Ladies first: No lip service

‘Ladies first’ – these words seem to be familiar, taught at school and often used by some people out of esteem and as a mere formality by others. These words have become a sign of fashion for the new millennium but perhaps they have an unseen meaning.

The former word ‘lady’ is a sign of care, love, emotions, motherhood and all its faces—daughter, sister, mother and wife—reflect the same. It has been rightly said, ‘the hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world’. To be frank, such phrases have just been words for our so-called cultured society.

Ours is a male-dominated society, how true! From the day a girl is born, she is neglected because she is not wanted. No proper care, no education, no status, because parents find it preferable to collect money for dowry rather than spending it on their daughter.

But eight out of every ten families have the same story. They say that they want a male child, why? The son is the steward of their life boats. Perhaps people have forgotten an old saying which is an inglorious fact of our organized community and has to be realized by the people. It say:‘A son is a son till he gets a wife, but a daughter is a daughter till the end of her life’

For such a state of affairs, reasons may be many, but the first are the women themselves. A father wanting a male child can be understood but a mother not willing to have a girl child is something  disgusting and humiliating.

Heaps of disgraceful things like the dowry system, high mortality rate and infanticide have rooted themselves leading to disastrous consequences— the sex ratio, that is, the number of females per 1000 males in the population has been falling over the years. Although there has been a continuous increase in the literacy rate, still the condition is pitiful.

It is said that a country which gives due respect, preference and equal importance to women in every field is a developed nation. The best examples can be none other than Japan, the USA and Russia where the number of females per 1000 males are —1033, 1145 and 1059, respectively. 

These nations are the leading nations and world leaders. Remember, when a man is educated he alone learns but if a woman is literate—the children, the family and, above all, the nation develops.

Now, let us change the trend. It is not only the government but we who have to understand and work together to raise the status of women. So do not say ‘ladies first’ just to offer seats; rather bring them into the world and give preference in all walks of life. 

Perhaps, it would take decades, but when achieved, India will no longer be a developing nation, it will rather be the same old ‘golden sparrow” of olden days.