The newspapers, magazines, television and social media are full of congratulatory messages, lauding the contribution of women in society. Thanks to the trendy hashtags that our attention is drawn to the achievements of women. The plight of gender is also highlighted to raise awareness through various campaigns.
Society has always kept us divided - not only in gender but also through various other differences. A logical question would be: Why do we even need to consider this difference of gender? If we need to really differentiate each and every difference, each man is different from another, each dog is different from the other, and so on. Women are different from men. It has been highlighted and exploited for centuries. The vulnerability of women has been the product of a desire to dominate. This desire, wherever stronger in society, has created an uneven system. This needs to be discouraged. The weaker section needs to be empowered. But the concept of empowerment by the powerful is not equitable. It does not involve the respect of equality, evenness in society. Therefore, we have noticed that the demand for such empowerment mostly comes from those who are subjected to deprivation.
On Women's Day, when we celebrate their special role, we respect their contribution in all walks of our lives, as men can simply understand that everything is different and therefore we just need to start treating them equally. Giving equal treatment to what is unequal, for the reason of equity, is perhaps a concept we need to imbibe in our culture and society. Without such understanding, the grand celebration of particular days on social media would not suffice to change us. Only when we surrender our right to be powerful and privileged, can we actually bring equality? This is not an easy task, especially after we are used to this status for centuries. This difficult call has to be taken mentally.
Happy Women's Day to all men.
