Another International Women’s Day passes by confirming all our doubts that the celebration of womanhood has simply been turned into a ritual. Not only a ritual but a business idea for making profit on exchange of flowers, sugar and honey dripping greeting cards or SMS messages is how the day begins and ends for those who are aware of the day which most of us were not but now are reminded a week before by the media, newspapers or the kitty lounge.

At the government level and women activists engaged in the field, the day is defined at best by organizing symposiums and seminars or honoring few women. For most of the people, it is just another day of laboring in the fields or construction sites or else going through the drudgery of performing the thankless job of a housewife. What does women day actually mean to you? Is it a reminder of the lofty role that woman has played in history or talk about some women achievers or even remind ourselves about some of the countless gender related issues on just one day of the year. The truth is that much of this is not even discussed or thought about in the day to day lives, of the people, or the day to day functioning of government offices, where reports on women suppression or gender discrimination lay buried without any adequate action.

The problem is not just gender discrimination but also the absolute or partial denial of it. Even the deep rooted existence of all forms of discrimination is negated. Gender bias exists in all spheres of life, manifesting through dowry deaths, rapes, sexual harassment, discrimination at work places and homes. Female foeticide is on the increase but women have poor access to health care. Rituals like Women’s Day have made no difference.

Much of the discrimination arises from a sexist mindset which a one day ritual cannot make it fine. This gender biased mindset that is at the root of all gender related issues has to be addressed on a daily basis. The only annual agenda required is a routine introspection to assess the various issues and measure the progress, if any. Basic needs like education for women are to be addressed as low literacy level and high school dropout rate among the girl child are quite high. And, even more importantly, starting mass campaigns against female infanticide and foeticide with enforcing laws against the practice will be a big leap. It would be unfortunate for the so called educated and emancipated women and men sharing dais to celebrate women’s day and sing in praise of women or the girl child when many of them seriously believe that family is complete only with the birth of a male offspring. The educated elite, who alone have the luxury to celebrate the Women’s Day with cards and messages and talk about the great strides that women are now taking in almost every field, but it would be much better a service to womanhood and women issues if the woman wouldn’t be simply relegated as commodity to be showcased every year on Women’s Day but get real.