Women’s day. A day to celebrate, cherish and honour womanhood; a day to come together, support each other, honour, respect and uplift one another; a day to feel proud of being a woman and celebrate the feminine aspect of being a woman.
The good question is when is not a women’s day? Each day is a woman’s day. Our life starts in a woman’s womb and is nurtured and protected by a woman. It is the woman who has created this entire world if we like to think on a broader perspective. I cannot help but wonder about the amazing creation of God; the woman. I cannot thank enough all the women for being just the way they are. Be it a mother, a sister, a friend, a daughter, a daughter-in-law, an aunt, a neighbour, a teacher, a guru; a woman plays a pivotal role in making and maintaining social structure and without them the world wouldn’t have been there; it would not have been the same.
As a woman she has varied roles to play and sometimes the complexity of each role requires women to think beyond the means, stretch beyond the capacity and go above and beyond to nurture, protect and pamper the people so that the harmony and integrity is maintained in the world; be it in the family on the smaller scale or in the world on the larger scale. There is not a single day when women fail to do the balancing act. She plays different roles in different relations and situations to maintain harmony and smooth functioning of the system. However, women’s contribution has always been overlooked or ignored. We tend to ignore things which are obvious and that aspect is quite disheartening. We often take things for granted because we feel privileged and entitled but we do not realise that what we are taking for granted is precious and invaluable for our very existence. How many times do we realise that our mother is taking care of us constantly for years or decades, or as long as she lives. Even in her old age, she constantly worries and cares for her children. Do we realise that a wife often does most of the household responsibilities and parental duties and continues to do so even when she is unwell or suffering from illnesses or diseases? Do we ever realise that the women in our lives work constantly, tirelessly to make our lives better and we do not take notice of it.
Women’s day will come and go but the efforts of the women in our lives will always be overlooked. There is no use celebrating Women’s day if we do not respect, love, care and protect our women and it can only start at home. Let’s celebrate women’s day a bit differently. Let us take this opportunity to begin making a change. Let us learn to respect the women for who they are irrespective of their position, age, colour of the skin, size of the body etc. Let us accept women with all their perceived faults/flaws. Let us respect all the women of our life. Let us try to understand our women; their mood, their emotions, their needs and their dreams, their aspirations, their capacities as well as their limitations. Let us learn to take care of our women by addressing their physical, mental, emotional, financial, social and spiritual needs. Why not from today we just let our women to just BE. Let us allow her to express herself. Let her speak for herself, let her take a stand for herself and not suppress her, not belittle her, not judge her. Let the woman be proud of herself, her body, her achievements, her ambitions and her efforts, her role as a mother, daughter and daughter-in -law. Let us respect her choice; whether she chooses to be a homemaker or choose to pursue a career. Just let her BE. Let us begin the change at home by respecting our mother, wife, daughter and daughter-in-law, neighbour and housekeeper. If you are a woman, then let us respect other women. Let us refrain from criticising, judging, belittling and envying other women. Let us give other women support, love, care, understanding and compassion. Let us not discuss and share the weakness of other women and waste our time gossiping about other women’s flaws. Let us work on our own flaws and help other women to overcome their flaws. Let us be the woman who hides other women’s flaws without making her feel inferior or guilty. Let us offer other women the support in order to let them grow into beautiful human beings. Let us make the changes that enable other women to become better versions of themselves. Let us begin the change within ourselves so that we can offer other women the support and guidance that they need. Let us help one another so that together we can make a better world. Let us start with ourselves and then work on making a better society. Let us unite with our inner goddess and light up the world.
We can only change the world by changing ourselves; our perceptions, our attitude, our thinking as well as our mindset so let us begin that today. Let us take this opportunity and not delay it any further so that no woman cries behind closed doors, suffers in silence, gets humiliated in her own household or in public. Let us begin the change to protect our daughters, our mother and our wife. Let us realise that the woman is the foundation of the society that we live in and without her, we would crumble like a pack of cards and by empowering the women we are not only safeguarding her future but we are only safeguarding our own self and the future generations. We are safeguarding the betterment of the society and we are safeguarding the social structure. It is only through empowering the woman; the world can change and let us contribute to that change. Let us lay the foundation of a strong and stable world where everyone is empowered and that can only happen by empowering the woman in the house. Let us begin the change today and let each day be Women’s day. Let us make Women’s day more meaningful by having the right attitude and mindset. Let us start today and make this Women’s day a day to remember for years to come.
Parul Rana 