International days are occasions and opportunities to educate people around the world on issues of public concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global issues, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The days act as effective advocacy tools. International Women’s Day is observed on March 8 every year.
The theme for International Women’s Day 2023 is ‘DigitAll: innovation and technology for gender equality’. This theme is aligned with the priority theme for the upcoming 67th session of the commission on the status of women. Without the inclusion of half of the population of the globe, no vision for the entire world can ever be fulfilled. The day thus marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
When we talk of our J&K, women continue to be the most vulnerable and worst-hit section of society. They don’t only suffer from intense harassment but also undergo traumatic experiences with prolonged depression. Over the years, women are left to grapple alone with challenges related to health, economy, education, politics, domestic violence, declining sex ratio, female feticide and infanticide, violence, dowry harassment, eve teasing, unequal wages and child labour. The central government, UT administration, NGOs and local bodies should work jointly for the empowerment of women in Jammu and Kashmir. The Union Territory remains one of the regions with the highest female illiteracy and unemployment rate in the country.
Women face many obstacles in entering the workforce as compared to their male counterparts or even their female counterparts in the rest of the country, leading to the percentage of unemployment in women being alarmingly higher in J&K than in neighboring states. This high rate of unemployment can be explained by a number of factors that sometimes are interconnected. The chief issue in this regard is the lack of educational opportunities. According to the Census report of 2011, only 58.01% of women in J&K are literate as opposed to 78.26% male literacy. The lack of educational opportunities serves as the principal barrier between women and employment.
Islamic law provides financial security to a Muslim woman through her rights in the property inherited and on the basis of marriage. At the time of marriage, a Muslim wife is entitled to receive a share of wealth or property from her husband. There is a need to make the masses aware about the Islamic jurisprudence so that justice, equality, fairness and equality of opportunity to all is achieved. Let this day of 8th March prove to be a stepping stone in achieving the goal of women empowerment.
(Author is a Freelance writer and columnist and can be reached at [email protected])
