The air is filled with a spirit of joy, hope and ministration. A sense of righteousness and justice hangs heavily in this festive atmosphere. She arrives on her majestic lion, with a blazing radiance and an assurance of freedom from fear, evil and atrocities. A woman is one who encompasses confidence and strength, she is an epitome of tolerance, endowed with sacrosanct, just to list a few amongst a multitude of many noble traits. India has always upheld women in pristine esteem even in its history, folklore and mythology.
Women in mythology associated with warfare: Goddess Durga is depicted as a mighty warrior who has risen over the most powerful gods to vanquish evil forces. Vijaya Dashami, as the name suggests, is the day of victory, as Maa Durga obliterated the wickedness of Mahishasura. The entire humankind sought refuge under them. What comes to our mind on hearing the name SatyabhamaIJ The annihilation of evil, in this case, the death of Narakasura is the very reason why we celebrate Diwali. Epics and mythology often illustrated the significance of female warriors and protectors. The Mahabharata highlighted the importance of diversity and inclusion by introducing Shikhandi. Shikhandi's role was considered strategically vital in the Kurukshetra war.
Warrior princesses in Indian history: Damsel in distress, finds a place in many comics, folk stories, fairy tales and silver screens. Women from the early modern period of the Indian history were known either for their opulence and grandeur or slavery. However, not all women from the royal descents were fancied with glittering outfits, gold ornaments and pizzazz. Several female warriors exhibited their bravery and military strategies, which changed the fate of kingdoms in pre-independent India. Their heredity earned them dexterity with sword and political adroitness. Rani of Jhansi; Razia Sultan, the first woman to rule Delhi; Chand Bibi the Regent of Bijapur; Rani Rudrama Devi of Kakatiya Dynasty; Rani Durgavati of the Gond kingdom; Begum Hazrat Mahal of Awadh; Bibi Sahib Kaur; and Mai Bhago of Punjab province.
These were the empresses and warriors with a broad vision for autonomy and sovereign state. They demonstrated valour and prowess of women on the battlefield and fought against despotism and ambush attacks by British legion, Mughal forces, Mongol royals, Taimuri and Turkish descent. Rani laxmibai who's been hailed as the ‘Indian joan of arc,' was sagacious and dauntless.
The Women those who stepped into combat boots: India is rising from its deep slumber to a glorious period — women of the country are becoming aware of their potential in breaking the barriers and taking on challenges that even defy their physical limitations. New India has recognised the resilience and potential of women and is addressing the imbalance, albeit slowly. Women are not as likely to be typecast by their gender as they once were. Recent developments have seen women succeeding against all the odds to reach the top jobs in internal and external security that makes India proud with their aptitude, assiduity and avidity.
Nirmala Sitharaman's appointment as India's first full-time woman Defence Minister is exhilarating and noteworthy. Such positive news has put India in the vanguard of a movement empowering its women. In recent years, new India saw several Indian women breaking the barriers towards the role of protecting our motherland.
Recently, rocket women scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation successfully put a satellite into orbit around Mars. last year, the Indian forces allowed the daughters of the soil into combat roles and commissioned a few women fighter pilots. A visually-impaired girl was inducted into the Indian Foreign Service. Many moons ago, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration selected our ladies for space the shuttle programme, not to forget about Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams. Punita Arora and Padmavathy Bandyopadhyay not only donned the highest ranks in the Army and Navy but also made a difference.
The ugly side of women's empowerment initiative: As we begin to celebrate achievements by women, somewhere down the line, we displaced the women power through vested interests, selfish motives and prejudice. Whenever we raise the issue of women empowerment, we have got to begin with female foeticide. We must admit that our society is still languishing in agony about the growing incidents of female foeticide. There ought to be a correlation between skewed sex ratios and increasing crime against women. I hope that we are not heading towards polyandry. The avarice, cruelty and perfidy of those illegal prenatal gender determination centers, leave behind dents on the pride of the nation and befoul India's reputation.
It's high time the Government got a handle on the situation, took swift action to save the girl child and reassure our women by introducing draconian laws, repressive measures against these underhand dealings. Those star-studded creative campaigns are nice to have, innovative slacktivism may enhance the feel-good factor but won't help eliminate the problem. Coordination between different bodies, agencies and authorities is notoriously miserable. They must find a common thread and contribute holus-bolus to ameliorate the pitiable situation.
More than two decades later, the Women's Reservation Bill is still hanging in limbo. Gender diversity at workplace and boardrooms remains a distant dream. Women's empowerment is a predicament we cannot even conjecture. We worshiped the Adhiparasakthi, we eulogised women in armour, awed those in glamour, yet many hated the girls in the womb. I am still puzzled, bedazzled and irresolute about the idea of women empowerment till this day.
(The writer is a media entrepreneur)