Celebrating Women’s Equality Day: A crown of creation

On the occasion of Women’s Equality Day SouLSteer talks to the most influential women of the town to know as to what needs to be done to empower women in the region 

As the famous saying goes society of women is the foundation of good manners. Gwalior has seen an upsurge in women participation in different sectors of the society, whether its medical sector, education sector or government sector. But still inequality has never diminished. “Sometimes inequality exists or sometimes it’s chosen for safety by a woman. But it all depends on the civilization of the society” says psychologist Dr. SB Gita Narahari. Being organized and finding a right partner who treats you equal to him should be the first golden rule that every woman should realize. “There has always been a secondary thought to promote a girl child in our city. Girls should be made aware during the academic tenure so that they can choose a right path in their life”, adds Pratima Mathew, Addl. SP Gwalior. In the city many families blissfully allows their son to go out of town for higher studies but they feel insecure about their daughter, that outlook has to be changed. Conveying a message for women future, Ruchi Singh, Vice President of ITM University says, “Women should be independent in all the three senses i.e. emotionally, financially and physically and most importantly in their thought process they should be liberated, along with all the responsibilities”.

“The “Save the Girl Child “campaign initiated in Gwalior by our Honourable Chief Minister with a view to ensure that the future population may maintain a balance ratio of boys and girls in the society is indeed very praiseworthy . The endeavour comes after the present trend portended a situation where more than 28 million boys in the state would be forced to remain single by 2050, courtesy female foeticide and infanticide that stemmed from a deep-rooted gender bias.  We at our school hold regular seminars on “Save the Girl Child” so as to bring about awareness amongst our students on such social issues”, expresses Tina Olyai, Director of Little Angels High School.

The two major aspect which plays significant role in gender inequality are education gap and awareness about the rights. Giving an overview about valuable legal rights, Santosh Singh, Superintendent of police Gwalior explains, “Right to lodge a complaint against stalking or vulgar comments, right to record a statement with a single police officer, right to lodge complaint at any time, women cannot be arrested after sunset and before sunrise, woman cannot called to the police station for interrogation, right to protect your identity etc. are among the few rights a woman should be aware of.”

Quote Unquote:

Pratima Mathew

Promoting the girl child and let them love themselves will surely let a girl accomplish almost everything. We should love each and every human being whether they are present in front of us or not, their existence is important in own ways.

Pratima Mathew, Additional superintendent of police, Gwalior 

Tina Olyai

The most important message I’d like to convey to all the young women is that you are “Girls today, women tomorrow & true leaders of the future” so just follow your dreams and sky is the limit.” In terms of female access to schooling, there are still major policy challenges yet to be met in terms of improving the quality of government schools and ensuring better opportunities for girls at higher levels of education.

Tina Olyai, Director, Little Angels High School

Dr. SB Gita Narahari

To think of girls as more much rational and emotionally mature will be a wise step to encourage girls to have higher participation in top management. Girls are much more compassionate and sensitive which has always been a requirement for medical field.

Dr. SB Gita Narahari, Psychologist

Ruchi Singh

Being in education, every day goes by with a new lesson learnt but all I can say is that your first competitor is yourself. If you are satisfied then that means you definitely are doing your best and the new best needs to be beaten. Gwalior has a lot to learn in the case of gender equality. The ray of hope is definitely seen.

Ruchi Singh, Vice President, ITM University

Dr. Bhavna Sharma

Gwalior has low socioeconomic strata which is pulling civilization backwards. There has always been a cut-throat competition for women, but they need to be bold, independent and speak for herself.

Dr. Bhavna Sharma, Gynaecologist & IVF Specialist