Women's Day - What's in ONE day?

ALL THE "HUNGAMA" ABOUT WOMEN’S DAY

Scores of wishes on facebook, loads of forwards on whatsapp and too many advertisements trying to cash on the sentiment….that was how eventful, the 8^th of March, 2017 was. Well it wasn’t an ordinary day after all! It was one of the most widely celebrated days – International Women’s Day.

While everyone around me exults in the glory of the day, this “special day” always makes me feel very bitter. Call me negative, regressive or whichever adjective suits you best, but this day doesn’t make me excited at all. On the contrary, it annoys and angers me tremendously. For all you those wondering what’s wrong with me, let me tell you, it’s not me. It is WHERE and HOW we live.

The whole world celebrates women on this special day but what are we Indians celebrating this day for? One odd day, India suddenly decides to make its’ women folk feel great about themselves. There will be a card and flowers from the HR department, a box of chocolates from someone, some beautiful inspirational quotes on your FB wall, some emotional messages on your whatsapp, too many advertisements celebrating the successful woman, restaurants and cafes selling deals, jewellery and apparel stores offering discounts and then, the very next day, all of this just fizzles out….I repeat…. just fizzles out…. like the fizz of a soda.

Is this, what women deserve? Just one fancy day to celebrate womanhood? Out of 365 days, we idolise women on this ONE day and on ALL the other days, we are happy to treat them like crap! We Indians are comfortable in objectifying women, in treating them as one’s own personal property, in slut shaming them whenever we feel like, not batting an eyelid before saying something derogatory to them, violating their modesty at our own free will and then on the 8^th of March, we will celebrate Women’s Day!

Why should we celebrate it? Oh yes! I know the answer. The entire world is celebrating it, then why should we be left behind. However much like a prawn we are, spineless and with a head full of shit, yet we don’t want to be labelled as backward. Do we? What a colossal shame!

So, for all the wonderful Indians who banked upon the idea of celebrating Women’s Day, in whichever way suited them best, please refrain from doing so in the future. Not until we Indians are actually prepared for it. By preparation I mean, respect all the worthy women in your life (I’m sure most of them will be). As they say, everything begins at home. So instead of looking outside, first learn to respect your mother, who works tirelessly for you; your sister, who cares for you; your wife, who does everything for you because she loves you and your daughter, who deserves to choose a happy life for herself.

Once you’ve learnt this, you will automatically learn to respect every other woman. Respect them in the actual sense. Don’t mistake their friendliness for flirtatiousness, don’t mistake their way of dressing for an open invitation, don’t look down upon her if she chooses to party late into the night with her friends, don’t think she’s available if she’s alone, don’t judge her for the choices she makes and most importantly – don’t mistake her love for you to be her weakness.

India will be in position to celebrate Women’s Day, the day our women feel safe on the roads, the day they are not victimised for being a woman, the day when they are not thrown acid at, the day when they are not leered at, the day when no one feels them up in a crowded place, the day when they have no apprehensions of leaving home after dark, the day when no one walks up to them at the bar with the line – “Waiting for someone or waiting for just anyone?”

That is the day, when India will actually be prepared to celebrate Women’s Day, and why just one day, every day then will be a celebration.

Until then, there’s absolutely no point in it. A woman definitely deserves a lot more than just one day to glorify her.

Image credits: Google