Women in the present day society –wives and mothers and working women- are ready to accept an inferior position in the family, society and polity.
They are striving for the removal of all laws, regulations, conventions and customs that deprive them in any way of their inherent right to the advantages, responsibilities and opportunities thatsociety offers to any one section of the population.
Only they know the bitterness of children taken to lawless ways, of daughter becoming unmarried mothers whilst still at school, of boys and girls growing up without education, training or jobs at a living wage.
Women's should be given all the rights that they deserve.
The level of civilization that any society has reached can be measured by the degree of freedom, respect and role given to the women. In fact, the status of women is a test of civilization. In ancient times, the Indian civilization is known to be advance and prosperous among the nations of the world, as the women were given a respectable status and position in the society. They were in the forefront and actively participant in the social and economic life of the county. Then followed the deterioration. Because of the falling kingdoms towards the end of the 10th century and increasing invasion from across the Himalayas, thewomen were relegated to the four walls of the house. Their status was reduced to a lower level and were treated inferior to men. Due to this, the social and economic situation of the nation also deteriorated.
Women in Today’s Society
Women in the present day society –wives, mothers and working women- are not ready, to accept an inferior position in the family, society and polity. They are striving for the removal of all laws, regulations, conventions and customs that discriminate against them and deprive them in any way of their inherent right to the advantages, responsibilities and opportunities that society offers to any section of the population. However, they have realized that they don’t form a society separate from men. There is only one society, and it is made of bothwomen and man. As women they want to share the problems and anxieties of men, and join hands with them to remove social evils and obstacles to progress.
Most of them, however ,have not been able to achieve the respectable position in the society. The reason is poverty and its evils. As wives and mothers they have to make both ends meet in whatever small amount of money they get or earn. They have to bear the cries of the children when they are hungry and sick. Also care for the homes that are too small, broken and dirty. They carry the burdens of looking after thechildren and land when their husbands are away in the fields, factories, and in remote towns earning their daily bread for the family.
Giving a respectable place to such women is important to keep family life going in jhuggis, or in overcrowded one-room apartments. Only they know the bitterness of children taken to lawless ways, of daughter becoming unmarried mothers whilst still at school, of boys and girls growing up without education, training or jobs at a living wage.
A civilized society should not allow it. However it exists because the society we live in is divided into poor and rich, upper and lower caste. It exist because there are privileges for the few, discrimination and harsh treatment for many.
The women marched forward in the struggle for liberation and a civilized place in the society. Being women also rests upon them the burden of removing from the society all the social differences developed in past times between men and women, which have the effect of keeping the fair sex in a position of inferiority and subordination.
Need of the day
There was a time when every women reaching marriageable age was assured of husband, home and security. The condition have changed now. The convention society to which they belong has been destroyed as a result of the loss of land, migration of men from home, the growth of towns and industries , and the rise of a great body of wage-earns on the farms and in the urban areas, who depend wholly or mainly on wages for livelihood. Thousands ofwomen are employed today in factories, homes, offices, and shops. on farms in professions as nurses, teachers and the like. Large number of thewomen are in fact the sole breadwinners and heads of their families.
A large number of women continue to be bound by traditional practices and conventions, and fail to realize that these have become obsolete and are an obstacle to progress. It should be the determination of the Government to carry out a nation-wide program of education that will bring home the realization that freedom cannot be won for any one section or for the people as a whole as long aswomen are kept in bondage.
What us Required ?
Although each social group of the society emphasisies its own importance, there are certain components of the society that can be ensured that women are assured their true role and status. Three such components are Good Government, citizens, and the private sector.
Governance: Most people think that the governance is the sole responsibility of the state and its institutions. But today, it is widely accepted that asociety requires a healthy, flourishing democracy and good governance. It is the process that is more inclusive, participatory, transparent, accountable and responsive than in the past. Hence the state is expected to create an enabling environment to facilitate broad based popular participation and yield space to all thewomen in the county.
Role of Citizens: It is generally agreed that in a civilized society the citizens should participate in development activities and processes, produce enough food for their families , protect and conserve natural resources. Government and NGO’s should play a vital role in building a culture of democracy in which both men andwomen should learn the practice of democratic citizenship as equal partners. NGO’s need to identify obstacles to people’s participation in development and define appropriate strategies for the removal thereof. They should build people’s capacity to formulate any analyze development programs and approaches. This is one way of enhancing popular participation.
Role of Private Sector : In a good society the private and other sectors are inextricable woven in the state. The state establish the legal, fiscal and regulatory framework that defines civilsociety's operating space. The private sector should therefore, collaborate with the state in developing programmes for the uplift of women.
To sum up, for the faster development of the Nation, we must eliminate the evils that exists in our society, by giving women the same respectable place as we have given to men.
