“A strong woman stands up for herself. A stronger woman stands up for everybody else”. (Unknown)
IN THIS 21st century, to be a woman in India is a challenge. Looking and studying the present scenario of women in India, she has to battle hard and fight an uncertain battle for survival. It is true that our country is progressing and developing but it look like our morality and common sense have gone down. It would be rather hard to find a woman in India who would proudly say, ‘I am safe in my country’. It is shocking but it is also not false. Every parent who has a daughter is always at an alert. It is not that the whole India is not safe but a handful of the citizens of the country have given us the image and impression that women are not safe and free in her motherland. The saddest aspect of our country India is that the title “Mother” has been credited to our land as “India is my motherland”, and in this ‘Motherland’ women live in fear, anger and without security. The government clarion call of “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” seems to have remained only as a slogan.
Women in India have come a long way from the days when they had to face extreme levels of exploitation and adhere to clearly defined norms of society. Till recent decades, women and Taboos has always walked together in their journey. Such taboos has made women life miserable in achieving what they want and crushed their dreams of a bright career. But today, it is in the broader context of the social and economic milieu that women in India are now slowly coming into their own. Professional women in India have broken the glass ceiling and have started making impressive strides.
Women (Plural, pronounced as /’Wimin/) is to be empowered and so it is the duty of every man, “WE MEN” to empower our other half. It is believed that a country is considered civilized or developed if we empower women and give special status, honor and dignity to women. Sometimes when we look, India is a country with lots of contrast in what we believe and in what we do in action. Our belief and our action contrast a lot. India is a nation where goddess Jeneni who gave birth to whole universe, Laxmi goddess of wealth, Saraswati goddess of wisdom, Durga goddess of Justice and Sita model of perfect womanhood are worshipped and glorified, yet still majority of our women are curtailed and deprived of freedom, rights and above all their human dignity. The issue and problems of domestic violence, work place discrimination, molestation and rape is at a high rise. In the religious atmosphere, women are hailed and in the earthly atmosphere, women are nailed.
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But the dawn of Modern India, changed the outlook of Indian women forever. Today women have tasted success and achieved the unachievable expected of women by men. To this we can say Education as the “Game changer” in the life of Indian women in the 21st century. By far the most critical aspect of this march for success has been education. Educated young girls want to work and work with a difference. There are today thousands of examples to celebrate Indian women’s remarkable achievements practically in every walk of life. Today we have women Engineers, Doctors, IAS, Ministers, CEO’s, Scientist, leaders and many more not mentioned here. This has also made huge change in attitude and outlook towards women. There is a beautiful quote from Jady Garland which goes as “Be a first-rate version of yourself, not a second-rate version of someone else”.
At this juncture, we can take the model of matrilineal society where women are given higher status. Tribe in India like Bunt from the region of Tulu Nadu in South west India, Nair Indian caste from Kerela and Khasis, Garos and Jaintias from the North East India are tribes with a difference. They are examples of women pride and empowerment at present in India. The attitude towards women and the mindset as a sex object need to be changed. The use of words such as “second sex” or less capable so on and so forth need to be erased from the male dictionary. Laws on violence and discrimination need to be implemented. Quota and Reservation system need to be revised for women. The quote or idiom, “Mould a girl child, make a society” need to be imprinted in everyone. With all these and many other upliftment programs for women we can make women smile and say to themselves “I know who I am now”.
There are many examples of women in India making a vital contribution in every government offices and corporate companies. These women have brought unique perspective to the table. Although it is evident that despite the enormous stride taken by women, there are still many mountains to climb. The theme of the International Women’s Day 2025 “Accelerate Action” is a call for urgent and collective efforts to achieve gender equality. As Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an American Lawyer an Jurist says “A women achieve power, the barriers will fall. As society sees what women can do, as women see what women can do, there will be more women out there doing things, and we’ll all be better off for it”. Women can play an extremely important role in shaping the future of our country but much she depends on the goals she sets for herself and the visions she charts for future. It must be believed that there is no limit to what women can accomplish.
The Author, is a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Imphal, presently serving as the Vice Principal of St. Joseph College, Ukhrul, Manipur. He can be reached on mtjo89@gmail.com.
(The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ukhrul Times. Ukhrul Times values and encourages diverse perspectives.)