“Woman”! Has anyone ever wondered why a woman has a man in her? It’s
hysterical when people often assume the origin of words. What’s even more side-
splitting is when you’re one of them yourself. Every now and then people manipulate
words by changing them to fit their ideas.

Man retained its meaning as “person” until the 20th century when people assumed it
excluded women- which is plausibly when men use it in that way – so it has largely
fallen out of use, retaining the meaning it has today. Although the language is full of
chauvinism – female, women, and humans are innocent little words that have been
victimized by meaningless traditional etymology.

For years, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirmed that “Everyone has
the right to education”. Notwithstanding notable determination by countries across
the globe has considerably increased the way into primary education, more than
one-third of the world’s population, most of them women have no access to primary
education, new skills, or technologies that would help them evaluate the value of
their lives and help them face challenges in the socio-economic realm.

According to a recent incident that occurred in Afghanistan, since the Taliban regained power, a series of verdicts and guidelines have been issued that violate the very definition of
human rights for women and girls, including to right to freedom of movement.

How Are Women’s Rights Being Violated?

What do you think of women’s rights?
A gender-just society would be one with basic human rights, opportunities, and equal
treatment irrespective of gender. Respecting women’s rights makes the world a
better place. Women’s rights and gender equality are important issues all over the
world.

This has led to many debates about women’s rights over the past decade.
Numerous studies have shown, that women around the world face problems such as
child marriage, forced labour, lack of access to education, political participation,
forceful abortion giving birth to female children, domestic violence, and so on.

Women often face gender discrimination in the workplace. One way to illustrate this
is to look at the gender wage gap. It is still common for women to be denied access
to equal pay. This practice will gradually lead to a lifetime of financial deprivation for
women which means an increased risk of poverty in the future.

Violence Against Women

Social issues are never a zero-sum game. Patriarchy and the systems that have
perpetuated unequal rights for women around the world are perennial. In India, we
face many forms of domestic violence. It can range from psychological, sexual, and
economic to physical torture.

Since the epidemic of Covid-19, various data and sources from first-rate reports, have shown violence against women and girls, especially domestic violence, has increased all over the world.

Violence is a hateful word and should be discarded at all costs. A 2018 survey from WHO found that nearly 30% of women have experienced domestic violence from an intimate partner,
a non-partner, or both. 6 Domestic violence has long-lasting effects on victims and
can lead to their isolation from society. The children who grow up in such an
environment either become jaded or exhibit angry behavior, which is not healthy for
society. Such women tend to separate themselves from society, which makes them
inattentive and drives them deep into isolation, which in turn leads to psychological
problems.

Menstrual Leaves and Discrimination

The concept of menstrual leaves is not new in our culture. A recent study shows that
women who are discriminated against in the workplace, family, etc. are more likely
to suffer from depression and anxiety during their periods. India is not the only
country where menstruation is taken into consideration, countries like Japan, Italy, and Sweden have also included menstrual leave in their holiday policies. However,
most ‘woke’ women around the world, especially in India, have found this decision to
be somewhat detrimental and an act of humiliation of women’s abilities. They saw
this law as a violation of the ideology of equality and a special regulation for women.
These women believe that this decision calls into question women’s abilities and
does not treat them as equals to men. Surveys have shown that this period, like
existing maternity leave will worsen the situation of women in the workforce by
further widening the wage gap or increasing the risk of being replaced or fired for
taking “too many leaves”.

MeToo Movement or A way of Escapism

The #MeToo movement has come under the limelight in recent years and
sparked the world, where more survivors/victims are now coming out against their
abusers. They are coming out together in the hope to seek justice and to reform the
judicial system and how they handle sexual abuse and violence cases. 7 “With good
comes evil” it is said. Well, there have been incidents where women have voluntarily
misused the #Metoo movement to bring their peer males and partners down with
respect to a personal grudge, which has led to panic within society. The #MeToo
movement is a sensitive issue, and some portrayed the movement as lumping all
men together and targeting specific individuals, while others said the movement was
a victory and challenged laws and policies to change for the better, promote equality
for all, and ensure due process.

Conclusion

Even though key issues have been addressed so far, we can be much stronger i
everyone works together for women’s rights. Gender equality and women’s
empowerment in itself are key to sustainable development, economic growth, and
peace and security. Imagine a gender-equitable world. A world without prejudice,
stereotyping, violence, and discrimination. A world where differences are valued and
encouraged. This International Women’s Day, let us advocate for equality by raising
awareness about discrimination and celebrating women’s achievements.

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