By: Rayees Ahmad Rathore
International Women’s Day is commemorated in a variety of ways worldwide; it is a public holiday in several countries, and observed socially or locally in others to celebrate and promote the achievements of women universal female suffrage movement that had begun in New Zealand, IWD originated from labor movements in North America and Europe during the early 20th century The earliest version was purportedly a “Women’s Day” organized by the Socialist Party of America in New York City February 28, 1909. These inspired German delegates at the 1910 International Socialist Women’s Conference to propose “a special Women’s Day” are organized annually on 8th March.
WHO IS A WOMAN?
A woman is a synonym of sacrifice, woman is a companion to man given by God. She is a partner in life, and a friend. Women are blessed with a kind heart, a sea of love, and a bundle of affection. They are, undoubtedly, a symbol of love and a pillar of strength. They are always there, like a beacon in the night.
HOW WOMAN IS THE BEAUTIFUL CREATION OF GOD?
A woman sacrifices everything but keeps a smile on her beautiful lips. You will never realize how many sacrifices she has done to keep you and the whole family up .It is very difficult to say when a woman really feels sad. It is because of her sacrificing nature. But I would say that it is not that difficult either. There are not many stairs but only one stepped stair, going through her beautiful eyes to her wonderful heart. But what makes her complex to understand is our inability to conquer her heart and being blinded by materialistic aspects more and treating her merely as a sex symbol. But she is much more beyond that. So basically we lose the right vision to understand her. A woman’s eyes and expressions can really reveal a lot about her happiness or sadness in life if one is sensitive and wise enough to crack her sacrificing fake smile.
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was full of praise for virtuous and chaste women. He said: “The world and all things in the world are precious but the most precious thing in the world is a virtuous woman. In Islam there is absolutely no difference between men and women as far as their relationship to Allah is concerned, as both are promised the same reward for good conduct and the same punishment for evil conduct. The Qur’an says:
The Qur’an, in addressing the believers, often uses the expression, ‘believing men and women’ to emphasize the equality of men and women in regard to their respective duties, rights, virtues and merits.
In Islam, a woman is a completely independent personality. She can make any contract or bequest in her own name. She is entitled to inherit in her position as mother, as wife, as sister and as daughter. She has perfect liberty to choose her husband. The pagan society of pre-Islamic Arabia had an irrational prejudice against their female children whom they used to bury alive. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was totally opposed to this practice. He showed them that supporting their female children would act as a screen for them against the fire of Hell.
Nowadays our country has provided us a gift for the empowerment of women that is National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) UMEED in UT Jammu and Kashmir. It gave the women a new hope of living in this digital world. In primitive times particularly in rural areas the women were totally dependent on men. NRLM has made rural people more empowered in terms of healthcare and educational facilities. It also has enhanced income for rural people, making them eligible to buy land for growing food, besides addressing gender discrimination such as child marriage and dowry system. SHGs have also been instrumental in the rising participation of women in political parties, improved financial literacy, knowledge and awareness of administrative facilities and support, more involvement in decision-making of important issues and improved mobility.
The scheme has a focus on both the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors and simultaneously gives attention to the enhancement of livelihood through rising income earning opportunities and expanding entrepreneurship skills. The DAY-NRLM may also expand its scope towards the private sector and start-up business entities to empower them for employment generation in rural areas. In the current financial year, more budgets have been allocated towards DAY-NRLM which shows a more promising future for beneficiaries.
This scheme has helped the rural women through sustainable development with help of the creation of jobs, skill enhancement and other livelihood enhancement facilities irrespective of gender while providing larger support to female members of the households.
The author is a Block Program Manager Kulgam, NRLM (UMEED).
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