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Though the revolution of women empowerment began many years ago, it is still a dream. When we talk about women empowerment, we think about gender equality in work roles and women’s acceptance of not working in domestic institutions.
Here, proposal B suggests that even today, the domestic violence against women continues in the household as the rape and sexual assault statistics show a rise. Gender equality is not a priority, especially when we consider that our parliament or government areas do not participate in women’s rights. Perhaps, the question is we have been successful in forwarding the message. I would say, no, we haven’t succeeded yet. Proposal B holds correct to various concerns. For example, the future of women in India after they pass out from school is contradictory. Parents or society often initiate women to focus on choosing teaching as a career to focus on their family later. The other corporate roles are barely considered as an option for a woman. It seems marriage is a substantial institution to follow, especially in India.
Let’s take the most recent example. The discussion of the pay gap has taken the headlines on various social networking sites for a week now. The women cricketers are paid lesser than the male cricketers. If compared, the annual income of Virat Kohli is 60 crore, and the yearly income of Mithali Raj is 30 lakh. This enormous pay gap is questionable in various ways. Despite promoting women’s empowerment as a slogan now and then, the implementation of the same is ironic.
Here, proposal B suggested that the turmoil of rape and sexual assault has increased over the years, especially in the pandemic. The ignorance of women’s rights is a usual affair in this country. Lately, Punjab and Haryana High Court denied protection to a couple in a live-in relationship hearing that the woman’s parents wanted her to marry someone of their choice. We cannot specifically blame the patriarchal nature, but not to forget, it is the society that refuses women to make choices regarding their personal or professional life.
Further, we as a society fail women to give an individual approach. There is always a comparison. For example, women perform better than women. The idea of using ‘than’ each time denies a woman their right to represent themselves in society. Even if we have progressed, the dream of women empowerment is far ahead in every field. Some communities or countries fail to recognize the existence of women themselves. In a world like this, each woman must take a step for herself because the world only promises to participate but runs away at the time of war.