Celebrating International Women’s Day: Boon or Bane?
Pix courtesy Paul Yeung/Reuters
On March 8, people around the globe commemorated another International Women’s Day with great pomp and grandeur. The United Nations (UN) also declared the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day as, ‘Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030’. The purpose of this theme is to identify how to spur UN’s 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and to ensure effective implementation of the new 17 Sustainable Development Goals especially, goal number five: ‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’ and goal number four: ‘Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning’.
Furthermore, some of the key targets of UN’s 2030 agenda regarding women’s economic empowerment are: (1) End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere, and (2) Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation. These initiatives reflect that global leaders are placing a greater importance to ensure a safe environment to empower women. Therefore we can no longer turn a blind eye to these pressing issues about women.
True essence of International Women’s DayÂ
In this backdrop, it is highly commendable that many business professionals in Sri Lanka are organising different forums and other events on gender issues especially during the month of March, to implement these global initiatives. However, we must pause for a while and question our conscious if we are actually celebrating the true essence of International Women’s Day or are we just going with the flow under the guise of ‘Women’s Empowerment’ like the years before. For example:
· How many women in Sri Lanka can truly say that they can travel safely in public transport and work in an environment where her character can be safeguarded to achieve their career goals?
· How many dignified working women are very disappointed today due to the fact that they are the victims of office gossip and being misunderstood, rejected for promotions, bonuses and other benefits which gave them a bad reputation because they stayed within the boundary lines and were unwilling to give in to men’s immoral desires at workplace?
· How many novice female professionals who recently started working with great aspirations to rise up in their career through ethical and virtuous manner, are confused and in severe stress due to the immoral behaviour of their senior working women, who are also giving unwanted pressure on these innocent females to follow their own dishonorable ways in workplace and corrupting them?
Missing lineÂ
Being a working woman, I have observed and experienced myself the many issues which prove that there is less freedom for a woman to safeguard her dignity in workplace. It is very disappointing that most of the women who break the values are given a good name in their working place as flexible team players, very cooperative and treated better whilst those who do not follow suit are labelled as not being flexible, too rigid, unfriendly, rude, a trouble-maker, weird and considered as someone who cannot fit into their ‘professional team’ as their male bosses are unable to enjoy their desires with such dignified women who are working under them.
Consequently, there are many qualified working women who are underpaid simply because they did not give room for their character to be at stake for financial gains, mainly because they valued that ‘a good name is better than riches’. Ironically, those who have less qualification are paid much higher compared to their qualified counterparts not because of their good job performance or experience, but rather they were willing to be flexible on all matters with regard to fulfilling their male bosses’ immoral desires!
Moreover, it is more painful to observe that there are disgraceful working women who do not respect their character and enjoy such immoral behaviour to reach the top, are not concerned to help a female professional who is fighting alone to safeguard her good character in their workplace, but rather they only add more pain and sorrow to her situation. In addition to their corrupt behaviour, these disgraceful working women are becoming experts on how to get rid of that one innocent female from their office, mainly because they can’t stand the moral behaviour of that innocent female worker, as their conscious pricks them on their shameful behaviour at work. The whole purpose they come to work is to behave in an obscene manner and arouse working men so that by hook or by crook they can get their benefit from work. It is because of such disgraceful working women that the ‘gentlemen’ at work are becoming corrupt and are encouraging them to use women in an immoral manner as a means to fulfill their own sexual desires. Shame on these disgraceful ladies!
Meanwhile, it is even more disgusting to see working women who are married, having illegal affairs with other married men inside workplaces and even in public transport, especially in trains where children and teenagers are around! A genuine married couple will never do such indecent acts that should be done within the four walls. I have heard how a senior female professional had to resign her job within three months as she observed that some of her senior female colleagues who were married used to stay after office hours to shamefully cater to the desires of their male directors and were enjoying this immoral behaviour. They even pressurised her to follow their immoral path which eventually led to her resignation.
Furthermore, there is a growing number of professionals who pretend that they protect women’s rights, speak against sexual harassment and even write well-worded business articles on giving dignity for working women, etc. However, it is very frustrating to note that such professionals are very good in their words, but unfortunately they contradict themselves by their own actions behind closed doors!
I know of a young professional lady who worked as an Executive at a well-established organisation which pontificates against sexual harassment in the workplace. However inside that same organisation this lady was subject to sexual harassment because she stood up to male directors who were cavorting with other immoral female professionals. Eventually, they made a joke out of her behaviour and she was the main topic of office gossip and sarc    astic hints. Ironically, the amount of training and public contribution this organisation conducted to protect women’s right was insurmountable. It would have been far better off if they had walked the talk and protected that female worker’s dignity simply because she respected her character.
What went wrong?Â
If a female is unhappy inside the home, they will long for pleasure outside the home in many, wrong ways. Those ways may give temporary pleasure, but throughout their life they will be miserable because of the consequences of their immoral actions and also when their conscious keeps pricking them. Of course, they may have a very glamorous life, but have sleepless nights! ‘A pretentious showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life.’
In addition to the above, being a female, I am very disappointed to see that the experienced and senior working women who should actually set an exemplary role model for novice female workers, new to the working world, are behaving in an indecent manner at work and most of the times, they are the root cause for the exploitation of newly-joined female workers who are innocent. These senior working women’s behaviour is now becoming from bad to worse and also encouraging the youngsters to follow their immoral footsteps. So, once these novice female workers are experienced and when they become seniors, they will do the same thing to their freshers and this will go on and on like a vicious cycle.
Enough is Enough: Raise  your Voice!Â
If we go on like this, what will happen to our future generation, especially the teenagers? It was shocking to watch in the media how some school-going teenagers were misbehaving inside the school premises. If we have to put a stop to this demeaning behaviour, we as adults must make the first move before we point the fingers at our younger generation.
We cannot go on like this and put all these issues under the carpet and celebrate International Women’s Day for the sake of commemorating. Then it will be a bane because the whole purpose will be lost when there are so many women suffering in silence and their justice is denied.
Therefore, if we truly want to give empowerment for women and a safe environment for them, let us start putting our words into actions and give room to ensure the character of women at work and in public transport will not be at stake. Let us stop encouraging acts which inhibits a safe environment for women and girls for their empowerment.
People who enjoy such immoral behaviour will eventually be frightened if they know their shameful acts can be exposed one day with ample evidence. Therefore, with the advancement of technology, we could easily make use of the little things you already have in your hand and that is your mobile phone, which can be very useful to collect evidence by recording such incidents. Even if nobody is willing to believe you and you are fighting alone to safeguard your character, do not give up on your fight, but move on and collect evidences. When the right time comes, it will be helpful. ‘The wicked run when no one is chasing them, but an honest person is as bold as a lion.’
Enough is enough. Let us stop suffering in silence. Do not be complacent any more for your own good and for the betterment of all women and girls. Use your own backbone and speak for your own rights! Thereafter, let us celebrate the true essence of International Women’s Day which will eventually be a boon to all womanhood!
 (The writer of this article can be contacted on  ethicalroadsl@gmail.com) Â