“It is impossible to think about the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is impossible for a bird to fly on only one wing.” — Swami Vivekananda
“A man and a woman are like two wheels of a cart. The cart can move fast and safely too when both of them pull it in the same direction and with equal strength. Hence no developing country or society can afford to ignore the role of women if they have to progress.”
In modern times, women in India are given freedom and rights such as freedom of expression and equality as well as right to get education.
Women in Contemporary India are doing the same what a male can do.
Various prestigious positions are held by Indian women.
They are enjoying the `ladies first` facility in various fields.
But still, problems like dowry, female infanticide, sex selective abortions, health, domestic violence are prevalent in the society.
Several acts have been passed to demolish all these problems. But illiteracy and lack of awareness are the obstacles in the path of Indian women to stand against these follies.
The main reason why women neglect in society: the customs and traditions prevalent for centuries, The high percentage of illiteracy among women, ignorance of their rights, patriarchal society, economic system, unchecked male domination in all walks of life.
We can now see women employed in all fields not only in clerical jobs, but also in I.A.S., I.P.S. and Indian Air Force. There are reservations in legislatures too.
The Central Government has introduced a bill in Parliament reserving one third of the seats in Parliament and other elected bodies for women.
Today, the modern woman is so deft and self-sufficient that she can be easily called a super-woman juggling many fronts single-handedly.
Women are now fiercely ambitious and are proving their metal not only on the home front but also in their respective professions.
Women in India are coming up in all spheres of life. They are joining the universities and colleges in large numbers. They are entering into all kinds of professions like engineering, medicine, politics, teaching, etc.
A nation’s progress and prosperity can be judged by the way it treats its women folk. There is a slow and steady awareness regarding giving the women their dues and not mistreating them, seeing them as objects of possession.
Despite progress, the very fact that women along with being achievers also are expected to fulfill their roles as wives or mothers, prioritising home against anything else.
The path towards total gender empowerment is full of potholes. Over the years, women have made great strides in many areas with notable progress in reducing some gender gaps.
Yet realities of women and girls getting trafficked every year and increased practice of dowry, rape and sexual harassment hit hard against all the development that has taken place. Thus, if on one hand women are climbing the ladder of success, on the other hand, she is mutely suffering the violence afflicted on her by her own family members.
As compared to the past, women in modern times have achieved a lot but in reality they have to still travel a long way.
Women may have left the secured domains of their home, but a harsh, cruel, exploitative world awaits them, where women have to prove their talent against the world who see women as merely children producing women.
The Indian woman has to make her way through all the socialised prejudices against her and the men yet have to allow and accept the women to be equal participants in the country’s way forward.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
