00:00It's March 8. Your inbox is flooded with messages.
00:03Happy Women's Day. Discount on spa treatments, free drinks at the bar,
00:07maybe even a corporate email celebrating diversity and inclusion.
00:10But, International Women's Day did not begin with pink ribbons or Instagram posts.
00:15It started in the streets.
00:16Did you know that Women's Day started as a political movement?
00:19It was in 1909 when the Socialist Party of America organized the first Women's Day in
00:24New York, inspired by labor movements.
00:26But it was March 8 of 1917 that changed history.
00:30Women textile workers in Petrograd went on a strike for bread and peace.
00:33Their protest ignited the Russian Revolution,
00:36leading to Tsar Nicholas II's abdication and securing women's right to vote.
00:40Lenin declared March 8 as International Women's Day in 1922,
00:44honoring the political power of women.
00:46However, a quiet war against women continues today,
00:49whether it is the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the US
00:52or the rise in crimes against women in India.
00:55Did you know that according to the National Crime Records Bureau,
00:58from 2018 to 2022, reported crimes against women in India rose by 12.9%?
01:04Even the 2024 Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum paints a bleak picture.
01:10India ranks 129 out of 146 countries in women's economic participation and opportunities.
01:16Women's enrollment in engineering colleges?
01:18Just 28%.
01:20Women's participation in the tech industry?
01:22At 14%.
01:24In scientific research?
01:26About 16%.
01:27The numbers may suggest progress, but here is the real question.
01:30Has anything really changed for women in India?
01:33Take the Women's Reservation Bill, for example.
01:35First introduced in 1996 to reserve 33% of seats for women in parliament and state assemblies.
01:41It took nearly three decades of political debate for the bill to finally pass.
01:45A win, but the one that came too late.
01:48Even as women enter politics and workplaces, they face a different battleground.
01:52Their bodies, their choices, their attitude.
01:55The pressure to stay young, slim, fair is relentless.
01:59Feminist creams, age-defying serums.
02:01But you know what?
02:02Women are fighting back, reclaiming their space and their aesthetic.
02:06Like the time red lipsticks became the symbol of relentless defiance.
02:10Red lipstick is more than a beauty statement.
02:12During the suffragette movement, red lipstick symbolized defiance.
02:16For Indian women, symbols like bindi and red lipsticks have become emblems of resistance.
02:22The world tries to turn women's bodies into battlefields.
02:25But women have found ways to fight back.
02:27But from the real world to the realm of mythology,
02:30women seem to be fighting for their survival.
02:32Physical, mental, spiritual.
02:34The weight of mythology is immense.
02:36Surpanakha, punished for expressing desire.
02:38Sita, abandoned despite her innocence.
02:41Hindu mythology offers a contrasting image of women.
02:44The obedient wife, the avenging goddess.
02:47But the message is clear.
02:48Women's power is conditional.
02:50When goddesses and deities are battling for their existence,
02:53what chance do real women have?
02:55The women are made up of many things.
02:57Memories and stories.
02:58Losses and indignities.
03:00International Women's Day started as a protest.
03:03Over a century later, the fight is not over.
03:06Our latest issue, Women at Work, is a celebration of women
03:09and their relentless fight to get their seat at the table.
03:12A right to own pockets and a right to make a fair wage.
03:15A right for a chance at equity and equality.
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