March 8 is celebrated as International Women's Day which marks the celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Despite several differences and challenges, women have proved their mettle in every sphere. Those days have become a thing of the past when women were predicted to do certain things or behave in a set manner. Today, they are free to choose their careers and live life on their terms. Thanks to education and a sea of possibilities, ladies today are extremely focused and thrive to achieve as much as they can during their existence. Due to various movements like Me Too etc women achievers in the past few years have come forward and have helped and inspired the world to be a better place for all.
However, there still remain certain issues that go on to burden them. IndiaTV spoke to these women – all in their 20s -- to find out the one issue they would want to change in India.
also read: International Women's Day 2022: Wishes, Quotes, Greetings, Images, Wallpapers for WhatsApp & Facebook Statuses
Clothes shouldn't define how a woman is!
Khushi Bhasin, a student
Khushi Bhasin says, "I wish to see people normalising women wearing any kind of clothes and not judging them on the basis of it. The clothes shouldn't define how a woman is. It should be as normal as it is for men. Society needs to accept every gender and welcome women with open arms and not by treating them as special or a minority."
Men should respect our choices!
Ridhi Suri, a media professional
Ridhi Suri shared, "People should realise and truly believe women are as talented, intelligent and capable as men, and sometimes even more so. We should not be discriminated against at the workplace or at home. Men should respect our choices of wearing anything we want to or wherever we want to go and at whatever time.
We want a society safe for women and that men should respect boundaries and make sure that their words or actions don’t make us feel uncomfortable."
Equal treatment for men and women after marriage!
Swati Anand, a media professional
Swati Anand is of the view, "Women in a household should be treated equally before and after marriage. Males in Indian society are granted the privilege of not having to leave their homes, but we women must leave everything behind and begin anew, and in this journey, women must be treated equally by all and given equal participation in decision-making."
Stop gender bias. Period.
Vaishali Jain, a media professional
Vaishali Jain opened her heart out and shared, "Gender bias is so prevalent in every aspect of our lives that we don't even acknowledge it on a day to day basis. Even for the bare minimum, you get to hear things that are not only downright condescending but a question mark on all your accomplishments. Our brains are hardwired to categorise sexism as normal as drinking water. For instance, when a woman says she's having financial concerns, the typical resolution is: "Ask Papa for help. He would obviously do it for you."
What if you don't want to? People irrespective of gender want to feel the privilege of being financially independent. Dismissing it based on your gender is unfair. Seeking help doesn't seem wrong, but assuming that you can/should because you're a woman robs us of the acknowledgement of our battles. We should stop this. Period."
We mean more than just a darling face to look at!
Juhi Shaw, an IT professional
Juhi Shaw said, "Wouldn't it be a nice day if we view women more than their body, their skin, their hair, or their clothes someday? So if I get a chance to alter something in a male dominant world, this will be it. Women who are competitive, sexy, hard-working do not wish to be judged on how slim or how pretty they are. They do not like to be told how tight their pants are.
Instead, Women will like that people think and remember them as to how assertive, funny, capable, resourceful, brave, focused, energetic, and imaginative they are. We bring life to society and we are meant more than just a darling face to look at."
Set no boundary on women instead let them fly!
Aparna Panwar, an IT professional
For Aparna Panwar, "Everybody talks about the change they need... but how many really work towards it? Setting no boundary on women instead of letting them fly and in return respecting their growth is one such change I want to see. Earning a great sum of money is not always the measure of power or the amount of respect one should get. Our mothers, they don't get a salary but making a house into a home...looking after every individual...that is the job that they have been doing....which in true terms can't be equalised by any amount.
Instead of changing them, respecting them, their thoughts and their beliefs are necessary. Just for a day if a mother gets to rest from her duties...the home wouldn't function the same. In this male dominant society, we females just want to be heard, respected and feel mattered!
Gender-based violence and victim-blaming should stop!
Prerna Yadav, a media professional
Prerna Yadav told us, "I wish to see an end to all gender-based violence and victim-blaming. I want that more attention is given to women's safety and no excuses are ever made for rape culture. It's not just what I want but also what we deserve.
