Stike. Dance. Rise... To stop violence against women

This is my speech at the One Billion Rising, 14th February 2013. Thought of sharing it on my blog.....

Good afternoon Ladies and gentlemen, Thank you all for being a part of the One Billion Rising.

Violence Against Women – Some Key Facts from the U.N.    

      Violence Against Women is a huge public health issue and a violation of human rights. It results in a wide range of physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health issues for both men and women, compounded by women who are afraid to report the violence she faces. With little access to healthcare, education and opportunity, many women are left open to abuse.  

     

      Up to one in three women experience physical or sexual violence in their lives. This means your mother, sister, daughter, niece, granddaughter, cousin, or even you, may be or have been abused in some manner in your lives.        

      Do not be deceived: Violence against women is all about power. It is the attempted domination over your life by your abuser. 

      Violence against women is also a national health concern. Intimate partner abuse, or Domestic Violence, was estimated to exceed US$5.8 billion a year in the United States alone. The majority went into direct medical and healthcare services, something most women lack access to until something serious happens.

      Violence against women is NOT a private or family issue. It is a community and public health issue affecting not only the abuser and his victim but everyone around them.

Violence against women

Violence can be of various kinds not necessarily physical. In fact the repercussions of the non physical violence are much more deeper.  It is quite coincidental that I speak here today on the issue. I had no clue about the one billion rising and our company joining so many others must say nations in fact. I had written a post on my blog it was titled ‘Do women get things easier?  by just being who they are!’ I had shared my own observations on the issue. I am thankful for not being exposed to the kind of violence that we hear about but that’s not all… issues are there and there are women dealing with them, everyday!

I shall not speak about them, we have already heard a lot, What I wish to talk about today are Issues that affect the lives of the women here at work places and in our neighbourhood.

Empowerment:  When we women say empowerment we don’t ask for the sky but the idea of being fully able to authorize ourselves to be ourselves.

Stereotyping 

We certainly don’t want to be labeled housewives, a more respectable word homemaker or the career oriented girl. “Having a traditional wife who cooks, cleans and is submissive might be nice. However, choosing a capable, independent and career-oriented woman can also bring enormous benefits” These are the lines taken from a very successful author, Mr. X.. this is stereotyping. A woman should have the choice to stay at home or go out to work. Just because she has a career outside her home not necessarily means that she is capable, independent and brings enormous benefits. A housewife can also be all that, she can be more educated and capable than some career women but has chosen to stay at home. Similarly what she wears also leads to stereotyping. I could be wearing a pair of shorts, or a mini skirt, that’s my choice, I could be enjoying a drink just the same way I wear sarees and fast. It’s a choice I make and shouldn't that make you slot me in one category or the other.

Every woman has a war that she fights

just to create the right balance at home and in her life; she needs to be good both at home and at work, the pressures can be extremely stressful for her. The roles that she plays demand a lot of her time and attention, she is a daughter, a daughter in law, a wife, a mother, She plays the roles of compassion, that come naturally to her. Lets not take her out completely from that, there are times we need to understand that role, that’s how a few companies have created flexi times or flexi jobs for them. We salute that option.

Whats the need to work?

It hurts me just like a lot of other women when people ask me that. It’s a choice that we make, we have a good education and something to give back to society and also to make us independent. Why should we be asked the need for us to work.

I remember at the catering college, we were very few girls in the batch, the ratio was around 1:6 girls: boys. The boys would often tell us that we get things easier, during the campus placements we were told that we’d get jobs just by smiling. I could never ever take that. In fact the reason that we were at the college with them meant having fought our way to reach there. We worked equally hard, and slogged during our internship; we were the toppers in the batch and definitely did not get our job by just smiling.

We demand to be taken seriously 

Why should we always scream just to be heard?

Each one of us here today, lets pledge that we’ll not tolerate violence against women in any form; we must condemn it and pledge to raise our voices till justice is met. 
As women lets not blame others for every injustice that we face but fight on our own and ensure that we'll not be afraid, we'll take charge and we'll rise!

Thank you