This year is the centenary year of International women’s day which was started in 1911 to celebrate the acceptance of voting rights for women. It also commemorates the social and general emancipation of women, in all fields. Today times have changed much. Women have progressed and shown their worth in all fields. But still, not all women are lucky enough to have equal opportunities as men to get education and learn skills. In many rural areas globally, women are still struggling to bring water and do household chores right from childhood with no access to education. In this scenario it is important to review if women are truly liberated and what does liberty mean for women. Few decades ago in the last century, women’s liberation (popularly known as women’s lib.), was a big movement in European and western countries. But what I understand from contemporary literature, that it was a total revolution against anything a woman had to do or was supposed to do. Marriage and bearing children were looked down upon, “bra”, burning was considered to be a symbol of renouncing women to be sex symbols. With development, the west saw more women coming in the work force and opting to be single or liberated, because marriage was also considered to be a form of subjugation by them. But this extreme form of, “liberty”, proved to be unhealthy for the society. Demanding equal rights and sharing work equally very strictly lead to much chaos in families. The rate of divorce went up steeply, people started, “ live in”, relations for sex and companionship with no ties attached. Many children born out of such alliance, turned out to be delinquents as they had no proper parental guidance and influence. Net result of this trend (which is still not outdated) is high incidence of mental stress and related problems. When one does not have the emotional support and outlet provided by a family, an average person gets stressed up over trivial problems. There are strong minded people who live single all life and remain strong but not all are of such mental make up. Though legally and officially, equal opportunities are provided to women, but practically not all women are able to make use of these opportunities. They are not even aware of such chances to help them improve their lot. Today women have proved to be excellent in practically all fields, may it be medicine, engineering, aviation, e.t.c. But they still have to struggle in many places to show their competence. It is said that a woman has to work twice as hard as a man to show her worth. Many women work hard to achieve their desired goals but few like to take a short cut. They use their sexuality to gain favors with the men they are working with. It is a much undignified situation. Abuse of women and children in the family by men under influence of alcohol is known. But it is a bitter fact that some women are also addicted to alcohol and or drugs hopelessly. Their family has to support them and take care of them A few stray cases happen where a woman runs away with a paramour, abandoning her children and husband.Women have gained much economic independence now. But how one uses her finances is a matter of how sensible they are. A wise woman would contribute her lot for saving for the future or buy assets for the family. But there are others who would spend all their money on their own clothes and accessories without a care for other members in the family. It should be understood very well that, “women’s lib.”’ Is not letting women go scot free without any responsibility. A truly liberated woman is the one who is mature, responsible and committed to herself and those dependant on her. She has to make efforts for the betterment of self and her family. She also has to create a balance between her work and family. A well placed woman in the society can do much to help other helpless women in the society for their betterment by educating them, creating awareness about their rights and helping them to learn more useful skills. This is not necessary to be done on a large scale. Small efforts like helping just the domestic help at home can also contribute to this. When women realize the true meaning of their liberation, the world will definitely change in a positive way. rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk
