For 33-year-old Dolly Mandal, from Noida, her day begins long before sunrise. Her alarm rings at 4:30am, with the house still shrouded in the stillness of early morning. By then, Dolly is already moving—methodically, quietly. She starts with cleaning: sweeping the floors, wiping down surfaces, and tidying up corners as if it’s second nature. Once the house is in order, she heads to the kitchen, where she begins the task of preparing breakfast and lunch for her family. She carefully packs her three-yearold daughter’s tiffin box, ensuring it’s filled with nourishment and love. After seeing her daughter off to school, Dolly heads out for her first job in a nearby high-rise society, where she works as a cook across five different homes. Her workday typically starts around 7am and stretches untill 2pm. She moves from house to house, preparing meals. By the time she finishes her first shift, it’s already 2 pm, and she heads back home to share a quick lunch with her daughter.
But Dolly’s day doesn’t end there. By evening, she’s back on the job, preparing dinner for the same households. Her shift stretches until 9pm, and she returns home—exhausted but determined. Even then, her work doesn’t stop. It’s a never-ending cycle, but Dolly carries it out with a quiet strength and a sense of duty.
One morning, as I sit beside Dolly sipping my tea, I find myself venting about the flood of notifications on my phone. Each message promotes yet another “Women’s Day offer” — discounts on makeup, special salon deals, or meals for women. My phone buzzes endlessly with offers, and I roll my eyes at the sheer commercialisation of the day. Dolly looks at me curiously, clearly unaware of what’s going on. “Women’s Day kya hota hai didi (what is Women’s Day)?” she asks, her voice gentle, and laced with innocence. She has no idea what the day means or why there is so much buzz around it. I realised just how different our worlds are. While my phone buzzes with messages, Dolly’s reality is about survival — taking care of her family, meeting her responsibilities, and working tirelessly to make ends meet. For her, Women’s Day isn’t a time to shop for deals or reflect on abstract ideas about empowerment. It’s just another day in her long cycle of hard work and little recognition.
That moment made me realise how much International Women’s Day, in many ways, has been hijacked by the commercial world in India. What was once meant to be a day of reflection, a day to call for political, economic, and social equality for women, has become just another marketing tool. Women like Dolly, who embody resilience, strength, and sacrifice, don’t have the time or energy to get caught up in the frenzy of discounts and ads. They continue with their lives, unnoticed, uncelebrated, as they always have.
As more and more women enter the workforce to support their families, they face a system that still holds onto deeply entrenched patriarchal norms. They are pushed into lowpaying, low-growth jobs and are expected to prioritise their roles as homemakers. They face the constant pressure to ‘work like a man’ — to prove themselves in a world that doesn’t always value their contributions. And when they return home, they are expected to seamlessly slip back into the role of the “domestic goddess” — cooking, cleaning, caring for their families, and balancing a full-time job. Women’s Day should be a time to reflect on the struggles women continue to face and to honour those who have fought for the rights that we now enjoy. It should be a day to acknowledge how far we’ve come — and how far we still need to go.
For women like Dolly, the fight for gender equality doesn’t start with slogans or hashtags — it begins with hard work, persistence, and a relentless desire to create a better life for their families. What we need is equal rights at home, at the workplace, and in society. We need to continue the conversation, starting at home, and push for real change.