Independence is a very powerful word. Whenever we hear this word, things that come to our mind is the idea of roaming everywhere without anybody’s bondage or idea of doing whatever you want without someone stopping you. It might be the definition of Independence for us, but when it comes to our whole country, does that definition holds correct?
In my view, a country can only be called truly Independent when it is free from all crimes, poverty vanishes, when women can walk through the streets in dark without fear of being raped and molested, they can be free to chase their dreams like their male counterparts and much more. I think these are the things that can make women feel being independent in an independent nation. What are the constraints to the independence of women in India and why are they there?
Women are extremely beautiful creations of God. They can have bleedings for certain days but still live happily without a mark of stress on their face, they work and manage households at the same time, they sacrifice everything for their family and someone who can love with their all heart and still be broken. But are they truly independent or not, is something hard to answer. The slaves of male-chauvinistic society are living in a mirage that women should be kept in house and do household work. But they forget the fact that if given an opportunity, women can outshine them in all the major fields.
Indian women have always been iconic and Indian history has witnessed some great women warriors Begum Hazrat Mahal, Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, Uda Devi, Azizun Bai, Jhalkari Bai, and many more who fought for our country. These women actually contributed to achieving independence for the country. Ironically, after the country got independent the women became dependent on men for their rights and opportunities.
In an independent country, the girls and women ideally should have full freedom to do whatever they want to. But if a girl can’t wear something of her choice because of the fear that she might be chased by some group of guys, then we can’t call it independence. If she can’t choose what she wants to do in her life and is forced to marry, just because she is 18+ against her wishes, then this won’t be called independence. Women can truly feel independent when they’re free from all the restraints chaining them in shackles and enjoy doing whatever they love to do. When an ordinary woman born and brought up in a traditional middle-class family can work on building her dreams, without the pressure of her parents to marry, that is I guess will be the beginning of real independence in our country!
Women need to extricate themselves from all the prevailing social norms. The change begins with oneself. Women themselves need to understand the importance of education and educate their daughters, sisters to gain independence in true sense. The recent case of turkey is heartbreaking. Every day women are subjected to death, from their close male relatives and the legal system is normalizing violence against them. And women around the world without knowing the cause of things started posting black and white photos.
While I greatly admire the women who took part in this challenge, I also regret to say that many of them weren’t knowing the reason behind this. We women should be aware of things and help in empowering each other. We should understand the true meaning of independence and work on it. Educate yourself, dress well and do all hard work that can take you to the steps of success.
On this independence day, let’s keep our differences aside and take a pledge that we will become completely free in our lives and head-on take the issues stopping us from exploring our independence. Lets spread more positivity and hopes among our fellow women and together we all work on being the best version of ourselves. I completely agree with what Nelson Mandela once said-
“‘Freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression.’’
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