The men that I know (friends and family, that is!) don’t actually celebrate Women’s Day!
They’d probably wish me aloud (if I happen to remind them of the ‘occasion’ that morning!).
They’d probably say nothing if I wanted to do some spontaneous shopping.
They wouldn’t change their daily routine to make things a little ‘different’ just for that one day.
However, they are the kind of men who make me feel glad I am a woman in their world 🙂
Is ‘Women’s day’ about pampering only your loved one while treating others (men and women alike) shabbily? Is it about a quickly buying a greeting card or an expensive gift? Do you just wish someone, do the dishes that one time and post a picture on Facebook?!
Imho, it is about having respect for all women, whether she is your wife/mother/sister/friend. It is about believing that men and women are truly equal and that no one gender is in any way ‘better’ than the other.
Apart from being a good marketing gimmick (well, someone must have wanted to sell truckloads of greeting cards and red roses 😉 ), it is also a gentle reminder to both men and women that women are to be treated well, especially in a world where countless women still get beaten up by drunkard husbands, are illiterate just because they are women and are not sent to school, or suffer the humiliation and fear of marital rape… the list is endless. If you haven’t read Kalki’s raw and powerful post yet, please do read it.
Coming back to where this post started, the men I know do not celebrate women’s ‘Day‘. They celebrate the essence of it, every day of the year! They treat every woman with respect, not just the women they love.
The world needs more like them.
Writer-z-block 
2 replies on “The Men Who Don’t Celebrate Women’s Day”
Kalki’s monologue is an advertisement stunt and we fall for it. While most of it touches me and makes me choke up with the unfairness of reality, some of it, at least the stuff about appearance and glamor, we DO have a choice. Who stops us from having armpit hair long enough to pleat or unibrows? If she stands before the camera pouting with make up on, it is a life she chose because it gave her means to buy herself pretty things. She uses her body to get her way, and there is nothing wrong with it if that’s the life she chooses. Why the holier-than-thou, wronged woman attitude?
It has become fashion to blaming every small fart on male chauvinism. Yes, rape happens and should not. Dowry killing happens and should not. The glass ceiling exists, and should not. Fight those rather than getting popularity mileage through pretentious words.
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My servant maid, who slapped her drunk husband for trying to rape her, is a much better idol of womens day to me than all the Kalkis of the world combined.
Glad to see your comment LG. It differs so much from the general raving about the monologue. I did like bits of it. I liked the underlying theme of ‘just let me be’. And yes, kudos to your maid 🙂