International Womens’ Day (IWD) observed every year on March 8, is supposed to remind women that they are special; that they have their worth which is equal to that of any human person and that they are not the “weaker” sex because it takes a lot to be a woman. For one, women are expected to take on all the responsibility of caring for the elderly and the sick. If they are married and also working they have to precariously balance their professional responsibilities with their domestic duties which includes giving birth, caring for the children, mentoring them, cooking and washing and if there are elderly in-laws or parents at home then also caring for them. For some reason all these expectations from a working woman seem to have been normalized. Sadly, women themselves are conditioned to believe that they have to be superwomen juggling between their homes and their jobs and also aspiring to further their careers.
And what about the large majority of uneducated women who peddle their wares by day so they can bring food to the kitchen at the end of the day? Where is their security? Can such women afford to fall sick? Who looks after their children while they are out on the streets selling vegetables and fruits and what have you? Do we even know what their children might be facing at home often without any supervision? How do we know they are safe? All these questions should engage the minds of those tasked with governance. But IWD has become a ritual. The next day all pious pronouncements by governments and other world bodies is forgotten.
On Monday, March 7, the AITC MLA HM Shangpliang countered the treasury bench which during the motion of thanks on the Governor’s address, had praised the MDA government’s all-round achievements from law and order to health, education and the plight of ASHA workers and unpaid SSA teachers. Shangpliang highlighted before the House that while Meghalaya practices the matrilineal culture it would be wrong to surmise that women are inherently empowered. The MLA spoke of the need for awareness creation for women on all fronts so that they are better able to access important services. Unfortunately, the MLA stopped short of stating before the House (where only one lady member was present) that Meghalaya suffers from a grave social malady – that of single women headed households. These are women who have been abandoned or divorced by their partners/husbands and who have been left to care for their children. Many of such women don’t have the wherewithal to deal with life’s cruel blows and some end up in sex work which is criminalized in this state. But this is a reality that society can no longer live in denial about.
