Deepti Ganapathy
The theme for International Women’s Day 2021 #ChooseToChallenge cannot be more appropriate at a time and moment in the new decade where a challenged world is an alert world. “Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions – all day, every day”- is the justification for this theme for 2021.
I have taught at several Business schools in India, where each year our classrooms show an increase in the number of women. This is a moment to be celebrated and rejoiced. It was in 1800s at the University of Pennsylvania that 20- year -old Anandi Bai Gopal Joshi became the first Indian woman to be a medic, after she lost her baby during childbirth. Encouraged by her husband whom she had married as a 13-year-old, she became well-known with a doodle by Google on her 153rd birth anniversary a few years ago. My 95-year-old grandmother recently asked me if there were women in my classroom and what percentage. Women today have greater access to rights and education, and this they owe to generations of women before who fought and sacrificed for where we are today.
India passed a law in 2013 to combat workplace sexual harassment. Gender diversity on corporate boards continues to a globally debated conversation- ever since in 2014, Sec 149 of the 2013 Indian Companies Act made it mandatory for listed companies to appoint atleast one woman director.
Our centuries years old culture has a long-standing tradition to educate women. The Vedas and Upanishads – a storehouse of ancient wisdom were debated upon and articulated by scholars like Gargi and Maitreyi. During India’s freedom movement, women fought bravely shoulder-to-shoulder with men.
Today, women are flying fighter jets, commanding space crafts, climbing Mt. Everest and winning medals in Olympics in male bastions like boxing, wrestling and weight-lifting. Yet, they have little control when it comes to their equation with men. The power struggle continues.
The #MeToo movement was back in public memory when the judiciary showed extreme consideration and sensitivity in their written judgement and noted that what occurs behind closed doors can create a case of concern on how these matters needs to be handled.
The need of the hour is for women to understand that charity begins at home – as mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, encourage men to be inclusive in nature and secondly stand up for each other – whether it is at home or work.
When women in my classroom write to me contesting the marks awarded to them for Class Participation, I give them a little pep talk- which I now state openly in my classroom. Have you felt inhibited by your gender and by the concerns you want to raise? Have you been stereotyped? When they agree, that these factors led them to not participate actively in class discussions, I show them the mirror and they get to reflect. What stops them from raising their hands up boldly and confidently? Isn’t the theme of the International Women’s Day in 2021 all about this factor? To raise the bar high and up? For those women before us and for those ahead of us? In this batch, I don’t think I need to give this talk- I can already see a dozen strong arms going up.
A section of this excerpt was included in the panel discussion “#MeToo: Voices from around the world”, at the international conference organised by International Association for Media and Communication Research 2018, held at University of Oregon, Eugene
Well said Dr.Deepti!
Happy Women’s Day!
Very inspiring. Indeed, we need to raise the bar high and up.