Feminists voice for gender parity

Henlly Phom DIMAPUR, MARCH 7 A woman is an epitome of courage, calm, intelligence and paradigm who breaks off from the conventional cocoon and ventures out into a path she never dared before. Today, the world salutes her unnoticed struggle for gender equality and her contribution to mankind on this International Women’s Day, March 8 every year. On the eve, we also see womenfolk, organizations, NGOs all over the world organizing various events to honour and inspire women to move forward towards development and prosperity of all nations. As the world celebrates International Women’s Day to honour the distinctive role played by women on issues needed to be addressed, Eastern Mirror received a string of messages from citizens and their ideas on celebrating Women’s Day. • International Women’s Day is a celebration of the numerous contributions that women are making to the society. It is a celebration of womanhood in itself. During recent times women have broken off from the traditional mold that binds them and ventured into paths never dared before. We are seeing barriers broken down and ascension of contribution by women towards every aspect of the society but till now the very idea “gender equality” has not been realized and accepted in its truest form. The theme “Pledge for Parity” on this year’s International Women’s Day is a noble and progressive step in the right direction for fostering this very idea. So make the “Pledge for Parity” today not for the mere reason of it being a good cause but because it is the very basis of social change, social progress and social equality. – Dr.Tiamenla, SDPO, Mon. • Coming from a family with a working grandmother then a working mother and now working sisters , who are all very independent with strong personas, I for that matter never had any difficulty in naturally inculcating the sense of equality among different sexes, never feeling challenged of my status as a Man. In my case the understanding was made clearer by experiencing both the sides of the coin within the same natural settings. The status of women as I saw was not always the same outside the ambit of my family. In patriarchal societies the plot only thickens for people especially men to understand that, before anything else every individual is a person. Hence , as we celebrate International Women’s day I hope we all learn to acknowledge and thrive on the platform of equality , not one Man more nor one Woman lesser. - Chumbemo M Patton, Nagaland Representative, Delhi Police for Northeast. • A women is all about been patient, understanding and above all to even sacrifice dreams and wishes. But I would rather portray our Naga women as the luckiest one. We are indeed been given the right to choose our dreams and aspirations. Be housewife, sister, working women, and entrepreneur or be anything. Let us try to live with an identity. Be it in any field let us strive for perfection, use our gifted creativity. Let us be example and inspiration. As an entrepreneur and single handedly running a boutique I’m living every bit of different emotions. But that gives me more strength for perfection. Be bold let us show that yes we can do much better or give us the responsibility to even run the political platform we can bring changes. –Temsusenla Kichu, President Rotary Club Dimapur & Proprietor Fusion Studio 14. • As the world celebrates International Women’s Day recognizing women’s economical, social, political and cultural achievements of our Naga Women in the society. But I believe that their achievements are not the end of all, there are continuous battles and struggles to be fought. There is urgency for gender equality. I believe it is the responsibilities of the entire society to part take in this process of women struggle by identifying ways to overcome women’s oppression and marginalization. As the whole world strives to create a planet 50-50 by 2030, let we the Naga society also take the pledge for gender parity. Kuknalim. - Sungkum Aier, President Dimapur Naga Students Union (DNSU) • “I respect the strength of a women because even her voice of silence moves the heart of a man”- Shahsha.L.Menhahu, President ENSF. • FEMINISM is a very misinterpreted term these days. All of us irrespective of what gender we are can be Feminists, the core desire being working for a society that respect and value difference. We should all work to root out conscious and unconscious bias; each of us can be a leader within our distinctive spheres of influence and commit to build a gender balanced society. Giving equal opportunities for both Men and Women. Let’s all Pledge for Parity - Gloria Tep Rengma, India’s Next Top Model Runner Up.   IANS New Delhi, March 7 Women’s right to equal opportunities and a dignified life must be respected, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday on the eve of International Women’s Day. “On the occasion of International Women’s Day, I extend warm greetings and good wishes to the women of India and thank them for their contributions over the years in the building of our nation,” the president said in a statement. “Women have always been given the highest level of respect in our country. Their protection and safety is a sacred duty of society as a whole. We must respect the right of women to equal opportunities and a dignified life,” he added. Mukherjee said it was a collective responsibility of all the Indians to “create an ecosystem that ensures the safety, security and dignity of women in society”. “On International Women’s Day, let us redouble our efforts for achieving gender equity and empowerment of women. Let us strive to enable our women realize their full potential and participate meaningfully in all aspects of our country’s development,” the president said. International Women’s Day is celebrated every year on March 8. The government on Monday said it will try to ensure that more women MPs get a chance to speak in parliament on Tuesday, the International Women’s Day. The government assurance came in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s suggestion on the matter in the Lok Sabha during a reply to the motion of thanks on the President’s address to parliament. “It was a suggestion from the prime minister; we will try to accommodate as many women MPs,” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told IANS. According to sources, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has also echoed similar sentiments. Modi had said: “8th March is International Women’s Day and may be (on) that day, only women members should speak in parliament.” There are at present 66 women MPs in the 544-member Lok Sabha and 31 women MPs in the 241-member Rajya Sabha. It is the highest number yet of women MPs in the Lok Sabha. The 15th Lok Sabha had 58 women members.