Are we free?

Today, 14th August 2015, the eve of the Independence day; independence that we obtained from the British 68 years ago.  As I sit in my hotel room in Berlin, Germany, various thoughts come to my mind. Looking out of the window, I notice the carefree manner in which men and women, young and old as children of all ages go about their way. The older lot who had been witness to the Hitler regime, the middle aged ones who were moot witness to the Soviet style East German rule and the younger lot who heard the stories of various atrocities from their elders.  They all seem to have put their past behind them and moved forward. They have freed themselves from the bitter past.

My thoughts take me back 15 years when I had written an article for 'Seva,' the Club Bulletin of my Rotary Club, the Rotary Club of Bangalore Indiranagar.  That article is reproduced below.

So, dear readers, what do you think? How have things changed in the last 15 years? Where are we on the freedom scale? I look forward to your comments.

International Women's Day, 8th March

For the last 32 years my life has been revolving around three women; mother, wife and daughter, if I add the maid at home and the secretary at office the number becomes five. So, when I was asked what I thought about the International Women's Day, my first thought was 'is there an International Men's Day?'

Look, I don't intend to take away from the seriousness of the matter, nor do I want to belittle this day. After all, it is an international day and anything imported (specially from the West) is very dear to us Indians, even our own Yoga.

Just reflect on this........we have a very ancient tradition of 'Women Power;' we do 'Saraswati Pooja' to pay obeisance to the Goddess of Learning, we celebrate 'Diwali' to propitiate the Goddess of Wealth Lakshmi and 'Navaratri' is a nine day long celebration of 'Shakti Pooja' (women power of Durga, Kaali, Chandi etc. all rolled into one). Even our God is 'Ardh-Nareeshwara' (half male-half female). In ancient India, women enjoyed equal status with men in all walks of life. There is mention of several women sages and seers, notably Gargi and Maitreyi, in Rigveda and Upanishads.

So, what happened that despite such robust traditions, women in our country, barring few, were reduced to the hapless and helpless beings that we see around us everywhere? And can this situation improve by observing this imported 'Women's Day' once in a year? Has this day, too, not been reduced to a mere symbol as so many other such days (mother's, father's, valentine's etc. to name a few) useful only in furthering the cause of marketeers?

International Women's Day, when it was first observed, was observed as the 'International Working Women's Day.' Look at the dichotomy: a working woman was defined as a woman who goes out of her home and earns money. This was supposed to empower women economically. I think this was the biggest disservice done to women. In one stroke it negated the contribution of women in running their homes. Instead of giving an economic value to all the work a woman did in taking care of her family and her home it gave her an inferiority complex. Even when eventually it changed to 'Women's Day' from 'Working Women's Day' the underlying premise did not. And nothing exemplifies it more than the 'I am just a housewife' syndrome most homemakers suffer from.

While observing the International Women's Day this 8th March can we hope to improve this situation?