Women’s Day: A Soul-Searching Reflection

Oh… Today is Women’s Day again… but there are tears in my eyes, anger, and immense pain! What is this day really? A garland of flowers, selfies, hashtags, or that silent scream bursting from the chests of millions of mothers and sisters? Listen, listen from the heart – because this truth is so bitter it burns the mouth!

The blue drum! Remember that horrific case? In Meerut, Muskan Rastogi, along with her lover Sahil, stabbed her husband Saurabh, slit his throat, chopped him into pieces, filled a blue drum with cement, and hid the body! And now, in jail, she gave birth to a daughter and named her ‘Radha’! Radha? The same Radha who was Krishna’s beloved, the symbol of purity and devotion! And this Muskan? In the name of ‘freedom’, she spilled her husband’s blood, shattered a family, and brought a child into the world behind bars! What kind of empowerment is this?

This is hell! This is heart-shattering brutality! If our daughters are learning this kind of ‘freedom’, what will tomorrow bring? A blue drum in every home? Have you decided Radha’s future by doing this?

And this isn’t just one case! In Lucknow, a son shot his father, chopped him up, and stuffed him into a blue drum! Rajasthan, Ludhiana – the blue drum has now become a symbol of death!

Why? Because in the rush to become ‘modern’, we’ve forgotten our values! Open relationships, live-ins, beer parties, drugs – all in the name of ‘empowerment’! But what’s left inside? Loneliness, depression, suicide!

The suicide rate among Indian women is nearly double the global average in many reports! Girls aged 15-29 have some of the highest suicide rates in the world! 

Why? 

Because we’re blindly copying Western ‘freedom’, but not learning the good things – family values, support, responsibility! 

There, loneliness kills; here, we’re killing ourselves!

My mother! My sister! My friend! They are the truly empowered ones! They wake up in the morning, make tea, get the kids ready, hear taunts – “Why go out as a woman?” – but quietly head to work! They sweat all day, come home in the evening and manage everything. They endure beatings in the name of dowry, suffer domestic violence, yet stand up the next day! When depression hits, they scream, cry, vent their anger – but they don’t hang themselves! They don’t grab a bottle of alcohol! They don’t abandon their family! This is real strength! This is the indomitable power of the Indian woman!

And our young generation? Getting drunk and passing out, vomiting in taxis, getting entangled in live-ins and leaving families behind! The moment there’s a little trouble – “Die!” – kill yourself or kill relationships! Parents are left crying – those who sacrificed day and night, dreamed dreams, gave everything for you. One night of ‘party’ destroys it all! Oh, what kind of freedom is this? This is slavery to your own weaknesses! 

To addiction, ego, loneliness!

The true meaning of Women’s Day is to salute those mothers made of earth who till fields in villages, get crushed in city buses, yet still smile. Who don’t differentiate between son and daughter, teach values, but never bow themselves! Empowerment doesn’t mean rebellion – it means responsibility! It means becoming so strong that the world tries to break you, but you don’t break – instead, you become stronger and make others stronger too!

And suicide? 

My soul trembles seeing the NCRB data! In India, women’s suicide rate has often been reported as nearly double the global average in various studies and periods. Domestic violence, dowry, family problems, illness – all reasons! Housewives form the largest group – over 50% of female suicides in many years! Because they endure silently, cry quietly, but can’t tell anyone!

My mother! She used to wake at 5 in the morning, make tea, send us to school, then go to work – hearing taunts, “Why go out as a woman?” But she never stopped! In the evening, she’d return, handle everything, ease father’s fatigue, teach us studies. She felt pain, cried secretly at night, but smiled in the morning! She didn’t drink alcohol, didn’t pass out – she just endured, and taught us to endure! She was truly empowered! She is the Indian woman – who, after enduring torture, stands up the next day! 

Does it hurt, or is your soul awakening?

So today, cry a little. Hug your mother. Tell your sister – “You are strong!” Tell your wife – “Without you, I’m incomplete!” And promise yourself – we won’t adopt fake ‘freedom’; we’ll become empowered through real values!

When you stop sheltering sons or husbands who commit rape, when you stop being happy seeing your daughter dancing drunk at parties. When you change yourself not just with clothes but with values and thoughts. When you stop domestic violence in the neighborhood. When you hear beating sounds from a house and ring the doorbell once to ask if everything is okay?

When you teach your helper or maid some good skills so she doesn’t face money shortages again. Then you will be truly empowered. Then celebrate Women’s Day.

And for those people who only remember mother, wife, sister, daughter when they need something. Without need, sometimes ask those who once gave you time. When everyone fulfills their responsibilities properly, then raise the slogan of women’s empowerment.

(Now has a storm risen in your heart? Have tears come? If yes, share it – because this pain can’t be borne alone. If not, think… why?)