The
status of women in India
has been subject to many great changes over the past few years, actually, over
the past few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times through the
low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many
reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful.
In
the Rigvedic period, the women took equal part in sacrificial rites. Women
frequently associated themselves with Vidhatha.
Yes
it’s true that Medieval India was not women's age. It is supposed to be the
'dark age' for them. Medieval India
saw many foreign conquests, which resulted in the decline in women's status. Cheap
and forced labour of the enslaved population or of the Sudras became available to the Aryans and women ceased to be
productive members of society.
The
status of women in modern India is a sort of a paradox. If on one hand she is
at the peak of ladder of success, on the other hand she is mutely suffering the
family violence.
As
compared with past, women in modern times have achieved a lot. Women have left
the secured domain of their home and are now in the battlefield of life, fully
armored with their talent. They are proving themselves.
The
plight of women in medieval India
and at the starting of modern India
can be summed up in the words of great poet Rabindranath Tagore:
"O Lord! Why have you not given woman the right to conquer her destiny?
Why does she have to wait head bowed,
By the roadside, Waiting with tired patience,
Hoping for a miracle in the morrow? O Lord!”
We
must not forget that Indian women are not lagging behind men but have reached
and even proved themselves better suited in each and every height and pinnacle
that men have.
When
we hear “Indian women who have brought a change in our country”, the names that
may pop into most of our heads are Jhansi ki Rani, Indira Gandhi, Mother
Teresa, Kiran Bedi, Kalpana Chawla, Saina Nehwal, Medha Patkar, Aishwariya Rai
Bachchan, Lata Mangehkar, Arundhati Roy or Prathiba Patil.
We
shouldn’t ignore Bachendri Pal- the first Indian women to climb the Mt.Everest,
or Justice M.Fatima Beevi- the first woman judge of the supreme court of India
or perhaps Harita Kaur Deol- first Indian woman pilot in the Indian Air Force
on a solo fight. Or perhaps even Savitribai Phule- the first female teacher of
the first women’s school in India.
Names like Kamaljit Sandhu- first Indian woman to win a gold in the Asian Games
or Punita Arora- the first woman in the Indian Army to don the highest rank of
Lieutenant General, do not really strike us at all.
Whether
it is in the field of sports or in the political front, in literature or in the
sphere of art and entertainment, Indian women have mastered anything and
everything which a woman can dream of. They participate in all activities such
as education, media, art and culture, service sectors, science and technology,
etc.
It
is not merely about names by which I shall support my argument. Statistics of
2009-2010 have shown that a total of 276,806 women were enrolled in engineering
and technology courses at the start of the academic session. In urban India,
girls are nearly at par with the boys in terms of education. This shows that women have broken
yet another glass ceiling- one of the most resilient ones in Indian academics.
Today’s modern women fill many positions starting from
nurses to CEO’s, scientists to members of NGOs. And as women keep climbing the
ladder to success, they encourage the youth like us. Girls from all around the
world aspire to become a Lata Mangeshkar, or a P. T. Usha. Anita Desai, Shobha
De and Prathiba Patil are idols for many girls.
Along with
being career oriented, women have shouldered their household responsibilities
very well. The pressure of being expected to fill roles like sister, mother,
daughter, friend, wife etc. can result in anxiety, depression and loss of self
worth. However they have not let anything pull them back.
The desire of Indian women can be best summed up in the
following lines of 'Song of an African Women':
I have only one request.
I do not ask for money
Although I have need of it,
I do not ask for meat . . .
I have only one request,
And all I ask is
That you remove
The road block
From my path.
I would like to end by quoting US president Barack Obama
“The best judge of whether or not a country is going to develop is how it
treats its women. If it's educating its girls, if women have equal rights, that
country is going to move forward. But if women are oppressed and abused and
illiterate, then they're going to fall behind.” Unquote.
Thus looking at the progress of women, it can be rightly
said, hats off to the ladies…
