<div align="justify">An English professor once wrote the words “A woman without her man is nothing” on the chalkboard and asked the students to punctuate it correctly. All of the males in the class wrote: “A woman, without her man, is nothing.” All of the females in the class wrote: “A woman: without her, man is nothing.”<br /><br />While this anecdote throws light on the power of punctuation, it is also a reminder of the sad reality of how a woman is looked upon by the male gender and how the wrong perception can be tweaked and changed with the correct emphasis and punctuation! <br /><br />It is precisely with this awareness, that annually a day is set aside - March 8 - to draw people’s attention to a more inclusive and gender equal world. The day dedicated as International Women’s Day is also a global day to recognise and celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women the world over. <br /><br />We see the modern women contribute to every aspect of life. She is the key figure in a home, neighbourhood and the society. She supplements and compliments a man at work and in every job - blue collared and white; private and public; paid and honorary. On an average she forms one half of the population anywhere on the face of the universe and is the other side of the same coin of humankind. <br /><br />She has indeed come a long way since the days she was denied equal rights and privileges with her male counterpart. As Susan B Anthony, the American social reformer and women's rights activist, predicted when she said, “The day will come when men will recognise woman as his peer, not only at the fireside, but in councils of the nation,” women have risen from the fireside of their homes and have joined hands with men in making commendable contributions to the progress of humanity. <br /><br />And yet, this is only one half of the story. Women continue to be sidelined and oppressed. Accordingly, this year’s International Women’s Day campaign theme of “Be bold for change,” is a call to women to free herself from the shackles of the limiting notions of the weaker sex and to rise above all constrains, to forge ahead. <br /></div>
<div align="justify">An English professor once wrote the words “A woman without her man is nothing” on the chalkboard and asked the students to punctuate it correctly. All of the males in the class wrote: “A woman, without her man, is nothing.” All of the females in the class wrote: “A woman: without her, man is nothing.”<br /><br />While this anecdote throws light on the power of punctuation, it is also a reminder of the sad reality of how a woman is looked upon by the male gender and how the wrong perception can be tweaked and changed with the correct emphasis and punctuation! <br /><br />It is precisely with this awareness, that annually a day is set aside - March 8 - to draw people’s attention to a more inclusive and gender equal world. The day dedicated as International Women’s Day is also a global day to recognise and celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women the world over. <br /><br />We see the modern women contribute to every aspect of life. She is the key figure in a home, neighbourhood and the society. She supplements and compliments a man at work and in every job - blue collared and white; private and public; paid and honorary. On an average she forms one half of the population anywhere on the face of the universe and is the other side of the same coin of humankind. <br /><br />She has indeed come a long way since the days she was denied equal rights and privileges with her male counterpart. As Susan B Anthony, the American social reformer and women's rights activist, predicted when she said, “The day will come when men will recognise woman as his peer, not only at the fireside, but in councils of the nation,” women have risen from the fireside of their homes and have joined hands with men in making commendable contributions to the progress of humanity. <br /><br />And yet, this is only one half of the story. Women continue to be sidelined and oppressed. Accordingly, this year’s International Women’s Day campaign theme of “Be bold for change,” is a call to women to free herself from the shackles of the limiting notions of the weaker sex and to rise above all constrains, to forge ahead. <br /></div>
