C'Wealth Award for Dr Kishore for math education innovation at girls' school of Vidya Bharati in Jaipur

 Woman are still the most deprived societal group:
Special on India's National Women's Day

 In India, February 13 is observed as National Women's Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sarojini Naidu who was a freedom fighter, political leader and poetess. She had a sweet and melodious voice and was often called the “Nightingale of India”.  The observance is meant to recognize the significant contributions in various walks of life besides raising awareness about gender disparities, insensitivity, inequities and challenges being faced by women.

Many countries celebrate both their women's national days and international day. Even in the western world gender inequities exist. Some women activists and supporters raise question like: What does it really mean to observe a special awareness day? Is it a day when by some fake signal are given that women have been given their rightful place in society by organising events of honouring few of them?

Many others feel it is meaningless to fix one day of the year as Women's Day if, in reality, for every one step women take forward, they take two steps back. Every day, women all over the world win battles in their daily lives and they don't stop to celebrate. 

Here are the thoughts of some activists and scribes for you related to women’s issues.

• ...However, despite all the progress women have made, they (women) continue to face unique challenges. Women inhabit a conflicted reality - even as some have attained dizzying heights of success in various fields, many others are unable to gain access to basic requirements like health and education. ~Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

• More than two-thirds of working women in India suffer from lifestyle diseases, and we are not talking about shopping; and two, when it comes to the real domain of power, the institution vested with the capacity to bring about change - the Parliament - women hold a piddling 18 per cent of the seats in parliaments around the world. That leaves no doubt which gender runs the world. ~ Kareena N Gianan

• Rural women in developing countries are still largely responsible for securing food, water and energy for cooking and heating. Drought, deforestation and erratic rainfall cause women to work even harder to secure these resources. Women therefore have less time to earn an income, get an education or provide care to their families. Girls regularly have to drop out of school to help mothers gather wood for fuel and collect water. ~ Marianne de Nazareth

Even the United Nations, in one of its reports says that the term women's rights refers to freedom and entitlements of women and girls of all ages. which may or may not be institutionalized, ignored or suppressed by law, local custom, and behavior in a particular society.

 "Issues commonly associated with notions of women's rights include, though are not limited to, the right: to bodily integrity and autonomy; to vote; to hold public office; to work; to fair wages or equal pay; to own property; to education; to serve in the military or be conscripted; to enter into legal contracts; and to have marital, parental and religious rights. Women and their supporters have campaigned and in some places continue to campaign for the same rights as modern men," the report adds. 

If we go by the foregoing, it seems that worldwide women continues to be  the most deprived societal group on the whole!