NO ONE IS FREE WHEN OTHERS ARE OPPRESSED

Give women Grocery, they turn it into a delicious meal. Give women strands of thread, they weave it into intricate pieces of clothing. Give women a house, they turn it into a warm and cozy home. Give women love, they create a source of wonder and joy. Women are divine, they want nothing but respect in return for all the wonders they provide.

People cannot handle such goodness, and to quench their insecurity complex, they resort to deplorable methods for oppressing women. How can someone oppress the ones who have brought us into the world? People are getting more and more learned, but moral education is missing from their lives.

Even though we have managed to ostracize major social stigmas and taboos, yet many such as dowry and inequality are prevalent these days. Just strong rules are not sufficient to shun them, the mentality of people that equality is a “vicissitude” must be changed first. Instead of ignominious movies like Sadak 2, Bollywood should promote and direct more films like Pink and Thappad, as people are more influenced by movies than laws.

How can we judge whether women are inferior or not? They have achieved the pinnacle of success in whichever field they have delved into. There is no shortage of examples, right from Rani Lakshmi Bai, Pandita Ramabai, all the way to Kalpana Chawla for space travel, and Poorna for climbing Everest.

Women are truly empowered when they are able to freely access opportunities in all the fields such as education, fashion, lifestyle, provided they are provided a safe environment with equal pay for equal work. This can be done in various ways. At the individual level, we should be educated to respect women and start giving them opportunities equal to men. We must promote women and encourage them for jobs, business, education, and freelancing. Various government schemes such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Mahila Shakti Kendra have been launched to empower women, but it is our duty to spread awareness of such schemes and to promote women to participate.

These small steps can ensure equality and make women feel empowered and independent which in turn eradicate evils such as dowry as they are no longer dependent or oppressed. Thus a virtuous circle can be created and an atmosphere of harmony can bring about true happiness and make the society a heavenly place to live in.

Yet we need to keep in mind that unprecedented power comes with its own set of problems, keeping in mind the countless false allegations of rape that led to numerous suicides due to the social exclusion of the accused. Thus, laws should be balanced and morality must be given the highest priority to keep the laws in check.