SO MUCH FOR WOMEN LIB

Yes that is right, I am talking about women liberation. In millennium women are competing shoulder to shoulder with men. In fact I believe that we have superseded men be it field of war, engineering, space exploration or politics. We have taken key positions and have been a power player. Be it developed country or third world, we are stepping up to speak up for our rights, make a difference and change the world as we perceive it.

Coming to this feat was not easy, we have taken centuries of oppression, elimination, mocked and ridiculed. The change and fight for “Equal Rights” has been slow and steady. Going back o genesis, where it talks about creation of man and a woman. “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth,  and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  Genesis mentions that God created woman out of man’s rib and help him and man should not be lonely.

 Where as in Hinduism , It is a culture whose only words for strength and power are feminine -"Shakti'' means "power'' and "strength.'' All male power comes from the feminine. In Hindu scriptures mentions Men and women were equal when it came to education and religion. Louis Jaccoliot, the celebrated French author of the: Hindoo Origin of Hebrew and Christian Revelation said: "India of the Vedas entertained a respect for women amounting to worship; a fact which we seem little to suspect in Europe when we accuse the extreme East of having denied the dignity of woman, and of having only made her an instrument of pleasure and of passive obedience." He also said: "What! here is a civilization, which you cannot deny to be older than your own, which places the woman on a level with the man and gives her an equal place in the family and in society."  Even in Ancient Greek mythology it talks about women as symbol of family and heir producer, they were included in major family decisions. Egypt and Roman civilization women role was subdued to the boundaries of running house and completing chores.  In Islam a woman is a symbol of respect, comfort, reverence and love in every position she holds. Family is the first cradle of man.  The Prophet Muhammad announced, Heaven is under the feet of mothers.

So where this thought was permeated that women and men are not equal. What happened to our society norms that woman was treated as slave to man, and had to fight for her rights. Women’s right movement was started back in 1848 by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The movement adopted agenda for getting equal rights for women in American society. To its present day have voiced on sexual harassment, equal pay and various other controversial topics of abortion and birth control pills issues. Various other movements were initiated to protect Women’s rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, enshrines "the equal rights of men and women", and addressed both the equality and equity issues.[99] In 1979 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) for legal implementation of the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Described as an international bill of rights for women, it came into force on 3 September 1981.  There are various other foundations and charities who are fighting and propagating change cause for women and girls in the society.
I raise this questions has the norms changed? Have we achieved the status that we are striving for? I believe so I would say… but the achievement has only in developed countries and metro cities. If you pick up a news paper you still headlines and gory stories of female foeticide, rape and murders. How girls are abducted, raped, molested and abandoned.  There is no doubt that women have made progress in the matter of education and career. But the truth is that world is currently in a transitional age, the transition being from a feudal, agricultural society to a modern, industrial society. We are neither totally backward, nor totally modern. Therefore our society is largely male-dominated, and still has remnants of feudal thinking. Equality before law is not enough. True equality is only possible by means of a complete revolution in our thinking and attitude towards women. This can be achieved but it requires time, and perhaps a cultural revolution.
On the other side of spectrum women's movements have opened the door for us to pursue our career aspirations and speak my mind. On the other hand, men's reaction to women's movements and the Sexual Revolution, which many women participated in, have lessened the chance that we will get married and have children. So it all comes down to which you value more: your career, or family. For most of us the answer would be family. Yes we have made strides and changes have come. But can we do it all? We are so afraid to answer this question. We get so defensive about this. If we don’t answer or perform per expectations whole women liberation would fail. People will point fingers for failing.
A piece of advice for my fellow female readers yes the war is still on. Men are watching and waiting for us to fail… so what we if we fail, it will give us more the reasons to get up and fight back again. Do not be so harsh in judging thyself after all we are women.