Starting off with few of the burning facts… People count on the so-called “Society”, so from where this society actually comes from… Well, what I believe is “WE” are the ones’ who are forming this society and pointing our finger on “Society” is what points to oneself…  

So, what I feel is, we as the member of the society needs to bring the change for “Our Women”, whom we have honored with the name as “Goddess”… See the irony of what we are living in…

On one hand we honor them as Goddess and on the other hand, these Goddess are not feeling safe in the place where they are residing in to…

We live in India, a country which is so complex with its tradition, customs, religion and several practices. Been a male dominant country the condition of women socially, politically and economically in our country has been fluctuating over years. If we go through ancient facts we will find out that women used to share equal status as men and there are references that in the Vedic period women were very educated and were prone to basic rights.

But as after the Vedic period ended several discriminatory practices like Devadashi pratha, nagar vadhu system, sati pratha etc. started taking place in our society. Steadily the rights of women got curated and were made dependent on males.

Right to education, Right to work, right to give an opinion and also to make a decision were taken away from our women’s. So let’s come together join our hands and explore the different sectors to make a change.

Well, here comes the agenda of this write-up which, we are going to reveal as the part of this community and society… talking about the real-time scenarios…!

Real-time Scenarios:

If we look around and introspect a bit we can clearly see what our society is up to. Since I have grown up and started understanding things I haven’t passed a single day without hearing a news in which women didn’t have harassed. We call our nation a developing one but we are still fighting with several issues which we are unable to eradicate such as:

Dowry

An amount paid in cash or stuff which cost huge sum of money given to brides in laws at the time of her marriage is what dowry is all about. Dowry depends upon several factors like skin tone of the girl, region, religion, caste and sub-caste, groom’s education. Though it is considered as an illegal practice in India since 1961 it is still been performed in our society which we all are aware of….

Last year there were around 10000 cases of dowry reported in our country where 10 million marriages took place. Still dowry is rarely considered as a crime and it gets reported when circumstances go beyond the boundaries usually when a bride is physically harassed or abused.

There are people who limit the education of their daughter just to save that money for their marriages. The fear of dowry is one of the major reasons behind the increased ratio of female infanticide. We often here in news that women’s are been tortured till death when they are unable to meet the demands of dowry. A country where the goddess is flowered and worshiped blindly there is another side too where the women’s are treated in such way.

Harassment

6% girls in our country experience harassment before the age of 10 and around 41% face harassment before the age of 19. These harassment takes place at any time at any place in any form. These harassments could be in a verbal form like comments about your body, spreading sexual rumors, sexual remarks or accusations, dirty jokes or stories and also physical form like grabbing, rubbing, flashing or mooning, touching, pinching in a sexual way.

Going through few reports I got disheartened by the fact that most of the times the girls were been harassed by their own family member and relatives. If the girls are not safe with their own family and relatives the only thought which strikes in my mind whom they are safe with?

Recently I heard a news that a medical student of the 1st year was been threatened by his professor that he will not promote her in the next year unless and until she spends a night with her. As after the girl got offended her professor insulted and humiliated her in front of the whole class and threatened her again. Later girl told the whole scenario to the management and strict action was taken by the administration on the professor.

So with an example of a news that I watched, I explained how things go on but the problem is that each and every girl in our society is not strong enough tackle these things. Sometimes they are surrounded by such negativity but they are unable to reveal things which they are dealing due to some pressure.

Discrimination in education

No doubt things are transforming steadily yeah but they are changing. If we look at 15-20 years we can easily compare and see how the education system has been evolved. People are now more aware regarding education as the perception of folks towards providing education to their child’s now they everyone understand how important it is to be educated.

But eradication in discrimination among girls and boys are still not satisfactory, especially in rural areas. Mostly it has been seen that people living in rural areas back off when they are required to send their daughters for higher education. Illiteracy of people is one mainstream reason why these sort of discrimination takes place in our society. Right to education is one of the primary rights an individual have in our country.

But girls still lack support from their parents and family and are treated as an entity which will be sent to somewhere else after their marriage. Spending money on girl’s education is treated as a burden and most often folks say that in spite of spending money on girl’s education they would like to spend that money at the time of their marriage.

Society consideration

The society for women’s is comparatively different from the way it is for males. I have a list of things which a girl in our society goes through and pampered with:

• A girl should be shy.

• Should not act in the movies after her marriage.

• She should not wear modern clothes.

• A girl should not roam in the night.

• She should not fall in love.

• A girl shouldn’t sit in the rear side seat of your male colleague two-wheeler.

• While talking to a male person a girl should show some hesitation

• The shawl wore by a girl should not deviate

• She should know all household chores like cooking, washing the clothes and utensils.

The above-mentioned points depict the things which I have personally observed in my surroundings. So this is an actual status of girls in our society directly or indirectly they are been tied up in chains.

Stuff which never gets revealed…..

As, we are living in a so called “Modern Community” according to us… according the perception that we are in… but few of the things which are still need to be checked or revealed out is that… the immense sacrifice that all the Women of the communities does… Silently killing all their wishes… dreams… and themselves is what they do… and the society give it a name of duty which they have towards their in-laws… Having not granted with the same sort of freedom which they had been experiencing while at home… the same of sort of comfort which they use to experience while been sleeping at the lap of their mother and the warmth which they could only get in the arms of their father… and the day comes when she has to leave everything behind and move to a family which she is not aware-off… The small feet that use to dance by the court of her nest… will now run performing all the task or the chunks of responsibilities she is been obliged to… the time when the was on the feathered bed and get all the things near her by just making a gesture to her parents… now simply get tired and lay-off to any corner of the new cage she is captured in…. Leaving all the stuffs which she was into be it education, relations and activities… Well, it is simply not all for her… now comes the up sheltering with a responsibility of a new born…. The pain she goes the entire nine months… at each moment… she stands out of the door of hospital make her feel like puking every time thinking-off what she would be going through again she is inside… and the time come when the baby is going to get an opportunity to see the all new world of what her mother is been through…. The pain which she bears is off the breaking of all the bones present in her body… and the scenario which we witness is off happiness outside and the ignorance of the pain which she goes through at that point of time… though keeping everything aside she smiles after witnessing the calm face of her baby in her arms… and there is go on her toe fulfilling each and every dream of her child which she could not fulfil for her… and cure her from every evil she went through if a baby girl… else she make a pledge to herself to teach how a man should be if a baby boy… and teaches him everything which would grow her boy to a gentleman for the lady entering his life… and this all goes round and round… which is infinite but yet need to be appreciated. Do Love and respect her with an open arm as she is just in crave for that love which she use to get while she was a small angel of his father… and what is sees in her husband post marriage… 

The perception which our society should have

Education for all

A seemingly obvious already implemented solution, this has to reach all strata of society that all women have more control over their life. Providing education to the girls should be the primary priority of parents and they should not even limit their education to several extents and should support her until the time she wants to study.

Abolish patriarchal joint families

No I'm not asking people to stop taking care of their parents or to abandon them. I am just saying they should abandon the idea that, by default, it is the woman who goes to the man's house after marriage and lives with his family. Let people make these choices for themselves. Well, most of the people will find this impractical but it’s something very genuine. 

Breadwinner

Let’s stop dividing the roles of breadwinner and homemaker by gender. Let all people irrespective of gender feel that they have to earn enough money to be able to finance their own lives. This will lead to women of all strata being encouraged to take their education seriously and will lead to them being financially independent and empowered.

Remove the taboo on sex

As a society, we must stop viewing sex as something impure. Women must not be taught that while they are completely in control of their sex lives, these are nothing to be ashamed. At the very least remove the stigma from being a rape victim, so that all such crimes are reported.

Accepting it that a problem exists

A lot of people don’t know and understand that women empowerment is needed at all. Oppression of women is disguised as tradition or culture. Because of these beliefs, women contribute to oppressing other women. Till we as a society start to realize that these are problems are need to be addressed we cannot make much progress in solving them.

Specific Laws for the Women Empowerment in India:

Listing down some of the specific laws which were implemented by the Parliament in accordance for the fulfillment of the Constitutional deed for the empowerment of Women:

• The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956

• The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961

• The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971

• The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

• The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987

• The Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994

• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006

• The Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Protection and) Act, 2013

The points mentioned above and the laws which comprise of other such liabilities not only covers the particular women’s right but also safeguard them with the sense of empowerment and security.

Government Policies & Schemes for Women Empowerment:

All the empowerment and enhancement that have been made is been effective due to their own struggle an effort with a support provided by the schemes that the administration have put into action for their venture they are into…

• In 2001, the Indian Government instigated a National Policy for Empowerment of Women. The particular aim of the policies are mentioned as below:

• Formation of the environment via positive social and economic policies for the complete enhancement of women for triggering the realization of their complete prospective

• Formation of the environment in regards to possession of all the fundamental freedom and rights for human by women for the equivalent share in the social, civil, economic and cultural spheres basis with men

• Equipping with equivalent access for the contribution in the decision making of women in economic and social political life of the country

• Equipping with equivalent access to women for the quality education for different stages, employment, occupational safety and health, public life and social security, health care, vocational and career guidance, and equal remuneration and many more

• Reinforcing lawful arrangements focusing on the objectives of all sort of biasness against women

• Advancement in the attitudes of the society and exercises of the community by effective involvement and participation of both the sexes

• Styling the gender point of view in the enhancement procedure

• Eradication of disparities of all sort of assault against the girl child and women

• Formation and nourishing the relationships with women’s related organization and civil societies in particulars

Conclusion

By looking things around and introspecting them a bit I have come to a conclusion that mainstream reason behind all the problem is the perception of people. If something needs to be changed it is the perception of the folks and society. Major problems will automatically get resolved if people just change their minds in the way they see women.

The only things which women need are respect and in a society where we cherish and worship goddess blindly, why we always forget to respect the goddess who is residing in our home. We make boundaries for them, restrict their wishes, didn’t let them fulfill their dreams, and govern them like hell. Just think for a while that how suffocating it is for them when they have to do stuff and activities according to others.

So, the problem lies in the perception of people it’s the perception of a parent that whether they want to educate their daughter or not, it’s the perception of people living in the society how they see and talk about a girl what she is wearing, what she is doing, where and with whom she is going with.

Going through the whole view one can get filled with so many thoughts that how negative society is and how narrow-minded folks are still residing in it. But it is not! So as there is positive side too where there are people who are stepping out fighting back and spreading awareness regarding several issues in our society.Through television, through social media, through NGO there so many folks which have taken steps to eradicate social issues with a perspective to make this world a better place to live in for everyone.