I stuck to my resolution of the past few years not to attend a seminar or workshop on International Women’s Day. I had often found, to my acute discomfort, that they were organised by women for other women and attended mainly by a captive audience of more women. That rather defeated the whole purpose, in my view. Sometimes the only men around were the guy behind the coffee machine and the security man at the entrance - both of whom had little interest in our views on the battle between the sexes.In the past I ended up attending such pantomime shows where women achievers are paraded to tell the world that the organisers are liberal and fair to womenkind. Speeches and sound-bytes later, attitudes still remain the same. Often, the genuine work being done throughout the year by well-meaning but lesser-known organisations who work unsung, chipping away at the old patriarchal block, never gets its due.
Like everyone else, I received Women’s Day sms greetings from friends and colleagues. As a courtesy, I responded to such messages with a ‘Thank you’. But, on a more reflective note, one would like to see solidarity among women reach larger, organisational levels, transcending the malkin/kaamwali barrier and definitely going past that formidable gulf in society, the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law divide. One hopes to see the spirit of humanitarianism take over and nullify the man-woman discrimination that dominates life on this planet in small and big ways.
On a practical note, one would like to see all women becoming productive and creative, making profits through enterprise, generating savings and employment and taking decisions that impact themselves, their families and communities. Women should be able to access healthcare confidently and not have to walk around with tumours and debilitating conditions for months on end without treatment, as is currently the fate of thousands of women all over the country. Sadly, even as we are busy making token statements, female foetuses are aborted, babies are poisoned, girls are neglected and women are molested or raped.
It goes without saying that one would like to see marriages sans dowry, exploitation, harassment and violence. When girls are conceived, they must be allowed to take birth and receive immunisation and nutrition. They must be sent to school, equipped for an economically and socially productive life in adulthood and become successful economic entities in their own right. All are goals which women can motivate each other to work towards, but all need the support and cooperation of men and other women.
I can accept the view that in a sordid, hopeless world, we need to create such days as pivots around which we can gather to celebrate life. Respect for women’s rights must be woven deep into the fabric of our daily lives.