For generations, women are known to hold families, homes, communities, and stories together. Whether at house or at work, their contribution has always been powerful and inspirational.
The tendency of women to operate closely in groups or in pairs with one another is obvious : a woman becomes an inspiration for another and she also builds a space for another woman to shine. On my personal note, the power and strength I have gathered to speak for women, follows from the values my mother and grandmother taught me. The care for others, the strength for one-self and the resilience for life challenges are something that I inherited from them. I believe this is true for most of the women too. Women, in general, are always seen building one another. On the surface, everything for women and about women seems to look perfect and in harmony.
But why is it then, we still talk about women’s problems and concerns, why do women still feel that they are neglected, discriminated, and not understood, and why do we still find one women becoming a problem for another?
For a very long time, I have debated myself with all these questions. However, with a deep and long thought into these matter, I now see these questions from a different angle. In general it is good to think about women! Because women deserve their own space for their well being and overall health.
I am not trying to say that women are different creatures and are separate from men. But if we keep away all the ideas of the gender discriminations and block all the propagandas on gender, we can clearly see that there are differences between men and women, I do not deny. The physical differences is obvious and the biological and psychological differences are evident.
If we just sit down for a moment and think from our own experiences too, women are different from men or consider it the other way, men are different from women. But the difference that they have should not be a factor for creating discrimination and gender gaps. It should not be the reason that women feel isolated and still question about their identity. Rather, it should be the reason why they feel valued and are given their own space.
For a lot of people, this blog might feel very repetitive – another women health activist and the old talk on gender equality and women. Some might even think that women are already so advanced in this modern era, so why are we still talking about equality and space for women.
But I would like to suggest to not only look through one lens or generalize the situation of women, in one place, to the whole world.
In many places of the world, women themselves feel that they are not represented, not heard, and are constrained by societal rules and norms. Take my country Nepal for example, I have seen and heard many women expressing these feelings of discrimination. I have seen disparities not only in the societal norms and roles but also in the sector of health and well being.
The prevalence of Chhaupadi Pratha while despite it being illegal, since 2005 A.D. is a good and popular example which shows how health of women is neglected. Chhaupadi Pratha is a common practice in the far-western region of Nepal, where menstruating women are kept away from the houses in the farms with animals or even in a mud house. There have been many instances where these women become targets for sexual abuse, wild animals and insects, and several illnesses due to poor hygiene. This is a very harmful practice that not only neglects the health and hygiene of a women during the monthly cycle but also affects the mental status of young girls in a negative way.
This is just a highlight of one cultural practice that lowers the status of women and their health, in one of the countries of the world. Now think about how many other practices and how many other countries are around the world. By practices, I not only mean the cultural practices, it could be familial, societal or even national. Some of these practices are the ones that we carry out daily in our lives and might not even be aware of.
But why is it important to look what the problems of women are? Is it really important? To answer these question, let me ask you, do you want to be locked in chhaupadi when you get your next period? You wouldn’t want to. But why not? Because you know that it is harmful for you and your body, and can impact you and your generations in a negative way. You make a choice because you are aware and have choices. But a lot of women out there in the world, cannot make a choice for their own health and wellbeing not because they do not have choices but because they are not aware of their own self and their choices. And in most of the cases men too are not aware of the unique differences between themselves and women. As a result women are marked as poor, weak, and emotional.
What about the problems that men face then? Don’t they deserve their own space too? Yes they do and so do we! It is not about shouting about each others’ problems and rights with one another. But it is about appreciating each other’s similarities as well as the differences. Having one less or more of something doesn’t make one superior or inferior of another.
So, let me remind you one more time, it is good to think about women. And when we think about women, we already have created a space for their well-being as well. And then, the thing left to do is to make women and men aware of this space.
Ananta_Stree 