नारी तुम केवल श्रद्धा हो!!!

In every era or historical period, in all languages, in all places women have always been tagged. Jaya Shankar Prasad, a famous hindi poet, describes women as "नारी तुम केवल श्रद्धा हो ” which means women are epitome of comapassion. The word ‘shraddha’ conveys several meanings compassion, grace, affection and humility. Shakespeare sees women frail {Frailty thy name is woman} and women are given the highest status by the Sanskrit writers,  यत्र नार्यस्तु पूज्यन्ते रमन्ते तत्र देवता: “ Gods reside there, where women are worshipped .Women have always been given different patterns by others as its rightly discussed by D.H Lawrence in his essay, “Give Her A Pattern” we always see in woman a perfect wife, a compassionate mother, giving sister, wild prostitute, a sophisticated secretarary but never  respected them as only woman. The condition is the same all over the world. In India specifically, Women have always been marginalized or in the word of Ania Loomba, “Doubly colonized”. In the Second Sex, Simon de Beauvoir writes that women are not born woman but they are made woman. The sentence is self explanatory. Women in India are raised in an environment where they are not made comfortable with their biological existence. There are several taboos related to different biological processes such as menstrual cycles. They feel ashamed of what is an indispensable and important part of their existence. As per a recent survey by world health organization, only 20% of women in India have access to clean sanitary napkins and 80% of women are using sand or ash in place. There is a taboo attached to the whole process, they live in isolation during this period. Girls don’t attend the schools because the administrators have never thought of providing closed toilets. The report is full of references of similar instances. What an irony! We bestow upon women the status of Goddess but subjugate them every now and then and ignore their presence. I would like to draw attention to all who are availing the luxuries of life, especially those who are placed in a position where they can influence the decision of policy makers to the plight of women in India. I consider any of the theories on women are unsubstantial before these core issues. Before placing women on high pedestal why can’t we simply accept and subsequently respect their existence.