Its International Women's Day. Join me as I celebrate some of the most inspiring women in India |
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You refuse to suffer in silence any longer. You demand for
your right. You speak, to be heard, and to be taken seriously. Rising Army of
Indian Women Activists, I celebrate you!
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She grows food for me and my countrymen. She toils on that
land that she isn't allowed to own, oftentimes. I salute you and I celebrate you,Woman Farmer of
my country. And I wish you ownership of that land. Also, I wish you love,
respect, recognition and gratitude.
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You are the only worker in my country who works 7 days a
week with no break, no holiday and a salary so paltry, it can't even buy you
food for a week. And when a mishap happens, you are made the first suspect.
Despite all that, you keep homes running across the nook and corner of India. I
celebrate you, Woman Domestic Help
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You do work that are unrewarded, risky, at places that are
dangerous - protecting endangered wildlife in forests that are infested with
brutal poachers. Few know about you, even fewer want to follow you. I celebrate
you, Woman Forest Guard!
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She cleans the filth that we create. And then we call her
filthy. She is the waste picker. Always from a Dalit community, she is
considered by many of my countrymen untouchable, a lesser human. The truth is,
as poet Rabindranath Tagore said, "cleanliness is your shadow/its you who
makes our world livable". I can't cure the sickness of my society alone,
but I can certainly tell you this: You are lesser than none and I celebrate you!
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You try to teach people the
importance of safe sex. Yet, instead of applauds, you get brickbats. They laugh
at you, some even curse you for 'polluting' minds. Truth is, in a country of
millions of HIV-positive people, you are an angel at work. And I celebrate you,
the Woman Sex Educator!
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They don't invest in you. They dismiss your abilities to make profits. But you don't give up. You gather your coins and go about earning your
living - successfully. You inspire me, and I celebrate you, Woman Grassroot Entrepreneur of India!
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They allege, you are a puppet, that your husband run the
office for you. They don't care to know you - who stands her ground and holds
on to her authority. I have met so many of you - risking life everyday in most
remotest, most dangerous villages of India, and working for the welfare of
people. I celebrate you, the Independent Woman Sarpanch (village head)
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Indigenous woman, I know many look down upon you. They think
- and I have no idea why - you are inferior to them. In fact, some treat you no better than they treat a Dalit woman. What a shame! You, TRIBAL WOMAN are beautiful, wonderful, closer to
mother earth, bear her smell, her broadness of heart and her simplicity -
qualities that I yearn to have! I celebrate you!
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And then I celebrate
the woman who brought me into this world, nursed me, nurtured me, made
me who I am. I celebrate you, Ma!
Do you like the post? If yes, please leave a comment. Or share with someone in your circle. Lets expand the celebration!
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