Everyday is a Woman’s day!

by Samangie WETTIMUNY

Have you ever asked yourself as to why no one ever thought of dedicating a day for men as they did for women? I have pondered over the matter ever since I ‘learnt’ that I am a girl. In our calendars we have dedicated days for the disabled, the deaf, AIDS patients, and elders, but not for those so-called “Men”. Finally the conclusion I arrived at was ‘having a day for women itself means that women are less privileged, fragile and need help from the rest of society!’

Tomorrow is ‘our’ day when all women get together and fight for their rights, when politicians, diplomats and academics get on to the stage and deliver speeches on women’s rights!

Ironically among those ‘competent’ speakers there may be at least a few ‘men’ who have no genuine regard for women- who would merely treat women as sex objects, who would crack nasty jokes at women behind their backs, who would seek the company of their mistresses leaving their wives at home!

Motherhood is held in high esteem in all societies, but the same enthusiasm is hardly seen in families when a couple is blessed with a baby girl! If a man is good at carrying tales, picking up quarrels over trivial matters they will be labelled as “women”. Whenever something goes wrong in your office or anywhere, some men may try to put the blame on women. The most common remark is Genu Ekka Weda Karanna Giyama Ohoma Thamai. Girls are expected to be soft spoken, fragile and timid, and if you are outspoken, you’ll get labelled as “too smart”, “too demanding”.In a world where female babies are killed soon after birth, where female foetuses are aborted, women are being raped and murdered, these petty issues could be seen as insignificant.

But such sort of negative attitudes has largely contributed to most of the suffering borne by women worldwide. Despite all barriers women have moved forward. In Sri Lanka the majority of university students in the Faculty of Arts are females. More and more females are entering the Faculties such as Engineering, Medical, Management and Architecture. They hold higher positions professionally than they did a half a century ago.

In Sri Lanka of all Buddhist objects of worship the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi and the Sacred Tooth Relic are considered the most significant. It was Arhant Sangamitta who brought the Bo Sapling of India’s Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi to Sri Lanka while Princess Hemamala brought the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha hiding it in her hair to protect it from enemies. This itself is ample proof of their capabilities.

Having a loving father, a caring husband, or a helpful brother is indeed a blessing for any woman. But on the other hand it is by the same opposite sex that females get harassed!

It is because of the physical vulnerability of women that they do need a day, to put their woes into words. All in all, it is because of men’s “unruly behaviour” that a special day is dedicated to women !!! “If not for men’s lust and unruly behaviour, do we really need a special day for Women?” I asked Prof. Emeritus Kusuma Karunarathna.

“Though the concept of having a special day for women did not originate in Asia, I think it is apt to have such a day. But we should not restrict it to just one day.”

As she said it is better to have at least one day to discuss in detail about the harassment of women. “Over the years we have achieved a lot. But we have a long way to go. Domestic violence and all other forms of harassment against women should be eliminated.”

Prof. Karunarathna said that though Sri Lankan women have achieved enough freedom legally, there are certain males who block them while enjoying themselves fully.

Since 1975 the United Nations has been celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8 every year. The United Nations’ theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Equal rights, Equal opportunities: Progress for all” . In his message to the ‘International Women’s Day 2010’ the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki- Moon stated that gender equality and empowerment of women are central to the Millennium Development Goals.

Commenting on the UN theme for this year, Prof. Karunarathne said that it is quite apt for Sri Lanka. “This is a decade of development. Many development projects are under way and women’s role is quite important in achieving development goals. Still, women are the major foreign exchange earner for our country.”

As she noted even in traditional societies women’s role had been significant in many important spheres, but unfortunately they were not fully recognized.