Breaking Free

Breaking free

"Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult."

- Charlotte Whiton

It has been a long time coming but liberation has finally arrived. Gone past are those days when a woman’s role was restricted to being a wife, a mother, a daughter and a sister.

Now she has broken the shackles and has finally arrived at the corporate jungle. She has evolved from one tribe to be a part of another.

Looking past, one can see the hazy reflections of all the attempts made by Indian women to burn down the barriers of male domination and sex prejudices. There have been numerous instances when a woman has tried to redefine her domain but somehow failed to do so completely. Every effort got stifled mid way due to varied reasons.

But now, the revolution has come out strongly from all corners. Women have become the new workforce of the country. It is not uncommon today to find women in most industries. In fact, they occupy top positions in many of them. Also, they are no longer restricted to stereotyped professions. Now, they are competent enough to handle the toughest jobs ranging from bus conductors to bar tenders. Long gone are those days when they were type casted as the weaker sex and teaching was the only profession open to them. It is not a surprise that every company and every job is now looking at women to offer better services. Even the villages are now facing the increasing power of women and now they head gram panchayats. Not one field is left where a woman has not made her mark. From kiran bedi to kiran mazumdar Shaw, we have all.

Women have now become so bold that all clichés have been broken by them. They are travelling alone to far off places without feeling any sort of inhibition. Night travelling has also become a routine for them. All those qualities that were supposed to be a feature of the male specie, have now been deftly adapted by women. They have denounced all the rules made by men and have made their own rules on their terms. Risk taking and the constant need to prove her mettle, has become a driving force in every woman of this country. The glass ceiling has been shattered and surprisingly no blood has been shed.

Women empowerment has come a long way and in many sectors such as the house, office and parliament. As a growing child kicks in the womb of a mother, the tiny efforts by women all over the country also kicked to make their presence felt. Little by little, attempts made in all forms came to light and woke up the entire nation from a deep slumber of ignorance. These efforts made a lot of people uncomfortable but then again all cannot be pleased at the same time. The different strengths of these kicks delivered different results. Like a new born baby, the women liberation movement also faced a lot of problems in the existing environment. Criticism and societal pressure made huge dents, but the child somehow managed to survive. Cases in which the effort was coupled with family support and will power, proved to be huge successes .In cases where only one was present, the success was not quite counted as a joyous one but nevertheless it still meant something. Subsequently, people did start noticing the change and realized the importance of a girl child’s education and welfare. They became aware of her needs and wants and learnt to treat her as an equal to the male child.

The contributing factors to this turn around could be many. Starting from increased literacy level to changing attitude of family and peers, every change has been a building block for the women liberation movement. The changing psyche of the people of the nation has also given impetus to the evolution of women from being timid and restricted to be a world achiever.

Till earlier times, it was believed that a woman’s role was to be a child producing machine who was bound by her husband and the kitchen. But now, the winds are blowing in another direction. A woman can now choose the number of children she wants, the husband she wants and her responsibilities. These days see women as bread earners and not only bread makers. In some cases, women are the head of the family and their decisions are most important.

The woman of today is more aware, bold and demanding. She knows her rights and duties and is capable of multitasking effortlessly. With a little or no help from others, she makes sure that her voice is heard, even if it takes quitting the “normal” rules of the society and leading a rebellion against it. She is no longer afraid of anything or anyone. Nothing can stop her now and nothing can stand in her path to success.

So, the message is loud and clear, the next generation woman has arrived with a bang, and modern India is getting introduced to the modern woman. She is taking on the world with a smile on her face and a success story in her kitty. She is now independently trying to fulfill her dreams and keep the promises that were made to her by the so called guardians of the society.

Time has now come to say goodbye to the conventional, docile Indian woman. The free spirited, broad minded and fearless new age woman is knocking on the doors impatiently.