Women's Day Conundrum

One wonders why Women's day has been a stratum for controversy for the last couple of years. What to talk of men, even women themselves are divided over how Women's Day in Pakistan and the world at large should be celebrated for securing the fundamental rights of women. Somehow, folks have never thought of understanding the essence of commemorating Women's Day as it should have been. Making a group of polarised women march, loaded with placards which read sham and shameful slogans, serves the purpose of we don't know whom. But whatever, it is a debatable thing and must be debated upon.

According to International Women's Day's website, marked annually on March 8th, International Women's Day (IWD) is to celebrate women's achievements; raise awareness about women's equality; lobby for accelerated gender parity; and fundraise for female-focused charities. Well, that's a good idea but what is concerning is the way people have tried to hijack the essence of this day. Confining our discussion to Pakistan alone, one wonders how we have chosen to believe the imported version of a westernised Women's Day celebration? The average woman of our country does not believe in the Western way of life where a woman is nothing more than a usual being. The way we have adopted the idea of women empowerment is totally different than the way West has tried to portray it.

Just having a quick look-back on the events of the past century, we would understand how women played a critical role in the rapid industrialisation of the West. But it never came without a price. The conventional thinking of men about women drastically changed and what we got was an influx of ideals for independence of women from patriarchal bonds, right to vote, choose whom to live with and reject the well established norms of society. And what was the adverse effect? A society broken from within where there was no respect for the female gender, no mutual trust but an understanding to live in fake relationships (which horribly ended after a lapse of time) resulting into kids born out of wed-lock, diminishing role of a man as the sole bread-winner and rise of the corporate world where woman was treated as a showpiece for attracting customers for own products. The children of broken families were the strangest products as either of the parents had to raise them as single parents. Notwithstanding few, most of such kids grew up to be wild criminals and a danger for society.

In Pakistan, as a conservative but forward-looking spectator, I always believe in women empowerment but with a rational. There is no point in portraying women as decoration pieces. The detestable placards waved in the face of media is a gruesome manifestation of how deplorable we have grown as a society. The skirmish between Khalil Qamar and Marvi Sirmid is a rejoinder for us to see which way we are headed. But we should ask ourselves: are we ready to tread the Western way of Women Empowerment?

As a neutral observer, I believe our society is a balanced mix of positive-minded men and women. But there are people who, in the garb of inciting opposite genders, try to disturb this balance. We ought to guard against these elements and promote mutual harmony amongst ourselves. The imported notions must be discouraged to give rise to real women empowerment where they are given fair chances to grow as equal citizens of the society.

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