International Women’s Day –
8th March 2018
WE WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN
Usha Bonepalli.
Chairperson,
Women’s Committee,
Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers
Dear comrades,
Hearty wishes to every one of
you on International Women’s Day 2018. We celebrate this day in honour of the
great struggles that are waged by women, throughout the history of working
class. We also mark this occasion to acknowledge and appreciate the wonderful
roles that women play in making this world habitable, livable and lovable place
of living. We utilize this occasion to reflect on the problems that prevent
women from achieving gender parity, oppressions faced by them, and work out
measures that lead to progress of women in all spheres of life.
One of the first organized
struggles for women in modern times was held at Lowell Cotton Mills in
Massachussets in 1834. Women worked for 14 hrs per day in mills in confinement,
noise, lint filled air, for 1/3rd wages as compared to men. When
these wages were also cut, they organized and went on strike. Women in several
other mills joined them and an organised movement started for the first time in
history. A second strike followed in 1836. Both the strikes were crushed by
management, but that is how pioneering struggles start. Defeat gives spirit for
better and more organized action. Women began Labour Reform Associations and
started huge petition campaigns and political action, asking the Massachussets
state legislature to cap working hours in mills at 10 hours. In 1847, New
Hampshire became the 1st state to pass a 10 hour working day. This
was the first success for organized working women in any part of the world.
This success fuelled organized women movements throughout the world’s working
class. Today, we remember that struggle with a sense of pride and honour.
The first National Womens Day was held in
NewYork in 1909 to commemorate the 1908 garments workers strike. On 8th
March 1908, 15000 women garment workers marched through Union Square to demand
economic and political rights. The three month strike against Triangle
Shirtwaist and other mills became hugely successful. This success was
celebrated throughout Europe and Soviet. Clara Zeitkin, a German socialist
proposed designating a day as ‘International Women’s Day’ at International
Socialist Congress in Copenhagen in 1910. From 1911, we are observing
International Womens Day. From 1975, UNO began celebrating International Womens
Day on March 8th.
Comrades, the working
conditions and safeguards that are available to women today, are a result of
many such glorious struggles across the world. We have an 8 hour working day,
equal pay for equal work, at least in the government sector, and statutory framework
for women like Maternity Benefit Act 1961, Factories Act 1948, Equal
Remuneration Act 1976, Sexual Harrassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,
Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013 etc. None of these acts were made by way of
compassion, but were a result of prolonged struggle of the working women. The
latest Act in 2013 against sexual harassment at workplace was a result of
Supreme Court guidelines in the Visakha case. Everyone knows that women are
subject to sexual harassment in all spheres of life, but it took till 2013, and
only after a long and concerted legal struggle before the Supreme Court, that
guidelines were issued and Government found it fit to pass an Act on this
issue. We should keep this in mind that nothing could be achieved unless we organize
and wage struggles. We should realize that, though the working women’s movement
has achieved significant results, there is a lot lot more to be achieved.
Nagaland, which went to polls
recently, did not have a single woman MLA in its 54 years of statehood and 12
assembly elections. The situation is not much rosy in other states and even in
the Parliament. Women representation in Lok Sabha is barely 11.3 % - 62 women
out of 543 MPs. Take any elected body, including the trade unions, the presence
of women in leadership positions is barely minimum. There are two reasons,
resistance to give opportunities to women as men are entrenched in leadership
positions, and lack of enough strength from women to push themselves ahead. Let
us address the second issue, which is the only way to repulse the first issue.
Women are bogged down by
multiple commitments, they have the inescapable responsibility of household
duties. A working woman needs to get up early, cook food, pack lunches for
everyone, layout breakfast and clothes for the boys, then commute to work,
spend the day in office, and commute back to home, to cook again, help in
homework, and then retire to bed, trying to look beautiful. This is the story
of every working woman, either in Postal department, or in Dept of Atomic
Energy, either as a clerk or in a higher cadre. There is no CL or EL to this
duty. Good health or bad health, there is no escape from this routine. Added to
this, women face stigma, violence and harassment at workplace, in society, on
the streets, during commute, and some times, even at home. Women face deficit
in respect in all walks of life. Media and commerce address women as a
commodity. They stereotype women, erect standards of medieval morality and even
resort to body-shaming. The invisible chains that tie up women are too heavy
and too arresting, to unshackle. It’s a herculean task for any woman to
unshackle herself, free herself and make her voice count, in public discourse
and organized struggles. But we have to realize, and there is no better day
that today, that struggle is the only way. It is only because of our organized
struggles that we have achieved so far.
One way to derive inspiration
and strength to unshackle ourselves is to celebrate the success stories of
women, big or small, in all walks of life. Look around for icons and celebrate
them. When our daughters submit a project in school and get two stars, lets
celebrate that at home, with all the vigour. When Harmanpreet Kaur hits 171 in
115 balls in Cricket World Cup, lets put her posters (over Sachin’s posters) in
our rooms and celebrate that with joy. When we come to know that global
Chairman/MD/CEOs of General Motors, Pepsico, IBM, Lockheed Martin are all
women, lets celebrate that. When we realize that the superstar of male-centric Bollywood
during 1980s was not a man but a woman, lets celebrate that. Every woman who
achieved something in life, would have achieved against all odds, facing many
difficulties. Lets be proud of all of them, lets gain inspiration from them.
And lets help our colleagues, our relatives, our neighbours, our fellow women,
in whatever they are aspiring to achieve. And stand by her in all her
difficulties. Unless a woman supports a woman, no one supports her.
Another way to unshackle
ourselves is to resist media stereotypes. Media is obsessed with stereotyping
women as loud viragoes. Social media is obsessed with posting comments on women
in the form of jokes, which insult and denigrate the attitude of women. And the
commercial industry insults women by portraying women as beautiful only if they
are slim or if they have certain body statistics. Why is a man’s figure or his
tummy not an object of shame but a woman’s figure or tummy is shamed. A woman
becomes a mother, has a rebirth herself when she gives birth to children,
undergoes many body changes and fights to come back to normal. Whatever shape
she eventually has, the society should make her feel proud of it, not ashamed
of it. But because of the intense media standards on what is beautiful and what
is not, women are psychologically forced to follow some fad diets, starve
themselves and spoil their health. Even school going girls are doing dieting.
This is a very dangerous trend. Yes, we need to have fitness. We should do
exercise or yoga if it fits in our daily routine, or at least some walking, but
beauty doesn’t mean looking like a pencil. We need a movement, first in our
minds, and then in the society, to stop this trend. Because of our workload at
home and at workplace, women need to eat well, be healthy, and feel confident
about whatever shape they are in. One report says that 80 % of present day
women above 40 are cases for bone related ailments like osteoporosis. So I
request all women to take your health seriously, get some sunlight for Vit D,
have iron and calcium supplements and above all, eat well. Don’t starve. We are
ourselves. We will not allow the media to judge us.
Friends, the sure way to
unshackle ourselves is to develop the confidence in our abilities. Seek
responsibilities, take active part in leadership positions in your workplace,
in administration, and in unions. If you develop the will and confidence, there
is nothing that a woman cannot do, as good as, if not better than, her male counterpart.
We have an immense task cut out before us. Once women gain employment, they
should be endowed with right to equality, right against discrimination in
workplace. Women should be assured dignity of labour, equal wages, beneficial
facilities and additional safeguards which compensate for their lack of level
playing field. These safeguards and benefits should be made statutory,
institutionalised, and implemented thoroughly. We should make relentless fight
for safegaurds that we are yet to achieve. We should be very vigilant. Because
there will always be attempts to mock, sneer, and trample on the safeguards and
the genuine benefits that we rightfully deserve.
"Achieving gender
equality and empowering women and girls is the unfinished business of our time,
and the greatest human rights challenge in our world." These are the words
of our present UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. In recognition of this
‘unfinished business’ and ‘greatest human rights challenge’, the campaign theme
for International Women’s Day for 2018 is selected as ‘Press for Progress’. The
campaign requires that the following activities are taken up:
a. Maintain a gender parity
mindset (question any lack of womens’ participation, identify alternatives that
are more inclusive, nominate women for opportunities, always include and
support women, think 50/50 as goal),
b. Challenge stereotypes and bias
(question assumptions about women, challenge statements that limit women,
always use inclusive language, work to remove barriers to women’s progress, bur
from retailers who position women in positive ways),
c. Forge positive visibility of
women (identify ways to make women more visible, extend opportunities to women
first, assume women want opportunities until declined, select women as
spokepersons and leaders, support visible women),
d. Influence others’
beliefs/actions (supportively call-out inappropriate behavior, campaign for
equality in meaningful ways, lead by example via inclusive actions, be a role
model for equality, actively contribute to change the status quo) and
e. Celebrate women’s achievements
(believe achievement comes in many forms, value women’s individual and
collective success, ensure credit is given for women’s contributions, celebrate
women role models and their journeys, support awards showcasing women’s
success).
Lets do that comrades. As
Chairperson of the Womens Committee of Confederation of Central Government
Employees and Workers, I call upon everyone to join hands and rededicate
ourselves to this call – Press for Progress. We will make it happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment