Some countries and societies have been observing International Women's Day for more than a century. For some, the occasion is something of a recent happening, while others in remote areas may not have even heard about it. This huge awareness gap could make the fight against gender inequality, violence and abuse, gender-based discrimination, etc. that the world envisions to eliminate, even harder. And issues relevant to those from developed countries could be irrelevant to their counterparts in other nations where people are still fighting for their basic rights and necessities. To address gender inequality and bias against women more effectively, action should be taken after considering the issues at the grassroots level as plight differs from place to place and society to society. More awareness programmes should be conducted in remote areas; ‘once in a year’ workshop won’t make much impact, especially among the poor who are more worried about putting food on the table than fighting for their rights. Education and improvement of living standard are vital to bring about gender parity. Change should start from homes, educational institutions and communities. In short everywhere.
Change can be seen in Nagaland too over the years and women surely enjoy better opportunities today than a few decades ago but the pace of progress is painfully slow. The government departments, religious bodies, civil society organisations, educational institutions, etc. observe International Women's Day to create awareness about their plight and conduct seminars on other days too by engaging women and students in intellectual discourse. While change is visible, women in the state are still deprived of rights as basic as property inheritance, which has been widely debated but no action taken. Talks about “women empowerment” make no sense in the face of resistance to include women as equal players in decision-making. The limited number of women serving in civil society organisations, including village councils reflects the role of women in decision-making. It is also to be seen if the political parties in the state will field women candidates in the assembly elections to be held next year or will once again turn out to be an all-men contest. Many women won’t complaint about it as they are used to it- the chained-elephant syndrome. Some will even have the audacity to entirely blame women for this. While the argument that women should first stand for elections holds some water, it is not even remotely possible in a society like ours where husbands often decide who their wives should vote for during an election. Subjugation begins right from the kitchen. Everything relapses to same old ways despite knowing the urgent need for change. It’s all hate and no cattle so far. Our society has terribly failed to create an environment for women to stand up for their rights. This has to be set right for a progressive society free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination based on gender.