Saturday, March 8, 2014

Pardon Me As I Roll My Eyes At International Women's Day

Guess what ladies!? March 8th marks International Women's Day!!! What does that mean for you!? I'm going out on a limb here and say: Not a damn thing!
 

Okay, so I'm a bit jaded by this "holiday." The first time I ever heard about International Women's Day was when I came to India and I completely missed the "International" part of it. Living in the US, I had never heard of this day.

The roots of International Women's Day are strong ones and at the time it was instituted, it set out to do a lot of great things. While I appreciate the overall sentiment, I have to laugh when I see it celebrated with such enthusiasm here in India. To me, it's about as effective as present day labour unions. Granted, India might want to look into those too.
 
How do we celebrate Women's Day here in India? Here's what I've observed:
1. Women get flowers
2. Women get chocolates
3. Every online retailer is offering some discount on women's clothing and accessories
4. Parlours are offering beautifying package deals
5. Bakeries have extra pretty cakes for sale.
 
Terrific! That's really going to do a lot to advance the cause for women in India. Instead of chocolates and facials, why don't we focus on the following:
1. Preventing Rape
2. Preventing Acid Attacks
3. Preventing Dowry Killings
4. Eliminating the Caste System
5. Ending Female Infanticide
 
I am disgusted by the fact that women can be celebrated one day in a year and gang raped and murdered the rest of the year, and yet for that one day we think we've made so much progress.
 
And if you do wish to celebrate, here is a quote from the above clip that will provide suggestions for celebrating in style and do as much to advance the cause for women in India as the current Women's Day celebrations "Well, yeah, you know, 'cause 'cause he never appreciated you anyway. In fact, you know what - you kicked HIM out! And now that he's gone you're gonna go into town, you go to Bloomingdale's and find some nice dresses, get yourself some shoes, you know, find somewhere, maybe you can get a facial. And, uh, oh - hire a decorator to come in here quick, 'cause... DAMN."