It is surely a well known fact that the female population encompasses half of the world’s population,
or probably more if we were to statistically analyse at a very minute scale, and we all wish for a
harmonious society that allows a safe, healthy and balanced system for everyone to live in. To
elaborate further onto the point, a much more accurate way of describing balance is the substantial
existence of all genders propels harmony that ultimately determine a smooth functioning of
humanity at large and at a global level. The International Women’s day is a celebration of women and
their vehement efforts and their invaluable contributions towards the advancement and
development in the betterment and improvement of the world at large. First celebrated on 19th
march,1911, this extraordinary day sheds light upon various issues that are detrimental for women’s
overall growth and survival such as gender inequality, violence, abuse, and nullifying reproductive
rights that curtails women from exercising their essential rights and freedom.
This Year’s Theme
International women’s day, ever since its inception, customarily imbibes a very special and unique
theme every year which solicits the welfare of women and aims at creating and solidifying a much
more unified and equitable space for women to live in. This year’s theme was; “Invest in women:
accelerate progress”, as designated by the United Nations. This theme aims towards recognising and
understanding the urgency that demands immediate attention towards addressing the pertinent
issues and challenges , which have always been a central element in creating negative and
detrimental outcomes such as gender inequality,etc. in varied sectors, since times immemorial. This
year’s theme, furthermore, shifts its focus to addressing economic disempowerment, which has
been backed by the central campaign theme of the year: “Inspire Inclusion”
With a very strong emphasis on inclusivity, this year’s theme caters to combat poverty and financial
inequality which serves as hindrances for numerous women across all countries that limits them
from realising their full potential in all possible realms and areas. Furthermore, this year’s campaign
aims to lay emphasis on recognising the importance of diversity and imbibing empowerment in
various spheres of society, highlighting the fundamental role of inculcating inclusivity in solidifying
improving and advancing gender equality.
Disparities between Ambition and Reality
Even though we have witnessed huge advances in terms of technological advances, growth and
development amidst various sectors, yet still, unfortunately , we are very much encountering
disparities amongst genders across workspaces, domestic spheres and elsewhere. It would be wrong
to claim that nothing has been accomplished so far, but evidentially we still haven’t achieved our
desired results that promises an absolute certainty of gender equality. The fact that we still need to
thematise “invest” , to urge people to invest towards women, still speaks volumes about the
vehement gaps that underlie the reality where we went wrong. A huge number of women are still
very much a prey of adversity that does not allow them to get educated, pursue higher education
and even limits them from opting to work after marriage , with additional violence and harassment
inflicted upon them.
But to look at the bright side, women have in fact achieved greatest accomplishments in numerous
fields and sectors and are making solid progress everyday, thus combatting their limitations, one day
at a time. With women making headlines everywhere our country now has numerous women at
positions of supreme power and authority who continue to influence and inspire several generations
of women and inculcate rays of hope towards all those downtrodden to overcome any adversity,
come what may. To name a few, we have President- Draupadi Murmu, Finance Minister- Nirmala
Sitaraman, Women and Child Development minister- Smriti Irani, and many others who prove
themselves everyday that power and authority knows no gender, but relies on reliable and honest
leadership qualities in individuals. These are just a few examples from the ocean of accolades that
have been made by the magnificent and powerful women. Women in all their power and glory are
deserving of much more recognition and respect than what they are given for, who pave the pathway
for more inspiring women to succeed in their careers and fulfil their goals and aspirations. A lot of
women are also achieving accolades in their everyday and ordinary lives, who probably do not make
any news headlines, but , nonetheless are still achieving their moments of success and glory.
Superficial and confused narratives of empowerment
With the advent of numerous organisations and institutions that claim to work towards the
betterment and welfare of women, there has been a drastic and pertinent narrative in circulation of
the collective conscious that centralises upon the varied multifaceted understandings of
‘empowerment’, however this understanding profusely contradicts the reality and expresses
sublimity of confusion. For instance, the government seems to understand the concept of
empowerment through providing subsidies on LPG cylinders and curating advertisements that
showcases a specific brand of dishwashing detergent-cum-soap brand that makes heavy claims of
completing household chores, such as washing utensils, at half the time so that women can use the
free time to use it for their own personal recreation or other purposes. The very fact that the
narrative still persists which tends to confine women into their domestic spheres, provided with
certain minute changes and discounts, encapsulates as ‘empowerment’ is comical and absolutely
baffling. This is very much in context with the recent strategy implemented by the prime minister,
who thought it to be befitting to introduce a subsidised price of LPG gas cylinders to ₹100 in the
name of imbibing empowerment does not however serves any meaning coming from the head of the
state, who should have known better and executed his agendas better.
So what is empowerment really?
Empowerment in its most accurate form means an equal space, that ensures safety, economic
stability, absolute freedom, complete recurrence of equality in all senses, healthcare choices, agency,
a platform to exercise their economic, fundamental, political rights and assistance to alter delimiting
stereotypes and discriminatory practices and discourses of oppression. Empowerment can only be
achieved with the implementation of a holistic approach that addresses and aims to combat the root
causes of all the factors that contributes towards gender inequality and should aim at inculcating a
much more inclusive space for women to strive in, not simply for their sake, but for the progress and
development of the world, altogether