Rachna Vinod
rvbooks25@gmail.com
On most days, if you notice long enough, you can see the future walking past you. It may be a young girl in a school uniform adjusting her backpack, a woman on a scooter navigating traffic with quiet confidence, or an elderly grandmother teaching a child a forgotten song. This seems like a routine passing unnoticed, yet it carries something remarkable i.e. confidence. The confidence that change is already happening acknowledging a simple yet profound realisation of the fact that a nation cannot progress fully if half its population remains undervalued.
National Women’s Day
The first National Women’s Day in Bharat was celebrated on February 13, 1979, the birthday of Sarojini Naidu. The Bhartiya Government established this day to honor Sarojini Naidu’s contributions to Bharat’s independence and women’s empowerment. Choosing 13 February, the birth anniversary of Sarojini Naidu, was a deliberate act of reclaiming women’s place in national history-not as symbols, but as leaders. She stepped into public life at a time when women were expected to remain in the background. She spoke, led, protested, and negotiated-never apologising for occupying space. What makes her legacy especially relevant today is not just her achievement, but her optimism. She believed deeply in the possibility of a more just and humane Bharat. Behind that lyrical voice stood an unshakeable resolve. The day reminds us not only to remember the past but asserting that women are not passive beneficiaries of freedom and development, but active architects of both serving as a bridge between generations. It connects the struggles of women in the past with the aspirations of women today reminding society that the freedoms enjoyed by contemporary women were not gifts, but results of persistent struggle-and that safeguarding and expanding these freedoms is a collective responsibility.
National Women’s Day does not arrive with loud declarations. Instead, it brings a gentler reminder-that women have always been shaping this nation, and that today, they are doing so with greater visibility, confidence, and hope than ever before. It makes us reflect on how far Bhartiya women have come, and how much remains to be done. From panchayats to Parliament, from boardrooms to laboratories, Bhartiya women are increasingly visible in leadership roles. It is equally important to acknowledge how far they have travelled. Within a few generations, women have moved from the margins of public life to its very centre. Today, women lead villages, run startups, write policies, fly aircraft, win medals, publish books, and drive scientific research. They are visible in classrooms, courtrooms, newsrooms, and laboratories. Girls grow up seeing possibilities their mothers could only imagine. Progress has not been uniform, and challenges persist-but momentum matters. And the direction is unmistakably forward.
Some of the most profound changes are not happening on stages or screens, but inside homes. Fathers encouraging daughters to study, brothers sharing household responsibilities, families investing in girls’ education-these shifts rarely make headlines, yet they transform societies. Conversations around consent, health, ambition and equality are becoming more open. Young women are learning to speak for themselves and young men are learning to listen. National Women’s Day celebrates this quiet revolution-the slow but steady rewriting of everyday norms. Education remains one of the most powerful tools of empowerment, and today, more girls are crossing its thresholds than ever before. Schools and universities are filled with young women who are curious, confident, and unafraid to question. Scholarships, digital learning, community initiatives, and determined families are creating new pathways. Every educated girl carries not just her own future, but the future of generations with her.
Women’s participation in the workforce is changing the very definition of success. For some, it is corporate leadership; for others, it is financial independence through small enterprises, self-help groups, or creative pursuits. Importantly, women are also redefining balance-challenging the idea that success must come at the cost of personal well-being or family life. Flexible careers, entrepreneurship, and alternative work models are opening doors that were once closed. National Women’s Day honours not a single path, but the freedom to choose one’s own.
One of the most encouraging shifts is the evolving understanding of strength. Today’s women are not asked to harden themselves to succeed. Compassion, empathy, creativity, and collaboration are increasingly recognised as leadership qualities. This is not just empowering for women-it is transformative for society. When leadership includes care and conscience, progress becomes sustainable. Perhaps the greatest reason for optimism lies in the next generation. Girls today ask sharper questions. They expect fairness not a favour. They are growing up with role models in every field-and with a vocabulary to articulate injustice and aspiration alike. While they will face challenges, they will also inherit tools, allies, and confidence that previous generations lacked. National Women’s Day is, in many ways, a celebration of this inheritance. Optimism does not mean ignoring problems. It means believing they are solvable. It means recognising effort, amplifying success, and learning from failure.
As Bharat observes National Women’s Day, we must ask ourselves: What kind of nation are we building for our daughters? One where they must constantly negotiate their freedom, or one where their aspirations are welcomed without suspicion? The story of Bhartiya women is not one of perfection, but of persistence. Every step forward-however small-has been earned. And every step creates space for the next reminding that the future is not waiting to arrive-it is already here, walking beside us in classrooms, offices, fields, and homes. When the women are honoured, it is acknowledging the truth that the women are not building tomorrow alone-they are sustaining today. Let us choose to see progress, support possibility, and nurture equality-not just on one day, but every day. When women move forward, the nation moves with them-and the future feels not just possible, but promising.
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