Hey, sistuhs, don’t we just love Women’s Day? It is that time of the year to do not just party-hopping but also shop-hopping. There are offers galore for women on this special day. Cosmetics, textiles – you name it, we get good discounts on this one day.
A fashion store is in the forefront of celebrating women’s fest and has even come out with a Women’s Day fashion anthem – Behen Kuch Bhi Pehen (Sister, wear whatever you please). Now that we have all become not just beauty conscious but also health-conscious, yoga schools and gyms have put out ads that lure you to their system with attractive discounts and free sessions.
Looking beyond cosmetics and clothes, a real estate major has come out with a mouth-watering offer for women buyers. The offer is for a few days with zero registration charges for the ready-to-move houses. The best part comes now: there are complimentary offers like modular kitchen, all electrical and bathroom fittings free and what not! Who would not fall for such an offer?
This is what Women’s Day is reduced to – I must agree that most special days are celebrated like that. We forget the reason for the special day. It is a consumerist world and people would love to keep it that way.
But Women’s Day, at least, should be a lot more than that. There are so many issues that cast a shadow on women’s well-being. There are health issues, rights issues, economic issues, representation in legislature and government agencies that need to be addressed.
At least in the case of the realtor, who has attractive offers for a woman homebuyer, it has an element of empowering her with a house to her name. In the case of others, where does it lead us all to? I do not mean to pontificate, but let us also find time to thrash out some of the serious problems confronting women. It is all nice to pick up the best offers in cosmetics and clothes but let us also remind ourselves and those around us that we are concerned about core issues of womanhood. What better day to talk about them than on a special day meant for women?