Reminiscing on Women’s Day

UPDATE - April 3, 2014 - Ever since the Nirbhaya gang rape incident on 16 December 2012, the views that I had stated in this post (dated March 8, 2012) have been shaken. That incident left me stunned and terrified. No amount of roses on Women's Day can pacify the Indian woman as long as horrific incidents like these continue to happen in the country. Every Woman's Day in India as of now needs to be celebrated as a day to be thankful for the fact that we are still alive and not yet attacked.

Today is International Women’s day, a day which seems to me that only women seem to be wishing each other and some men for the heck of it. I guess many men must be wondering what’s with all the fuss for this particular day. I too tend to think along these lines. With a slight feminist overtone, I also tend to think that can’t every day be a woman’s day?

Celebrating women’s day explicitly probably can bring to light social causes like women's empowerment for those sections of society who still thinks that the female sex is incompetent and incapable. The day should also ideally create awareness of how women can reduce the notion of being considered as vulnerable. I guess even success stories of women also help to create awareness that women are climbing the ladder of success just like their men counterparts. But probably one shouldn’t just wait for this day alone to highlight all of these achievements.

I believe that the notion that women are comparatively weaker is all just in the mind. Notions of that nature just result in women creating some unreal fear within themselves and men think that women are incapable. Common sense should tell you that it is not physical strength that is being referred to here. This makes me go back a few years in time, during my college days. There were days when we had to head back home after college a little late in the evening. Anytime after 6 pm was considered relatively late back then in Kochi. I could see the concern in the eyes of those who enquired as to which bus stop I would get off from the public bus. The bus stop I had to get off was Boat Jetty which was considered to be a shady place later in the evening. But I guess that was ages ago but still people considered that area to be that way. For me, it has always been a fairly crowded place teeming with people all around. I am also very aware of who is around me and I think that also helps to ward off unwanted advances.

I recollect the concern many female college mates had if they had to travel after 6 pm back home. I used to wonder shouldn’t fear just set in if you can see something that is going to happen? Why should you just anticipate and mentally invite fear for no reason? I used to often wonder back then about all the activities women would be putting off for the next day just because they all had a Cinderella time of 6 pm to get back home!!

I believe if you always imagine and anticipate all the nasty things that could happen to you then most likely all of it would happen at some point in time. It’s like you are a magnet attracting the negative energy around you. I admit the general atmosphere in a public bus after 6 pm is a bit shady but I never used to panic and always had a watchful eye for my safety. During my four years of college, I have not had any bad experiences with returning home late (the latest back then would have been 7:30 pm!!!). I believe if something had to happen, it could have happened at any time of the day. (Yes, there have been random incidents and all of them were before 6 pm!!)

It’s inspiring and great to come across women who are successful and who don’t allow trivial matters of imaginative fear to come in the way of aiming sky high. Let every day be a women’s day!

Quote by my friend Samuel Valentjin Vooren -  let every day be a day for everyone (female as well as male) who acts with a pure heart, respect and the intention to do good... A sort of nice people day :)