May 28, 2014 is a day that the world lost two very special ladies, Maya Angelou, the renowned American
poet, author and human rights activist and Barbara
Huberman, a determined advocate for sexual education in America who fought
successfully against teen pregnancies. They died at the age of 86 and 72
respectively. They were both strong women who spent their lives strengthening
the voice of womankind and encouraging others to do the same. Their message deserves to be spread far and
wide so that the good work they did will carry on and change lives across the
globe.
Maya
Angelou was best selling author of seven autobiographies, and several books of
poetry and essays. She received over 30 honorary doctoral degrees and several awards
including the Grammy. In February 2011, she was awarded the ‘Presidential Medal
of Freedom’, America’s highest civilian honour.
“We need to recognize and applaud our heroes and she-roes”, said
Angelou. She believed that empowered individuals, whether men or women need to
be held up as shining examples to the rest of mankind to emulate and admire. Women
must be applauded as she-roes, for their courage, grace, intelligence, wisdom,
not just as ‘heroines’ or stereotypical consorts to the real doer- the hero.
Angelou
believed in celebrating womanhood. “I am grateful to be a woman. I must have
done something great in another lifetime,” she said. In her poem, ‘Phenomenal
Woman’ Angelou captured the essence of feminity, which is beauty itself and
needs no other special characteristics to render a woman beautiful.
“Now
you understand
Just
why my head’s not bowed,
I
don’t shout or jump about
Or
have to talk real loud.
When
you see me passing,
It
ought to make you proud,
I
say,
Its
in the click of my heels,
The
bend of my hair,
The
palm of my hand,
The
need for my care.
‘Cause
I’m a woman,
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal
woman,
That’s
me.
She
felt it to be perfectly reasonable that women would stand up for women’s rights
as she exclaimed, “I’m interested in women’s health because I’m a woman. I’d be
a darn fool not to be on my own side.” She also supported that women strengthen
themselves educationally, economically, psychologically and physically. She
upheld self empowerment as the rational path to a liberated existence on earth.
“A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s
victim.” Her life was full of turmoil as a young African girl in America where
she herself was the victim of hurtful discrimination and sexual abuse. She
overcame all that to become a voice of inspiration through her books and talks.
Our
second very special lady, Barbara Huberman was a nurse at a hospital in North
Carolina when a life changing experience occurred. She was assigned to
help with the childbirth of a girl who was little over ten years old. She held
the child mother’s hand for most part of the two day labour process and the
sight she saw when she came back was to find the child mother filling in a Mickey
Mouse colour book with her newborn beside her. “I just couldn’t take it
anymore, with the children getting younger and sadder. I said, someone’s got to
work on prevention,” she later revealed. Her strategy was to open up dialogues
and encourage talking about sexual issues with children and adolescents in the
safe environment of home or Sunday School. She stressed that if parents and
guardians don’t talk to their children about sexuality, the streets will. She
also advocated policy level changes and a paradigm shift in how government
viewed this problem. “Teen sexual behaviour is viewed in many contexts: a moral
failing, a political issue, a private family matter, a public health concern,
but seldom as a developmental matter.” She was highly criticized too, mostly by
self appointed moralists. She replied to them in the State General Assembly,
“To opponents of sexuality education and family planning who say… ‘It is
morally wrong’, I say it is morally wrong for us to allow young people to be
sent into the adult world without the knowledge skills and values to negotiate
sexual decision making responsibility.”
While
Maya Angelou stood for making women equal and empowered members of society and
highlighting their strength, Barbara Huberman made it a life mission to put an
end to the sexual vulnerability of girls and overcome their biggest weakness.
Both of them succeeded and together they represent two ends of the entire
spectrum of women related issues with empowerment on one end and protection on
the other. These are the two aspects any nation must tackle if it hopes to have
a policy that truly delivers the goods on making women part of the mainstream society
and real contributors to nation building. With the new government having
started on the right note with 25% of the cabinet comprising of women, one hopes
that the range of issues disempowering our women today will be attacked from
both ends of the spectrum.
Empowerment
includes giving women the opportunities they deserve and creating an enabling
environment for them to succeed on the basis of their merit. The BJP members
were pressing for Women’s Reservation Bill which BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi even helped
draft. Now is the time to bring it into force. Equally important is the need
for the new leaders of the nation to keep up a mass communication campaign
wherein all of them including the prime minister talk about the rightful status
of women in society as respectable equals, not weak inferiors. This seemingly
small communication effort will itself do wonders because at the roots of the
material economic and political discrimination against women, lies the non-material
socio-psychological cause. It needs to be addressed at that root level through
communication exercises if real and lasting change is to occur.
Protection
involves protecting women from rape and especially young girls from sexual
predators and pedophiles, in the street, in the homes, online, everywhere.
Protection of females equally involves sensitization of young girls and
ensuring sexuality education for them. It includes empowering all females with
self-defence classes and basic legal knowledge so that if they find that the
police is not helping them, they can confidently knock at the doors of court,
not be compelled to commit suicide in the false belief that all their options
are closed. Also, the police needs to be sensitized to women related issues and
made accountable because they are important stakeholders in the protection of
women. For this to happen it is essential that the archaic imperial laws which
govern our police are put away and fresh laws are brought in to ensure
transparency and accountability.
A global poll by Thomson Reuters found India to
be the fourth most dangerous country in the world for women, following Afghanistan,
Democratic Republic of Congo and Pakistan. Even Somalia is better off at number
five. India, the biggest democracy on earth cannot find respect in the eyes of
the world if it cannot ensure dignity for its women who make up 49% of the population.
The voice of women must be heard in the Media, in court-rooms, in board-rooms,
in defence forces, Panchayats, local political bodies and Parliament. Their representation
in the nation’s power centers should not be mere tokenism but a realistic proportional
representation. Every woman must have control over her own life, her body, her
time and her money. This can only happen when women do not look toward others
for protection or applause but protect themselves and applaud themselves. ...Divya Gurnay.
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