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Women
Woman's Day Special
Being a Woman
 Long long ago during my adolescence I read this
Hindi poem and just copied it. Then I was horrified to know that I am also a girl and today also I am frightened because I am a mother of two girls. At that
moment I could not understand this poem in totality but now today I can understand it completely in its vivid and right
contexts:
laD,kI
vah nahIM jaanatI ]saka haonaa
[tnaa duYkr haogaa
vah nahIM jaanatI
vah AadmaI kba ]sako SarIr maoM jaa iCpa
jaao inarntr ]sao Apmaainat va prast kr rha hO
]saka ]%saah
inaiScat taktvar hO
vah jaanatI hO
]sakI AaËamak maud`a maoM
kaOnasaa Dr dubak gayaa hO
jaao ]sao Andr tk KalaI kr rha hO
baar–baar ]saka ivaSvaasa
jaInao ko maaoh ko baahr
]sao vyaakula banaata hO
]saka Ant-mana
saaf–saaf idK rho samaya ko BaItr
idlacasp JaUz maoM laqapqa haokr
jaao bana rha hO‚ vah iktnaa Bayaavah haogaa
]sakI klpnaa maoM p`sanna ica~aoM ko rMga
iksa kdr syaah hao cauko hOM
vah nahIM jaanatI.
vah nahIM jaanatI
Apnao ivaÉw Apnao kao tOyaar krnaa
iktnaa duÁK Bara saahsa hO.
And now some time back I read this
Hindi poem by famous writer "Tasleema Nasreen".
tuma laD,kI hao‚
yah AcCI trh yaad rKnaa‚
tuma jaba Gar kI caaOKT laaMGaaogaI‚
laaoga tumhoM ToZ,I–maoZ,I naja,raoM sao doKoMgao.
tuma jaba galaI sao haokr gaujaraogaI‚
laaoga tumhara pICa kroMgao‚
saITI bajaaeMgaoŃ
tuma jaba galaI par krko
mau#ya saD,k tk phuĐcaaogaI‚
laaoga tumhoM cair~hIna kh kr
gaailayaaĐ doMgao.
tuma vyaqa- haoAaogaI‚ Agar pICo laaOTaogaI
varnaa‚ jaOsao jaa rhI hao jaaAaoŃ
Oh! Nothing has changed, same heinous feelings of being a female, it does not make any difference whether it is this country or that religion. Even if you don't cross the door that also does not ensure your safety at home! If those females who go out of villages to study are not safe then are those females who live in villages under long veils can feel safe?
Harassment, sexual violence, mental tension, everything is same. The only change that is visible is that now these things cannot go unnoticed even when Honorable Supreme Court also does not give justice to Bhanvari Devi. Now the statistics do not increase rather the volume of these cries have become really bold and loud. Women are now all set to shed this wrong habit of so called tolerance. She has been told by this religion and male dominated society since ages, "Tolerate! But don't say a word, you will lose your prestige and
place; we would not lose anything because we are males!" Religion was never with women. Right from the Vedic era to today's constitution there are hundreds and hundred pages written on female equality and devotion to her. Reality tells a different story; so far all the way it is only a glorified paradox.
Is it not sad that in this country there is lot of noise on cow slaughter or temple-mosque disputes but no one talks about abortion of female fetus. Even doctors also forget their noble profession's
oath. I happen to be a witness of this heinous crime‚ when I saw a gynecologist misguiding a village couple. There are no serious restriction and legislation; this issue
has been neglected for a long time. All religions and all strata of our society are equally responsible for promoting this evil practice. Inheritance laws are also tilted in
favor of male offspring. None of the successive governments have been successful in controlling dowry custom; all awareness, noise and ineffective laws can not help female. She is still considered a burden due to economic problems. Religion, custom, wrong practices and male discrimination are not only responsible for this sorry state of Indian woman, up to certain extent she herself is also to be blamed. If she is a mother, she should oppose abortion of female fetus. If she is a daughter then she should oppose the dowry system. She should stand up and oppose to physical abuse and rape.
Our constitution clearly says that there should not be any discrimination on the basis of sex and the women are also empowered with the right of voting but still she is neglected even for basic health services and literacy.
However, the government seems to be helpless as in reality nothing reaches to her.
After independence there have been a few progressive women who have made their place in this all male dominating world by using their freedom but
a common woman still remains in her own cocoon. Slowly now the women are getting onto the path of progress through the medium of education. She has come forward to acclaim her place in a variety of fields. As an educated housewife and mother she had given right direction to the family and provided a new vision to the next generation. There are no two thoughts that women has awakened to her rights but on the darker side she still continues to suffer from lot of physical and emotional excesses.
The empowerment of women is directly connected to the family, society and in turn to the development of the country. The cruelty with women is very painful, for her and her family and also shameful for society and country. A single crime with a woman reverses all forwarding steps of other women and the chain of development breaks up. There should be a positive change in attitude of man, society, religion and government so that woman can be given a fair chance to develop without any fear.
–
Manisha
Kulshrestha
March 8, 2001
International Women's
Day - March 2001
Ah! Women by Roberta Lee Wilcox
Ahilya - A poem by Manisha Bansal
And the International Women's Day was Born by Meera
Chowdhry
Being A Woman by Manisha Kulshreshtha
How to be a Woman, though a Human by Sangeeta Goel
March 8th - International Women's Day by Pavalamani
Pragasam
Most Beautiful Things
about Women by Smitha V
Mother Teresa: Woman of
the Century by Bijal Dwivedi
Musings of a Lady - A poem by Maria Reed-Shore
Nari 2001 by Lavanya Shah
Nevertheless - A poem by Manisha Bansal
Thoughts on Women's Day by Gargi Chaudhuri
What you can Never
Understand about Women by Smitha V
Women: Symbols of Sacrifice or Sacrificial Lambs? by
Meenakshi Madhur
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