Equal Right for Women

 “Man is born free; but is everywhere in chains!” said Jean Jacques Rousseau. My dad would often add, “Particularly true after marriage”, (what with my mom shopping endlessly for chains and bangles, leave alone sarees!) Even the other day, I noticed a wall hanging in my friend’s house. It read “I am the boss of the house AND, I have my wife’s permission to say so”. Jokes apart, from time immemorial, man being stronger subjugated the female by physical might. When might was right where are the rights?? Precisely why, women earned the tag the “weaker sex”.
 
Passion of Women:
 
During the middle ages the need for emancipation of women was raised from every press and platform across the globe. Again during the latter half of the last century the “better halves” started the ‘Women’s Liberation’, to better their lot. Over time, it has gathered consensus and momentum and has been rechristened ‘Women Empowerment’.
 
Rising of Women Power:
 
Presently every domain which has been the exclusive bastion has been stormed by women. We have has a women Chief Minister in our state, a women Prime Minister, now a woman Police Chief and why, even a woman speaker in the Lok Sabha. Even the defacto ‘power centre in India’ is a woman. However, the chiefs of Army, Navy and Air force are still ‘MAN’ned (pun intended). But they are under the control of the President and the present President of India is a Woman!
 
For every Rakesh Sharma going into space there is a Kalpana Chawla too!
 
“Behind every successful man there is a very successful woman!”
 
What is the need for equal rights for women, when women are heading the corporate, and go beyond home makers down the line? A minority of women would seem to be an empowered lot that too amongst the urban populace. The vast multitude suffers silently. In some cases they have suffered from ‘Womb to Tomb’. Even today female infanticide is rampant. Dowry deaths are dime a dozen. The TV soaps centre around jealously and harassment of women! Unfortunately, the perpetrators are women themselves – either a scheming sister in law or a disgruntled mother in law or sometimes both.
 
Woman Worshipped:
 
India is a country where woman is deified and worshipped. ‘Vande Mataram’ is a national slogan binding the nation and bonding people across the frontiers. Subramaniya Bharathi the erudite poet and Thanthai Periyar championed the cause of women upliftment through education. Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s sustained efforts saw the abolition of the barbaric ‘Sati’ and encouraged widow remarriage. Successive legislations have only reinstated them. Now, even women’s equal right to property has come into effect.