Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “Equal Status for Women” Complete Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Equal Status for Women

Eighth of March is celebrated every year as the International Women’s Day. It shows that the woman of today has come of age, so to say, and wants to lead a dignified life of equality with man. The slogan being raised today by the women of the world is : Equality, Dignity and Self-Respect is What We Want. This slogan is indicative of the new awareness among women the world over.

Mahatma Gandhi had once declared : “Women is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacities. She has a right to participate in every minute detail of the activities of man and she has an equal right of freedom and liberty with him. She is entitled to a supreme place in her own sphere of activity as man is in his.”

The Indian woman has played a silent, self-effacing role to sustain Indian civilisation down the ages. However, her status has undergone significant improvement since independence. Women’s welfare is now a prominent feature in all our Plans. Right from Mahatma Gandhi down to the present leadership, all our leaders have always insisted on education and equal rights for the women in India. It is heartening to note that today we have in India educated ladies who are very keen on taking up all types of work, including administrative positions. Women now accompany our exploration teams to the Antarctica. We are surprised to see the wonderful and accurate work women are doing in offices, such as typists, clerks, receptionists and officers. They are quick to understand and very efficient in the performance. They have won accolades from their superiors in whatever capacity they have worked. They are competiting for IAS, IPS, state Administrative Services and other examinations held by the UPSC, SSC and many other fields of life. Today we have women as Magistrates, Judges and Police Officers who are coolheaded, dispassionate, objective and impartial.

Today the role of men and women in our society is both collaborative and supplementary. The myth of male superiority is only a distortion that came in the wake of growing male domination. It is a paradox that there should be an increase in crimes against women, especially in the face of spectacular strides being made by them in various walks of life. Emancipation of women has occupied an important place in the scheme for social reforms undertaken in this country, in the later half of the 19th century.

Our Constitution ensures a place of dignity and honour for all women. The atrocities against women are a slur on the fair name of humanity. The incidence of crimes against women, which has started showing an upward trend at a time when India stands at the threshold of a socio-economic revolution, points to a deliberate mischief. Social evils have to be eradicated by a revolutionary programme of action to bring about a radical change in social behaviour towards women. An improvement in the situation can only be brought about by creating a strong public opinion in this respect.

During the last five decades women have entered in increasing numbers into salaried and remunerative occupations as well as professions which were previously the exclusive preserve of men. Today we find the difference that while women in former days worked along with men in the fields, now they work in factories or offices. In the field of politics there has been some regression. It is true that we have had a woman Prime Minister and four women Chief Ministers, but on the whole today lesser number of women are seen participating in our political life than previously. No doubt, the ruling party had at that time taken a policy decision that 30 per cent of the candidates set up to fight the election to the legislatures should be women, but the proposal turned out to be a still-born one. Year after year, we find decreasing number of women entering the political arena. One explanation for this is that while among the very advanced and rich families, both men and women reach high positions, among the lower strata of the society and condition of both men and women is very precarious. We should remember that, with the advent of freedom, Indian women have recaptured their dignity, individuality and respect. Today every woman gets equal opportunity of education and employment.

Violence against women in India is becoming more frequent and is alarmingly on the increase. Today in almost every stratum of our social life, women are treated as inferior creatures. We may go on shouting about constitutional equality between men and women, but we have yet to go a long way before women find an equally safe and honourable place in our society. We daily read and hear about ladies living in busy localities being murdered in board daylight. It is so because they have some yellow mental on them. Rape is not the only motive force behind the crimes against women. A woman, by her very constitution is vulnerable. Young girls are deceived on promises of a decent job or marriage. Once a girl has fallen, she is blackmailed into a life of vice. If we want to get a feel of the widespread evil of crime against women, we have only to know the experiences of working girls from the moment they leave their home up to the time of their return. At all times they are exposed to the prying eyes of hungry males of all ages and all classes. Women in our country, even after five decades of independence, continue to be helpless victims of the males chauvinism and high-handedness in almost every walk of life. Whether a woman is a poor factory worker a domestic servant, a middle class office-goer or a highly paid government officer or a company executive, she is the focal point of hundreds of hungry eyes, wherever she is and whatever she is doing. This happens, notwithstanding the fact that our Constitution ensures equality for all.

The Constitution has not only provided for equal rights and privileges for both men and women but has gone a step further and made special provisions for women and children. In spite of being taken these safeguards, Indians in their family life are governed by personal religious laws, which have failed to give women their due. It is surprising that in spite of so many laws, women still continue to live under the stress and strain of male domination that manifests itself in the form of various kinds of hardships and indignities meted out to them. To ensure equality of status for our women we still have miles to go.