Why Don't We Celebrate Women’s Day All Day, Every Day

By observing women's day, we not just celebrate their progress but also create an actionable platform to outline new focus areas. Each year, we try to create a world where women have equal access to rights and opportunities.

Women take an incredible amount of pressure to fulfil each of the roles they play to perfection. Maybe the pressure is the price a woman pays in order to prove their existence to the world that they are capable and deserving of equal standing in society.

While these achievements must be celebrated every day, it makes us think why is it limited to just one day.

Women’s Day All Day, Every Day

One such thought-provoking film by Britannia brilliantly delivers a powerful message associated with celebrating women for just a day. The film displays a morning conversation between a female office employee and a female office help. It’s the day after women’s day celebration, where the office help returns after a leave she took, and hence asked the employee whether it was someone’s birthday at the office yesterday. She learns that it was International women’s day, and was delighted to hear this. While cleaning the mess and removing the ‘Happy Women’s Day’ banner, she quite innocently asks the employee, “Didi yeh sirf ek din ke liye hi tha?” (Was it supposed to be celebrated just for a day?)

Upon hearing this, the employee fell silent, the question was so powerful it made her think, after a brief pause– she smiled reassuringly and answered, “Shayad nahi” (Maybe not).

The film puts a smile on viewer's faces while leaving them in interrogation.

Reason behind celebrating women’s day

International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day to celebrate and recognise the social, political, cultural, and economic achievements of women. This day marks a call to action to expedite gender parity.

IWD started with a collective effort to bring positive change back in 1911. Today, the day is been celebrated globally, to ignite, inspire & focus on the contribution of women on a global scale. This particular day unifies all the women who deeply care about women’s equality, who cares about the ‘wrongs’ and the ‘rights’, and those who want to help forge a gender-equal and inclusive world.

Where does India Stand in terms of ‘gender equality’?

India stands at 135th place in terms of gender parity according to the Firstpost article.

The Estimates of the World Inequality Report 2022 state that men earn 82% of the labour income whereas women earn 18 per cent of it.

Smriti Irani, Union Women and Child Development Minister, last year stated that the “Global Gender Gap Index” failed to take the political empowerment as well as financial inclusions of women on a grassroots level.

Gender parity is still far off, according to the 2023 edition of the UN report. The gender pay gap still remains, and women still invest far more time in household chores in India.

India is taking small steps but still has a long way to go.

Should the contribution be limited to just one day?

‘Women’s Day’s designated international day on calendars by the world to remind us to celebrate women, to understand the disparity they still face, and help them get equal rights and respect they deserve.

In order to come across a day where women do not always have to fight for their rights, it's important we discuss the issues, disparities, and inequalities they face.

Let’s keep the conversation going in the hope of a better world for women. #letskeepitgoing #BritanniaMarieGold #Womensday

This article is posted in collaboration with Britannia

Suggested Reading: Celebrating Women as Hustlers, Multi-Taskers, and Visionary Leaders