It is so easy to wax eloquent about woman power. Whether it is about the Celtic Trinity of the Brigids or the Indian Goddesses of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati and then amble to the modern women – perhaps best symbolised by the wonderful all-women marching contingents and the Guard of Honour this Republic Day.
But truly, woman power is about balance. I am not a big fan of the word ‘empowerment’. It signifies that someone else has the upper hand and benignly bestows benefits on women. Balance is better because we do not have to be belligerent about making our presence felt.
I saw this commercial of a woman from Haryana getting a college education via the cell phone. This woman says that girls in Haryana are not allowed to go out of their homes to study. I really hope they will be allowed to go out to apply their education in practical spheres though.
In stark contrast is the story of Lt.Cdr.Sandhya Chauhan, who led the Navy contingent for the Republic Day Parade. She is from Haryana too. Not only did she come out of her home but she also marched down Rajpath.
Woman power has been around for a long time now. Whether it was a grandmother who authorized her granddaughter to have her inter-religious wedding or a father who said, way back in the 1950s, that his daughters had to study and earn college degrees before getting married. But yes, I concede that I come from a privileged background when it comes to feminine freedom. Nothing much was frowned upon.
So what drives my thought for Woman Power? Realism – all the way through. I believe that women can do some things and simply cannot do some other things.
But put this statement within the narrow interpretation of women being the weaker sex and that’s when the arguments begin. It is about balance – it can never be about anything else.
Every relationship with a woman has to be about balance – respect to be given and received effortlessly. Why make allowances or hindrances simply because one part of the relationship is feminine? I love it when a gentleman opens the door for me. I equally love it when I pay for a meal we shared. Small things right? But what is important is the utter insignificance of my being a woman.
Insignificant because achievements are never feminine or masculine. If a country was governed into economic might – how should it matter if the leader was a woman or a man? Strength, wisdom, success, empathy, power – none of them are linked to one gender or the other. It is an individual who makes the change and gets the world to notice. If this individual were a man, the newspaper reports would not start with, “Despite being a man, he managed to turn the company around” right? So why should we make an exception for the woman? She is here, she achieves, she fails, she manages, she perseveres, she gives up and she moves on – all in the name of living a balanced life
