The best gift of life, I believe,
is life itself. And I am very happy to be born in this age!
We are living in such times when
sky is not the limit. The wonderful possibilities of life never cease to amaze us. The world, in reality, has become a
global village. Science and technology have thrived and made our lives more
comfortable and exciting. Life IS beautiful.
But…
We tend to keep in mind the small
sect of the society that is availing all these outcomes of modern day life. In
a country like India, where about 70 per cent of the population lives in rural
areas, girls and women like me would not even have the slightest idea of the
very existence of these joys, opportunities. This write up is a contemplation
on one such wonderful opportunity that women are missing or not being on the
receiving edge as they deserve – education.
There have been a lot of haunting
questions I would like to address that go beyond gender, religion, region,
economical status etc. but this is an attempt to ponder upon one thing at a
time.
Why aren’t our women allowed to live their
lives as ‘they’ want?
 |
| Kalpana Chavla, Indian Astronaut |
I mean, I know that times have changed. Women
are reaching the pinnacle of success in a lot of fields that were once
untouched by them. They are national leaders, entrepreneurs, corporate women,
writers, media personnel. There are women who party 9 days a week!!! There are
ladies who spend half their lives in beauty salons! It’s all kind of cute in a
way, actually. And there are some inspiring women around us – Kalpana Chawla
went to space (It’s sad that she couldn’t make it back…)
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw heads Biocon; Sudha Murthy
is “simplicity Personified”… there is one Chaavi (MBA gold medalist) who
resigned a job that paid lakhs together every month and is now serving a
village called ‘Sodhaa’ in Rajasthan as a ‘Gram Sarpanch’; there
is a Sampath Pal Devi who is like a moral police – who has not even the basic
education and was a victim of child marriage – She now has thousands of women
for support who just go and literally thrash men who assault women in any way!
 |
| Sudha Murthy, Infosys Foundation |
I have just mentioned some names that occurred
to me right now. There are still many examples out there. But I would call them
“exceptions” rather than “examples”, because their number is so small. There is
a whole other sector of our kind which is in absolute darkness – completely
unaware of all the above mentioned “exceptions”. That sector is still plagued by
superstition, ignorance, child labour, child marriage, sexual assault and what
not!
Is it really “development” when only one group
of the population flourishes?!
I’m NOT disputing the fact that a lot of women
are doing great. But who are to be blamed for millions of voices that go
unheard? What about those dried out, tired eyes that have given up on hoping
and seeking help?
 |
| Kiran Mazumdar Shah, Founder, Biocon India |
Swami Vivekananda had once said that our nation
needs women who can be Indians inside their homes and who can be Europeans once
they step out of them. But many well educated women give up on their
careers for a marriage unwillingly. Don’t they want to be successful as professionals
too? Why is it that a woman alone has to make sacrifices for a marriage? This
is another dimension to the status of education and women in this country,
unlike in the West.
Some women ARE let to live the lives they want.
And that’s the reason I say I am very happy to be born in this age. But this
write-up is for those thousands of women whose faces have lost that grace and
essence of being a woman, fighting and fighting and fighting all their lives
for some happiness. I just hope life turns out fair for at least those who
deserve.
Women in our country are beyond wives, mothers,
daughters… they are home-makers. If the world looks at India as a country where
family values are preserved and given the utmost importance to, then the credit
goes more to these women who keep it all together with every bit of their
strength.
Every person, they say, is a book by himself.
Our women are from a line of legacy that still keeps our society saner than a
lot other nations and communities. When every other woman could do this, most
of them who are deprived of even elementary education, just imagine how much
better a society we could be – if they are formally educated. Most women who
are deserted by their husbands or families would still be able to take care of
themselves and if needed, their children too.
The Central government and all the State
governments have taken up some appreciative measures in this course. It is
welcoming. But they must be implemented better than they are now; better than
how they are drafted on paper. Although it is hard to accomplish this in the
context of our societal superstitions, unscientific religious dogmas, lack of
basic amenities which makes education a far-fetched idea. There is one more concern I would like to bring out here. The unfortunate ignorance: most women
‘choose’ to remain silent when it comes to a fundamental right they deserve! A
lot of them accept that it is their ‘fate’ and nobody can do anything about it.
Some of them deny having keen longings for so many wonderful pleasures of life
and just bury them deep within and build concrete graves on them.
It is not impossible.
Volumes could be written about any discussion,
any issue. But certain things deserve ‘work’ more than just ‘lip-service’. On
that note, I take this opportunity to thank every single soul that does its bit
in trying to make this dream a reality.
Our ancient epics say “Yatra naaryastu poojyante ramante tatra devataaha”. It means that
where women are worshipped, the Gods (Should we say Goddesses, as this is about
women?! I know not of the gender, if there exist any) reside there. Maybe
that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But our women are made of substance rather
than phony ideologies. They face far worse issues with grit and valor and do
not even make a big deal out of it. They are soldiers who fight demons inside
four walls. Their biggest problem is not to choose between a Gucci bag and a
Prada; but to choose between basic necessities – if they can afford any.
I would like to end this earnest attempt by
remembering one of the most moving ads – a one liner from ITC (the books we
have all been blessed to buy in schools and colleges! An irony!):
There are millions of them who still just dream
of school…
About the Author
Sourabha Rao, aged 23, currently working at Unisys Global Services, India, Bengaluru is an Engineering Graduate from Mysore. She likes writing, singing and has been a constant supporter of our organization
Please visit her blog at wheremindsmeet.wordpress.com
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