My regards and wishes to all equal, unequal, oppressed and unburdened women. This is our day to fight for the discrepancy (If any, I know there are many) we go through and face every single day. Ladies, it is Women’s Equality Day today which commemorates on 26th August every year, the day of 1920 when the women of United States got Suffrage Rights. This was one of the strongest moves in the history which helped us to go a step forward for equal treatment of women and women’s rights.

Women have always been barred to take up a strong position to lead, bring about change or shape the social, economic and political landscape. But, to look at the brighter side of it, in the 21st century we observe a dramatic shift in the roles and duties of women. There is a shift from ‘traditional’ family dynamics to the ‘modern’ ones. There is greater recognition of this gender in legislation which has helped to fill the gaps on the equality scale of genders. As a result, women have been able to stand on their own feet and have become socially autonomous as well as equal to men.

According to The Guardian- “Recent reports have shown that 2.4 million unemployed women want to be employed and that, nine out of 10 want to see men and women equally represented in the leadership positions.” If, there is an intention to change, then we need to sit down peacefully and find out what other factors contribute to the gaping hole in gender inequality. We are yet to find out the reasons why the skills and talent of women are not tapped properly!

From the economist’s point of view, it might be the India’s low unemployment rate among the youths which represent the country’s more than half of the total population. The counter question to this observation is – Why is this joblessness affecting only women and not men? Women have always been a part of the informal sector and have done home – based work for which they are not recognized. In a way, they are under reported, I say.

Women in India are webbed with the never ending social customs and always become the victim of low education levels. To come out of these complications is hard as, patriarchy is at its peak here. Women have accepted that they are supposed to be controlled by men. They have internalized this as their norm. With this conception in her mind, even if she chooses to work, it’s only to add on to the annual family income. This sounds much like a compulsion and not a choice. Doesn’t it?

Urban India’s gender imbalance is also a serious concern. The national average is 940 females per 1.000 males, but that drops to 912 for big cities. The reason being, abortion of girl child, migration of workers mostly men from rural to urban area and a few more left to be researched.

We should understand that men and women are complimentary to each other. Sow the seeds of equality and respect in boy child so that as he grows up, gender equality comes naturally from him. Teach your girls that even they can reach at the maximum height a human can reach or attain. Break the stereotypes and biases which act as a hurdle while evaluating others, often to their disadvantage.

Stay Equal, Be happy!