Celebrated every year on 8th March, International Women’s Day is one of the most graceful events to uphold gender equality and respect the diversity in our world. This day seeks to regenerate the passion in our hearts to celebrate and further promote and propagate the emancipation and empowerment of half of our population who have lived harsh lives for centuries in this world.
The history of this day itself is very old now. It was in the year 1913 the first International Women’s Day was celebrated to preach and propagate the idea of freedom and empowerment for the women folk. Since then, year after year, humanity has been recalling itself, particularly through this day, to keep up the promise of gender equality and end all kinds of discrimination against our female gender.
This day calls upon us to make many things possible in this world which shall help us to eradicate every kind of discrimination and bias which have crept in our societies and communities due to different reasons and has become like the commonly held beliefs. The celebration of this day is not offensive against any gender or group. It seeks rather to make our minds imagine a perfectly gender-equal world where each gender has equality of opportunity to grow and develop. This day and all such programs and events are celebrated to inspire our own souls and minds to work for a world that would be free from all kinds of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.
As proper human beings, it is our duty to work hard to create a world that is happy with its diversity and equitable and inclusive for all and this is also one of the main messages of this day too. We have to teach ourselves and our young ones that every kind of difference in this world is valued and precious. We must understand that if we work together unitedly, it would be very easy for us to forge gender equality in our societies.
There are many people in the West who blame that due to the religious extremism in the East, the Women’s basic rights are being exploited. However, it is not the religion but some faulty interpretations of the holy scriptures which result in the explanation of the female gender. Similarly, there are many people in the East who blame the West for spreading indecency and lechery in the name of women’s rights. But when these people are informed about the suppression and harassment of the women folk in their own societies they try to block every criticism through self-delusional ideas and statements.
Our theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Embrace Equity” which preaches to us all to collectively uphold fairness, impartiality, and justice for our female gender. We all must learn to celebrate women’s achievements in different fields. We must also dare to raise awareness against gender discrimination and take action to drive gender parity in our communities. No doubt, women have to raise and fight for their equal rights but we have to keep fact in our mind that International Women’s Day Belongs to all and we all have to celebrate it wholeheartedly.
This day does not teach us indecency and unlimited freedom. Decency and discipline are indispensable for both men as well as for women. We should understand that this day and all such programs and events demand that all the different genders must learn the proper discipline of respect and regard for each other. It is only through such mutual respect and reverence that we can build strong and decent societies. All kinds of suppression must end and all genders must be provided with the proper opportunities to raise their standards of living and receive proper education which is a must for our all-around progress and prosperity.
The author is a Govt Teacher. He can be mailed at bukhari.hilalahmad5@gmail.com
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