Women are an integral part of human society. But for a woman, there couldnt have been any man.

She is the mother of mankind. Despite holding such an important and unquestionable position, role of women has been defined by men over millennia. Our Vedas tell us that women held an important place in ancient culture. No ritual was ever complete without the presence of a woman by her mans side. All our gods are worshipped alongside their heavenly consorts. There is no dichotomy there. No one questions this. The staunchest of male chauvinist reverentially bows his head to Goddess Lakshmi, or Durga. It is not considered a sign of weakness to bow to female deities. Women at home and society in general, are a different cup of tea. They are treated as second class citizens. How did this battle of sexes begin? How did the men win the winning hand? I think that economics had a role to play in the scheme of things. When man took on the role of a bread earner, and woman took the natural role of a nurturer, these roles suited their intended role by the Creator. Man was physically strong, while the woman was inherently strong. Over a period of time the man started believing that his role was superior to that of the woman as without him there would be no food at the table. Womans role was taken as for granted. The physically feeble woman was led to believe this lie for centuries. Someone as respected as Socrates said that the only reason he put up with his wife, Xanthippe, was that she bore him sons. He said it was like putting up with the noise of geese because they produce eggs and chicks. What an analogy from the most revered philosopher of all ages! Closer home Manu said in 200 B.C.: "by a young girl, by a young woman, or even by an aged one, nothing must be done independently, even in her own house". "In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sons; a woman must never be independent." It is only when things went way beyond the level of tolerance that the women raised their voices. The first such voice was heard loud and clear in the early 19 th century, when the term women suffragists became a household word in the west. We were a British colony at that time, but women across Europe and United States rose as an entity demanding suffrage, or the right to vote. It is to the credit of these courageous women that today womens right to vote is a given in most of the free world, though there are still some countries, mainly in the Middle East that still deny women their universal right to vote. The suffragists had two points of views. One view was that womens natural place was at home and the voting rights will enable them to help formulate laws that affect life at home. The other view was that men and women should be equal in every way and there was no such thing as a natural role for a woman. The suffrage movement can be seen as the first wave of the feminist movement that caught widespread imagination in 1960s -1980s. This second wave dealt with the inequalities of laws, as well as perceived cultural inequalities. Although the term feminist was coined in 1880, its usage as a movement gained ground in 1960s onwards. Feminists were those men and women who wrote, spoke and acted on behalf of women and their rights to social, economical, and political equality. Famous writer Rebecca West defined feminism the best with her now famous comments, I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat, or a prostitute. Unfortunately this wave got more publicity and notoriety for now infamous, and according to some fictitious bra burning episodes, and got identified with that. In this phase, women tried to equate themselves with men by proving that they were as good as men, if not better. Womens Rights Movement gained mass support in the latter half of the twentieth century when the essential problems like discrimination, inequality and limited opportunities continued to confront women in all spheres of life. The phrase Womens Liberation appeared in print media in 1966. Late sixties also marked a period in human history when more and more women joined institutes of higher education. From then on, women have not looked back. Today at the dawn of the 21st century the women across the world are placed at a position of advantage. They are literally on the move. They are paying heed to their inner voice. They are no longer interested in hollow jargon and jingoism. They are finding their individual and collective voice. They are aligned with their conscience, moving ahead with purposeful strides.

21st century is the century for change. The Planet Earth is ready for The Shift of the Ages. In this New Age, love and compassion will rule the roost, and the woman with her natural attributes of compassion will sow the seeds of global transformation. These changes have already begun, and soon they will gain an unprecedented momentum. The time is ripe for women of all races, castes, class, and nationalities to come together to be the harbinger of this change. Mother Earth is crying for attention, soon like the mythological Shakti it will show its true might and annihilate all the evil forces along the way. Only women can be empathetic to the Mothers plight in her hour of need. When I say women, I mean the feminine in men and women alike. Indian scriptures have always spoken about Ardhnareeshwar, the Masculine- Feminine deity. The time has come to invoke that Masculine-feminine balance in all of us. Events on Earth demand the emergence of the feminine essence of Love all around. In the 21 st century women do not need to look at the historical injustices done to her. Its time to put all that behind her and look forward to her empowered role in this Aquarian age. Women today need not look anywhere for a perfect role model. They need to look within and listen to their intuition, to take the right action at the right time. All they need right now is to set the right intention, and all their intentions will bear fruits sooner than later. Such is the power of the New Age. You may well be asking, how can we change the traditions that have been entrenched in our systems through ages? All I can say is that no matter how entrenched the traditions appear, if they do not resonate with your present reality, they are no longer true for you. This entire Universe is ever-changing, why do you and I need to be stuck in age old systems that no longer serve any purpose? The entire creation is constantly in motion; even our so called traditions are loosening their stranglehold. Try them, give them a push, they will give way. Have you seen a grown up elephant tied to a tiny stake with an ordinary rope? Have you ever wondered why doesnt the mighty beast just give a powerful tug and break free? The problem is that since childhood the elephant has been conditioned to believe that he is not capable of breaking free. As a baby, when he was tied to the stake for the first time he did try to break free but could not succeed, eventually he gave up trying, thinking that he cant; and now when he has grown up to be the most powerful of animals on this Planet, he believes that he cant do it. Beliefs are that powerful. Women need to break free of their limiting beliefs. Do you want to know how you, as a person, can make a difference? In this cosmic dance, we are all partners. When one of us moves a step, it helps rotate the Universe by one degree. When each one of us makes a small, insignificant move, it has the power to move the mountains. Now do you believe in your power? Someone has to become the first to move in your community, your neighborhood, your country. By taking one step, one turn you will affect the lives of women you dont even know. Who are you waiting for? Get ready to write the history. Will you? Some of you must be experiencing doubts. I do not have so much courage. You do not need to be Rani Laxmi Bai to bring about this change. All you need to do is find your voice. All you need to do is spread unconditional love and compassion. Just take that first step in whichever way you can. Use the power of tears, use the power of anger, and use the power of words. But USE it. Let me assure you that the 21st century is the century of the feminine. If you dont believe me now, you soon will......

Throughout ages women in India have faced gruesome atrocities. One side of history shows the faith among the Indians about Shakti or the Women Power to be the strongest energy. The other side of history is colored in black, grey shades of dowry, child marriage, sati and other related mal practices. Hinduism defines woman to be a mans half-batsman. It is clearly indicated and symbolized through Shiv-Shakti that a man is incomplete without a woman. Holy Books have preached equality of both sexes. But even in todays ultramodern India the situation remains the same as it was centuries ago. The face and style of women exploitation has changed from visible to invisible. However, the cruelty and extent is unchanged. In earlier times, where women were prohibited from pursuing education, today, educated women are exploited at home and at their workplaces. Physical exploitation of women has its prominence in the rural areas of the country while urban women face mental torture that sometimes even extends to physical torture. Modern educated women have become independent but their responsibilities have increased. A modern Indian woman has to provide income as well as has to perform household duties to support her family. During marriage a womans family background and property still plays a major role for acquiring a good alliance. So, the question remains whether have women really acquired independence through education or have become scapegoats to new kinds of exploitation. The answers to these questions are difficult. Education surely makes us aware of our rights but social conditioning makes us believe the unacceptable norms of the society to be our duties. A divorcee woman or a widow still finds it difficult to find a worthy alliance. But it still works for a man under similar conditions. Even if the woman is the sole income provider of the household and the man has proven to be incompetent, she is expected to be a socially correct good wife. Female feticides have increased in the metropolitan cities due to advancement of science and technology while infanticides continue to grow in rural areas. The modern policy of countering population explosion and family planning has become an excuse for those who prefer sons over daughters. A wife is discarded; a daughter-in-law is abolished for not giving birth to a boy child. Although it is scientifically proven, that it is the man who is the sole determinant of the sex of the child to be born. A girl childs education is interrupted and she is diverted towards much feminine educational courses. While a male child is encouraged to pursue his desired professions under the pretext that he will take the household responsibility on growing up. Whether he really does or does not, yet he is prioritized for being the heir who will carry on the family surname.

Even if it was Kalpana Chawla and Indira Gandhi who actually proved to be the heirs, it is beyond the understanding of the male dominated Indian society. Marriage is security for a woman and it might be an easier way of accumulating wealth for a man. Parents of a girl child educate their daughter and accumulate wealth for finding a better groom for her. Still, her income generating capacities are tested by the boys parents. If she qualifies in terms of property, education, income only then she has a chance to get a good husband. If she lacks in the first and the last category then her chances can be reduced to nil. Even her beauty cannot compensate for it. Beauty of a woman has the last of all priorities during match-making. However, it becomes a potential determinant if a man is highly-educated and earns extremely well. Then, no matter his own looks and age he is considered deserving to get a beautiful, well-earning, and highly educated girl belonging to a well-settled family. This gender bias is prevalent in workplaces as well. A talented and intelligent woman faces mental abuse from her male seniors who consider her as to be a potential threat to their designation. Physical abuse and exploitation is present to some extent in glamour industries. But predominantly, women face the glass-ceiling effect. Despite of talent and skills a woman employee gets less number of promotions and her wages are often lesser than her male colleagues. Child marriage and sati are still prevalent in states like Rajasthan. Denying a girl her right to live and to live happily are heinous crimes of the same nature. But sadly, even in the 21st century India, women struggle to find their right place. Dowry deaths have not become a talk of past nor has womans secondary status elevated to equal. The change that has happened is only that the picture is hidden, sometimes behind the close doors and sometimes underneath a dark region imperceptible to the naked eye.