“Women Don’t Need To Find A Voice, They Need To Be Encouraged To Use It.”- Meghan Markle

Introduction

Our world is heading recklessly towards development. The notion and the thought of making cracks in the walls of well-plastered patriarchy and paying attention to women in society have been the first brick of development. This decade has given birth to different visions in our society. It includes novel sensitive perspectives, sense and awareness of feminism, productive roles of women, their values and needs, and their right to live freely just like a man.

My Story

Before addressing the need, facts, and necessity of women empowerment, let's talk about women's lives. I will not put a full stop on my chain of thoughts till I take you all on a walk on the territory of horrendous crime against women, the sick mentality of the society, rape culture, body shaming, harassment, and many more.

I would want to share my experience as a woman in Indian society. Like all other girls, I have also encountered the social ridicule of behaving according to society's norms. Growing up, I was a victim of unintentional discrimination. I never realized until I began to construe; I could see my body changing, my mind questioning the why of everything, and my heart wanting do things I've been denied to do. Before even knowing the meanings and effects of hormones, puberty, and adrenal rush, I felt caged. I was blamed continuously and restrained from doing things that my brother could easily do. It all started from not speaking loudly, not talking much with boys, never show my skin, keep a safe distance from boys, and many more the number is uncountable. Being questioned, judged at every step I took made me extremely furious. After I hit puberty, I became responsible for the activities due to my hormones, and the mere revealing of liking somebody made me a criminal in front of my parents. My high school was a total roller coaster ride; I was consistently body-shamed for gaining weight and being petite. All the 18 years of life, I have been taught to always think about society. It's the same society of unknown cruel people who judge and rule our lives according to their stereotypical customs and traditions.

I can't entirely blame my parents because our parents brought up by following the rule book of their upbringing. They wanted us to follow the same footsteps and agree to everything without questioning. And we did that because they never had an open conversation about sex, hormones, puberty, its effects, and how to deal with it. They never got that, so they never understood. The same they tried to pass on, but it seems like the rules need amendments. Changing a mindset, telling people not to follow their few sick traditional customs is the most challenging task. But it’s high time the change is made.

Facts and statistics

We all love numbers when it's about money, but you will hate numbers and the percentage when I start unraveling the facts of the number of rapes cases, harassments, acid attacks and various kinds of sexual assault cases against women in our country. Do we only express our grief about Hathras rape case Dr. Priyanka Reddy's rape case, Unnao rape case, or Nirbhaya rape case, because these are the only ones our news channels has highlighted?

Sadly, these are the very few cases that remind us and fills our social media stories with rage and angst. Let me give you the bigger picture of this horrendous crime; according to National Crime Records Bureau Data (NCRB), 33,356 incidents of rape were reported during 2018 involving 33,977 victims, an average 89 rapes daily. In 2017, the registered cases were 32,559, while in 2016, the number rose to 38,947. These statistics only belong to one country. Imagine how many girls are raped every day in 190+ countries all across the world. More than 60% of women have experienced sexual harassment in their workplaces. Rejecting proposals of the guys or not giving consent to sleep with your father has prompted men to throw acid on a woman. This excruciating physical pain also scars her emotionally for life- long. It is a hue and cry shame that marital rape, even after so many years' has not been criminalized in our country. One in three men admits that they've raped their wives, and one Indian woman is raped by her husband every three seconds. Above all, misogyny and egoism of men have reached the cliff of shamelessness. Now and then, we see our opposite gender tries to harass us mentally. What could be worse than hearing politicians objectifying women openly in the news channels! 

All a woman can do is stand firm and fight for herself because no physical and emotional violence is worthy of bearing any inhumane activities. Prior to having a right in society, women's empowerment has become the basic need for our social system. Women empowerment is not just about women; it's about men too. As women in the run for equality and our rights, we must not forget about equity. As men, they need not let their male ego come in the way of woman's betterment. Men need to support women in finding and giving voice to their oppressed voice so that they stand for themselves. The movement of empowerment demands acceptance and encouragement by society.

What you can do

The initiation of this movement should begin at home. Parents should understand that the guidelines of their upbringing could not be wholly followed for our generation. The paradigm shift of change and understanding can do wonders. We are responsible for making our parents realize the importance of change with time. Though it can be quite enigmatic and complicated for our parents and us at the beginning, but with constant push, they will gradually understand where our happiness resides. Our parents can start by not discriminating between their son and daughter. They need to open the doors of a conversation by breaking the so-called traditional custom of just imposing everything on the child. The discussion should involve talking about sex, menstruation, hormonal imbalance, peer pressure, drugs, etc. These conversations will act like an umbrella that will protect their children when they encounter these things as they would know that they have someone to go to without hesitation.

Right use of feminism

In this era of empowering women and enchanting the music of feminism, it becomes our prime responsibility to use the movement to rise from the right situation. The frequency of false accusations against men has also been frequently reported. Some women have misunderstood the concept of feminism and are using this as a weapon to demean men. They get swayed away without facing any charges because of fake allegations, the sexual assault of men are not even taken seriously in our country. This agenda isn't about attaining superiority. Women need not follow the concept of pseudo feminism, misandry for any limelight or their rights. This movement aims to get equal rights, treatment, and opportunities without being questioned because of gender. Most importantly, the law of equity, along with equality, is the key to a better world. Regardless of what gender a person belongs to, he/she should be held accountable for their actions. Everything should be based on one's capabilities. As an individual, a small step towards change is what can make a huge difference. We cannot judge people based on their gender and respect them for who they are. 

Conclusion

We are the society, and we can bring change if we stand up for what is right. All the women warriors who stood up for their rights in the previous decades have ignited this movement. Their cascade of hard work and fight is the result of today's women working and living their lives on their terms. I know the ultimate goal is yet to be accomplished, as it's just the beginning, and for reaching the destination, all we need is the attitude of never giving up on our rights, lives, and ourselves. The intention of this revolution is not to overpower. The purpose is not to create a patriarchal or matriarchal society but a world with human beings who are kind to each other.The physiological difference is the only difference made by Almighty. All the other divisions based on caste, creed, religion, color, gender is created by us. It's for all the humans out there, not just women-

"If you want to see the change, accept the change, be the change, let the change reflect on your personality and you will see, this world will become a peaceful place of beautiful souls residing together."