference is made between men and women whereas the Vedanta declares that one and the same conscious self is present in all human beings. You always criticize women but say what have you done for their uplift? "