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Guest Column | Women, let’s uplift our tribe!
We must champion feminism, thereby stand for human rights, as the crux of feminism is advocating for equal rights for both men and women
As my thoughts strayed to women’s day and the feminist movement, I impulsively typed “women empowerment” on a search engine, and came upon a Wikipedia entry which said the term had several connotations, including accepting women’s viewpoints or making an effort to seek them, raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training.
Immediately, I thought of all the wonderful and extraordinary women I have had the pleasure to know. I was also reminded of ‘Becoming’, the memoir of Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States of America, and the first African American to serve in that role, and of two books set against the backdrop of the Mahabharata – Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Palace of Illusions, and Kavita Kane’s Karna’s Wife: The Outcast’s Queen. Both are reimaginings from women’s perspective and delve deep into a woman’s heart and mind.
Among all these names one cannot forget Jyoti Nainwal, the wife of martyred soldier Deepak Nainwal. The mother of two, after rigorous training became a lieutenant in the Indian Army.
All of them are heroines, sung and unsung, in their own right, but continue to inspire their ever-growing tribe. Why does one need to muse on the subject of women empowerment at all, one may ask. However, history is proof that the subject does not just require rigorous mulling, but concrete action as well.
Remember, women’s opinions have value
So, how can we, on an individual level, contribute to women’s empowerment? I, for one,believe, that conviction in our ideas and opinions can be a starting point. Often, we give up on our beliefs, fearing others’ views and non-acceptance. But, our points of view do hold value. Rather, immense value.
Two, as women we often have complaints about being seen as “objects.” We need to conduct a self-check at this point, as we ourselves are complicit. Do we not encourage objectification when we nastily comment on another woman’s appearance, choice of clothes, or for that matter, decisions? The immense potential of true empowerment is portrayed is encapsulated in this quote: “When women support each other, incredible things happen”.
Grit and determination can work miracles
Also, we need grit and determination to discover and hone the inherent magic within us. When we bear a child, don’t we inherently realize that we are meant to work miracles? When we multi-task, when we manage, when we counsel; and, the way we do all of this, is enough to prove our calibre. However, this awareness has to be backed up by resolve, and will power. As Nainwal said, “I want to tell the wives of other martyrs that we should live in a way that our children don’t need to take anyone else as their inspiration.”
Such beautiful words! We, too, really don’t have to look far. Our mothers and sisters and grandmothers and sisters-in-law, and many others, can all be our inspiration, provided we develop an eye for the same.
Let’s champion equality
Fourthly, we must champion feminism, thereby become champions of human rights, as the crux of feminism is advocating for equal rights for both men and women. Indeed, feminism, or women empowerment, is in no way about the supremacy of any gender, but, a constant striving towards alignment, complementing each other, and towards actualising the highest human potential.
A friend of mine once said that she wanted to raise her son to become the man worthy of bringing her daughter-in-law home, whenever that would be. Similarly, ladies, this women’s day, let’s decide to uplift each other more often, to love and compliment ourselves more often, to sing, to bloom, and; to indeed dance like no one’s watching, or better still, to dance without even wondering about that!
reemaban@gmail.com
The writer works as an assistant professor (psychology) at Rajiv Gandhi Govt College in Saha (Ambala)
