International Women’s Day

By Dr. Bela Ravikant Dr. Anju Suryapani in Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Apr 18, 2017

March 8 is observed as the International Women’s Day each year. It is a global event which acknowledges and celebrates the economic, political and cultural achievements of women. It is a day to manifest the progress made, to call for change and to commemorate the acts of audacity and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. The day also marks a call to action for promoting gender equality.

International Women’s Day (IWD) has been celebrated since early 1900’s. That era witnessed phenomenal expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world along with booming increase in population and the advancement of radical ideologies. The credit for bringing this day into picture can’t be given to any one government, NGO, charity, company, academic institution, or media hub. Many corporations announce an annual IWD theme that supports their specific cause or agenda, and a number of these are adopted more broadly with relevance than others.

International Women’s Day spreads the message of togetherness, celebration, advocacy and action – whatever that looks like international at a local level. But one thing that is assuring is that the International Women’s Day has been taking place for well over a century and continues to thrive from strength to strength.

Across the globe, countless girls and women spend too many hours on household chores—normally greater than double the time spent by boys and men. They take charge of their younger siblings, older family members, address infections in the family and manage the house. The truth of the matter is that this unequal division of labour happens at the expense of girl’s and women’s learning, of jobs, sports, or engagement in civil or community management. This acts as the basis for shaping the norms of relative advantages and disadvantages, of where males and females are positioned within the economy, what they’re capable of doing and where they’ll work.

“Evolution of any society can be judged by how it treats its women. For India to grow and progress, it is required that we respect and empower our women. We must create a feeling of celebration on birth of every girl child. A mother is the first teacher of every human being and a woman makes a family and families make a society. A happy and healthy mother or sister or daughter can create a positive thinking society. So we must take it as a challenge to change the thinking of everyone around us to think of girl child as a boon and as a big advantage only then only we can hope to grow better and better”, says Dr. Bela Ravikant, Senior Consultant – Gynaecology & Obstetrics.

We need to build a different arena of work for women. As they advance, women should be exposed to a huge range of careers, and persuaded to make selections that lead past the conventional carrier choices and options to jobs in public service, industry, art, modern agriculture and science.
We have to bring a change at home and in the earliest days of school, so that there aren’t any places in a child’s surroundings in which they ascertain that girls are less, have less, and dream little than boys.

This will require amendments in parenting, curricula, instructional settings, and channels for ordinary stereotypes like TV, entertainment and advertising. It will take adamant steps to defend younger girls from dangerous cultural practices like early marriage, and from all kinds of violence.
Will you take an initiative on this International Women’s Day and beyond with the aid of groundbreaking actions that genuinely drive the finest trade for women? Each one of us can be a leader within our own spheres of influence by taking bold pragmatic action to accelerate gender parity. Help women advance and unleash the limitless potential inside them.

“Women pride themselves on the fact that they are muti-taskers. However, very often the most important aspect of their lives is forgotten in the mayhem of multitasking – good health.

A lot of women’s health issues arise because of negligence and putting their health very low on the priority list. Some of the major ones are Breast Cancer, Cervical Cancer, Reproductive Health, Menstrual Problems, etc. On International Women’s Day my message to all women is that we should take good care of our health, and this way we can ensure health and happiness in our families as well.  If any problem arises, do not neglect and make sure to consult your doctor”, says Dr. Anju Suryapani, Senior Consultant – Gynaecology & Obstetrics.