A day to feel the essence of womanhood!

Quiz: When is the International Men's Day?

A rather strange question, isn't it? Adding a 'Wo' before the Men's could have made the answer easier...oh, aren't we still in the International Women's Day mode? Actually, I wonder if we need a particular day to make us realize how special women are? Doesn't a woman already know her true worth, not the one set by the society around? Perhaps she does not...perhaps it takes a celebration to make her realize what she is worth! An event celebrating womanhood...an award ceremony to award women or repute and credentials...a week long programme schedule with debates and discussions on 'The Role of Women' etc etc...it takes all of these to salute what is so special in women!

I will never forget this teacher of ours who was supposed to teach us a few lessons of FEMINISM...this was about 7 years back, but till date the paradox of her statement is something I couldn't forget! "I was sitting at home...my husband told me 'Why dont you try teaching instead of sitting at home?' and so I started teaching! Startling, isn't it? Wonder what feminism meant to her? Her husband suggesting her to take up something to kill boredom? Or is feminism or Women's Day celebrations all about with short salt and pepper hair, oversized bindis, starched cotton sarees sermonizing about what women should be doing? Post the celebrations...these same women would probably go back home and boast of the day's events to their husbands and await the slightest hint of appreciation in their eyes...after all their wives are doing something worthwhile!

Celebrating Women's Day once a year might be able to make a handful of women proud of their womanhood...but what difference does this day make to the woman who begs by the corner or the road? What difference does this day make to the woman who earns her bread by being a domestic help at one of the short haired ladies' house? What difference does this day make to the docile housewife who is raped like every night by her drunkard husband? What difference does the day make to the prostitute who sells her flesh like every night at the same price? ZILCH, is the answer...it does not! All It does it make us...the generation and the class touched by media, advertisement, publicity, hype and class consciousness, aware that we women need a special day to remember that we are special!!!

International Men's Day, by the way is on the 19th November...sadly they don't need a special day to celebrate their manhood!!!