According to the Global Gender Gap report of 2021, Iceland is considered the best country in the world to be a woman. But let’s relook at this statistic for a second – not particularly at Iceland, but the fact that there is actually a census telling you in which countries it is acceptable and safe to be the nurturing gender of mankind.
If you read further into this list, you’ll see the countries ranked at the top are progressive, economically and holistically sound. Which can only mean one thing – the progress of a country is reflected in its woman. It is how far she has come, that determines how far the country has come. Let me break it down further for you – she is the one who raises the future of the country. Give her growth, and that’s exactly what she will give back to the whole country.
The women in my world have been promised growth for as long as I can remember. Though today, ‘growth’ for the woman is essentially ‘equal opportunity’. In a country like India with so many variations in culture, norms, economy and education, equal opportunity is NOT simply offering something to everyone. (That’s much like giving a free laptop to a household that cannot afford electricity.) It should be more about tailoring well thought-out pathways that enable each and every citizen to reach a place of progress.
That is what equal opportunity is. This is why we need policies in place tailored especially for women. The woman has different needs and a different social standing than the man. What if the cure for cancer or a practical approach to global warming lies in the head of a young female scientist, who isn’t given an opportunity to sit in a boardroom?
Look at the happiness index of the Indian woman at any given point in time and compare it with the respective ruling party. You can consider the Equal Renumeration Act of 1976, or the Hijab row in Karnataka, 2022. Which ruling parties did these events happen under?
Yes, we’re in need of a seismic change in the Indian political landscape, which begins with each one of us casting a vote. But this time, let’s not embark on what I like to call the Backward Fairytale which begins with the promise of the ‘happily ever after’ assured in every electoral campaign and ends with the princess yearning for freedom from under the King’s reign.
If you and I elect a political party that doesn’t coin a single futuristic policy for the woman, and spends its tenure simply cleaning up the mess we are in, I believe that’s backward for the times we live in. Mediocrity and anything lesser will just not do. And since we need to be very sure this time, let’s look at which party has a history of looking out for its women, its people.
Choosing and trusting a party to lead each one of us to our future has never been an easy task for us as we live in a country with a diverse populace. But I assure you, the one place, the ONE place where men and women are considered equals today – is at the ballot box.
Make it count for the leader in the Indian woman. And the sun will rise on a grateful country.
