Yet another 15 August. Another independence day morning, when the Indian Prime Minister will get ready for the 62nd time to unfurl the tricolour flag reinstating India as a free and democratic country.
However, one wonders if the mothers, daughters and wives of Mother India are truly free. In a country with more than 1.5 billion people, where women almost comprise half the population, their position in the society and access to freedom becomes a matter of importance.
It is disheartening to see only 9 percent women representation in Lok Sabha, in a country, which had active participation of women like Sarojini Naidu and Kasturba Gandhi in its freedom movement and boasts of a constitution guaranteeing gender equality. The reasons for such dismal scenario is more than one. The recent controversy regarding women reservation bill stands as a testimony to how the Indian society is yet to accept its women as leaders.
Be it education, health or social status, progress of Indian women even after 62 years of independence remains a question. A recent World Health Organization Study shows that nearly 245 million women in India are illiterate, making India country with world's largest illiterate female population.
With child marriages, poverty, lack of healthcare and unawareness still prevalent in most corners, India witnesses high rates of maternal mortality.
As the dailies flaunt news about rapes, murders of ladies in the cities, even the modern, educated metro woman's freedom becomes a question. Therefore, at the threshold of the 62ndyear of independence, it would probably be a good idea to introspect about the progress of our women as they are an essential element for the advancement of any society.
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