She’s a survivor, a juggler of tasks, a pioneer. She’s a homemaker, mother, breadwinner, streetwalker, student, friend, lover. She is every woman. She is you. And that’s what we’re celebrating this Women’s Day.
Many, especially the more jaded among us, rubbish the tokenism of such days, but let’s look past the slogans and empty gestures. Let’s make this a day to stop, consider and take stock. Think about it.
We were mourning the death of the Delhi gang rape victim when the sun rose on the first day of 2013. This brave young woman forced all of us to see the fault lines in our society. And we raged, for her and against the insidious misogyny that scars every woman — on the streets, in conversations, in newspaper columns, on blogs, on Twitter, in trains and office canteens. Eventually though, the fury burns out and everyday life takes over. Drudgery prevails, time and disappointment numb pain. But this doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten or that we’ve given up.
Fittingly, the United Nations’ theme for International Women’s Day this year is ‘A promise is A Promise: Let’s End Violence Against Women’. Today, we renew the pledge to not forget. It’s time for action, to break down biases and end violence against women. Because the angry voices that were raised last December should never be stifled… for the sake of our women and for the sake of our nation. Because, as we realised while putting together this special edition of the newspaper that has been put together by DNA’s women journalists, we are so much more than victims.
