Vibhuti Ubbott
I was playing the role of Matrishakti this morning, as I had taken off from my office to get my kids ready for their final annual battle to get into next grade in school. During my role-play as Matrishakti, strangely, my thoughts were constantly going back to my work place where I had been but a part of a larger troop of women playing the role of Strishakti day in and day out. The reason for my disturbance was the event that had been organized by the same troop a day before. It was the celebration of International Women’s Day. It was not exactly the celebration, but the lectures and the words of appreciations and expectations about Strishakti that were disturbing me. All the applauds were about how women have started walking shoulder to shoulder with men, working equally, earning equally, displaying the Shakti (Power) they have and gained in the process. So, the Strishakti (Woman Power) is turning the tables in society now. I was left wondering whether in reality we have achieved that much? Are we actually empowered now and the world is acknowledging it too? My heart was crying silently in the whole celebration (though I was keeping mum). In any case I was feeling mentally and physically tired as I had been working continuously since five in the morning and I was thinking of the chores once I would reach home. I had to attend to my children back home along with getting the dinner ready.
Today when I am trying to write my tribute to the International Women’s day and actually trying to put pen to paper regarding women, specifically in Jammu and Kashmir, more of what I listened in the celebrations, at my workplace, seems symbolism, at least in the part of the country I am residing. With a very heterogeneous composition, the state is progressing on all the indicators and no doubt, the women of the state are taking advantage of all the advancements. But, with 892 women for every one thousand men (Sex ratio), the state appears far behind in imparting power ( Shakti) to women turning them into Strishakti. Women suffer from much gender specific disabilities in the region. To quote a few, the female literacy in the state is quite lower than male literacy; work participation among women is lower than men; even the rate of female Infant deaths is higher than male Infant deaths. The prevalence of Patriarchy is visible in as simple a thing as the method of family planning adopted in the state. In the state, of the total sterilizations made in the year 2016-17, 96.78% are performed on women, the reason being men consider any procedure performed on them could lead to loss of potency.
Politics, the ultimate decision making forum and the biggest indicator of power ( shakti), is one thing in which the women of the state are lagging miserably. In the 87 members State Assembly, only two women could make their way inside in 2014 elections. Not only winners, the percentage of woman candidates to the total candidates who contested 2014 state elections is meager 3.37%. Not only this, of the total 28 female contestants, 25 candidates forfeited their deposits in the elections displaying the larger social reality in the state. There exists a gap between male and female voters as well. Infact, women are not seen as a political force in the state, significant enough to be persuaded by the political parties. Despite the fact that almost every political party has a Woman’s Wing, rarely the women are seen rising to the positions of significance in the party or otherwise.
So, a lot of work needs to be done on ground to make our Strishakti (Woman Power) more Shaktishaali (Powerful) and for this, the first and foremost thing is to rise above Symbolism and impart real power to them. They should be offered more space in decision making forums at all levels, beginning from homes to offices and taking it to assemblies. Women’s right to make their personal choices is their real empowerment. Symbolic power is good but, Real power is even better. That’s probably the reason that I am making the choice of writing this article after Women’s Day celebrations are over because I don’t want its message lost in the Symbolism of Women’s Day.
(The author is Assistant Professor, Government Degree College, Samba)
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