I AM a bit skeptical about the concept of celebrating Women’s Day. As a woman, myself, I wonder what do we get out of it? What is it all about? Are wife’s treated well and that too only for a day? Are mother’s appreciated for their thankless efforts? Are daughters and daughter-in-laws given a special treat? I don’t think so. For most, except for the involved NGO’s its a meaningless occasion .

Women may be the most unappreciated and long suffering members of society as they face discrimination in most aspects of life. But who is to blame and are we really better off? We talk about empowering women by getting them into professional life but I feel that women have only got a worse raw deal.

Not only do they have to perform the man’s job of fending for themselves with having to use public transport to reach workplaces but then they also must come home to a long list of feminine duties that must be fulfilled. These include cooking, cleaning, playing hosts to guest and family while it’s of course the men’s right to relax. Is that emancipation and fair I wonder?

Women may have become financially independent but they are still hard up and face societal pressures. Ask any single woman how hard it is to live alone. They are much more vulnerable, open to all forms of accusations and intrusions. Of course they are not considered the norm, most people view them as sad misfits, if not thought of (by men) as available prey or women of loose character.

Who is at fault, I feel the cause of women’s unhappiness is women themselves, be it in the form of the insecure mother-in-law who can’t bear to see her son separate, jealous sister-in-laws, partial mothers who belittle and neglect daughters and favour sons and catty, gossipy female colleagues who just cant bear to see another woman outshine them.

Until woman change themselves I doubt that any NGO will make the difference in bringing dignity to womanhood.

FARZANA REHMAN
Lahore