“There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the
condition of women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on only
one wing.”
—Swami Vivekanand
When our countrymen were struggling and fighting to attain
freedom, the womenfolk also fought shoulders to shoulders and wholeheartedly
supported the struggling freedom fighters. During India’s struggle for freedom,
the position of women took a favorable turn. After India became independent it
was realized by most of the national leaders including Nehru, Gandhi,
Dr.Rajendra Prasad, that emancipation of Women is necessary and also realized
that so long as the conditions of women were not improved, and granted equal
status with men, India could not progress. The role of women in the
freedom struggle cannot be undermined. Sarojini Naidu, Mira Ben, Suchita
Kripalani, Vij ay Laxmi Pandit, Aruna Asaf Ali, all played a very crucial
and enthusiastic role in the struggle for attaining freedom.
“Woman is the builder and molder of a nation’s destiny,
though delicate and soft as the lily, she has a heart, stronger and bolder than
that of malt, she is the supreme inspiration for man’s onward march.”
—Rabindranath
Tagore
Women constitute approximately 40% population of a nation. If
she is given the task for the development of the country she can make a wonder.
She is more dedicated, more hard-working, more sincere, more devoted to the
cause. Many social evils like; dowry, illiteracy among the females, the killing
of girl child in the womb, ignoring the hygienic values, polio, etc. can well
be tackled by the active involvement of the women.
Many women have proved themselves, dynamic, vibrant, sincere,
and perfect in many fields. Smt. Indira Gandhi, Sirimao Bhandernaike, Chandrika
Kumaratunga, Goldammer, Margaret Thatcher, Vijaya Laxmi Pandit, Supercop Kiran
Bedi have proved themselves in all manners better than their male counterpart.
These names made both the society and the women folk proud of them. The myth
that certain fields were only meant for men has been proved wrong by women.
Modern women in the present age occupy top rank and attained immense success in
all the fields such as politics, policy, administration, medicine, services,
etc. Mother Teresa, P.T.Usha, Mrs. Mohsina Kidwai, Mrs. Subu Laxmi, Mrs. Sushma
Swaraj, the great environmentalist and social activist Medha Patekar and
Promilla Kalhan, Mrs. Kiran Bedi, Kalpana Chawla, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi have become
well-recognized names in their respective fields.
Today the educated women have come out of their inferiority
complex and are shouldering all kinds of responsibility es, as Managers,
Officers, TV and Radio news-readers, Pilots, Ministers, Anchors, Musicians,
Clerks, Stenographers, Ministers, Prime Ministers, and whatnot? There are
veteran MPs and Ministers in the center and the State, Ms. Mayawati, Ms.
Jayalalitha, Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, Ms. Mamta Bannerjee, Mrs. Rabri Devi, Uma
Bharti, Mrs. Vijaya Raje Scindhiya have proved to be astute Politicians.
The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Act passed in
1992, lay upon the women of our country more responsibilities in accelerating
the development of the country. These amendments provide 33% reservation for
women in the Panchayat Raj. Women elected to Panchayat and Municipal Councils,
because of the reservation, have started asserting themselves. Now the women in
local governments are taking the basic issues like water, health facilities,
family planning, polio eradication, more seriously, more sincerely. Now they
can play a better role in the development of their area of operation
whether village or municipality, which in turn will result in the overall
development of the State and the country as a whole.
Women are more dedicated and devoted to their duties and have
much patience and politeness than men by nature. There is no doubt that women
had played a very important role in the national building, but the
man is still not in favor of giving them the given due powers. The example is
that the women’s reservation bill for 30% reservation in State Assemblies and
Parliament has not been made the law so far.
The bill was introduced several times since 1996 but couldn’t
take shape of an Act so far. The empowerment of women by itself cannot place
women on equal footing with men, the need of the hour is the change of social
attitudes towards women.
Many social evils, like dowry, illiteracy among women,
infanticide of a female child, elimination of girls’ fetuses, are required to
be fully rooted out. The crime against women likes, eve-teasing, rape, is to be
dealt with the strongest hand though several measures but half-hearted are
being taken by the government in this direction, yet a change of social
attitude and honesty, on the part of politicians, is must make the women
participate in the nation-building at the grass-root level.
“Rightly,” said Dr. Raj Indra Prasad, “our women have a very
great part to play in the progress of our country as the mental and physical
contact of women with life is much more lasting and comprehensive than that of
men”.
What can’t be done by women? If the men can help in the
national building, the women can do much better! Women are no less creative
than that men. Women, undoubtedly, can play a very important role in the
betterment of the nation if men give them chance.
It was rightly said that “the hand that rocks the cradle,
rules the world.“
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