Glass Ceilings

Another Women's Day is on its way, and we can expect a whole lot of oratory and idolatry of women, as the nurturers of the Universe. Paeans are sung, of her inner strength, and how the whole world is indebted to her. After reading a few of that mushy stuff in newspapers and social media and the usual interviews with prominent and successful women, year after year, it almost gets boring.

It is all, such a cliché. Is this what Women's day all about??

Nowadays, the celebration is all about the educated class, and the upwardly mobile. There are posh clubs hosting Women's Day parties, corporate get-together etc. It is almost akin to a festival, and those who celebrate Women's Day are considered as the socially conscious, torch bearers for women's rights.

Surprisingly, the earliest Women's Day is associated with daily wage labourers from the garment industry in New York, who participated in strikes, for equal pay and suffrage, more than a 100 years ago. They must have been strong women, uneducated, mired in poverty. They worked as unskilled labour, trying to keep the wolf from the door, along with bearing and rearing children. The Socialism of the day, did help them in their endeavours, to a certain extent. By the end of the first world war, European nations like Germany, Poland, Denmark had started recognizing a women's right to vote, the Russian Revolution gave the Russian women their right to vote. Around 1918, Britain allowed propertied women above 30, to vote.

Big Daddy America, gave it's women, suffrage as late as 1920, after the ratification of the 19th amendment of its constitution. So, it all started in 1909, in a humble manner, the agitations, the protests and it took almost a decade to materialize into something concrete. It must have been a massive endeavour, to be recognized as a 'human being' capable of making decisions, of choosing their future leaders and their destiny. Those women must have thought of it as the end of an era, only to realize, it was just the beginning.

Women started venturing into unchartered territory, dominated by men, made their presence felt in the field of science and technology, medicine, management and politics. But, it has been an arduous journey, with hurdles at every step, constantly fighting a misogynistic society.

Most of us consider that women have got their due, but the truth is still a far cry. In pursuit of equality, the basic essence has been lost. Women need to learn to be more inclusive. It's not only about the successful high flier, but about every individual, right from the house-help to the women who cook and clean for us, the daily wage earners, to those involved in small scale industries.... aren't these the women, who are the true embodiment of womanhood, trying to give their children a better future? Fighting every odd, they tread forward, burdened by the disadvantage of poverty, hopeless living conditions and in some cases an alcoholic husband.

Years ago, I had a house-help, called Padma, she was more of a friend. Sometime back her daughter landed a job in an MNC, as a software engineer. Something, that sounds pretty mundane by today's standards, was a giant leap for Padma and her family. This single achievement, would redefine the future of the entire family. This is not some fantasy, this is as true, as truth gets. My only contribution was, to ask her to stand up against her husband and in-laws, when they wanted to get her daughter married off. The girl had managed to secure a decent rank, in her entrance and with the help of her eligible quota, she managed to get a seat and also some financial assistance from the government... the rest is history.

One needn't be a Madame Curie, a Indira Gandhi or a Kalpana Chawla to be celebrated. The common woman of today, faces more challenges in her every day life, than any of them did. Sexual harassment and rape are more of a reality than ever before, bad enough, to be a deterrent to any progress. It is also the responsibility of the modern woman, to mould the character of her sons, so that people of her own ilk, get a fighting chance at life.

Understanding and empathetic men have also  contributed a great deal to the progress of women, but as every man is not a Arunachalam Muruganantham, many women have to fight their own battles. So, in passing I would  want to dedicate this Women's Day, and many more to come, to the common Indian woman. As she bears her cross silently and alone, she is in most cases oblivious to something called as 'Women's Day', as she happens to live on a day to day basis, circumnavigating overflowing drains, crisscrossing the city in public buses, at ration stores, in water queues, and everywhere else, where we fail to look. She has little access to education, decent habitation or hygiene. But she keeps the fight alive, all in the name of hope, and a better future for the next generation.

Though rendered with utmost sincerity, what I say, also happens to be a cliché!