SHE'S NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE

Today I attended a film festival called 'Urja' organized by the Women's Studies Research Center, Department of Human Development and Family Studies and Nazariya. The theme was Girl Child. They screened various movies on social issues like women oppression, women injustice, women empowerment, girl education, gender bias, portrayal of women in society etc. Movies such as Bawander by Jag Mundhre, Maum ki Gudiya, Drizzle by Ahsam K R, Girl Stars by UNICEF and School Chale Hum by Kanika and Bharatbala were shown. Each movie was followed by a discussion between eminent panelists and the audience, that included feedback on the movies, personal experiences, suggestions etc...
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All of this could go into the papers tomorrow and no one would care..its objective, impersonal and indifferent..its almost as personal as me writing about the gravel in my shoe..who cares about what happened at the film festival?! what i care about is what comes after the films? what after the discussions? what after the debates? are we just going to go home thinking "hmmm i wasted my day.." or "hmmm good movies..." but then what??? what difference are we going to make in the world by just viewing 3-4 movies on women injustice? there are millions of women out there LIVING those movies..but what about them? what can we do? we might not be able to change each and everyone of them..heck!we wont be able to change even One. but what we can change is our mind..our thinking..our behaviour..our attitude..both towards women and men..

our fight isn't against the men who oppress women or harass them..once upon a time this was our struggle..it still is..but what's more important now is the fight to Support those men who believe in equality for women.to let them know that its OK to think of women as an equal.to let them know that just by doing a woman's task of buying vegetables to help his wife, doesn't mean that he's not manly enough. to let them know that just by being a subordinate to a female boss at work doesn't make him any less competent.. we have always fought against men trying to put us women down. today we fight to encourage those men who are willing to treat women just as good as any other man.

we've always been protesting against the fact that women aren't given equal rights at various places. trying to shout out against gender discrimination and bias.. we open women's protection cells, women's grievances cells and promise to solve any kind of problem that any girl or woman is facing..but how much does it really help? in my opinion (and this is truly my sole opinion, we're simply making poor harassed and oppressed women dependent on the women activists..what we really need is to not to make them realize that men are wrong..what they need to understand and believe first is that THEY'RE RIGHT..they need to believe in themselves..to know their own strengths..their own needs..their own ideals..merely fighting against the men isn't enough..fight against every part of your self that tells you you're not good enough.revolt against forces that make you feel you're in anyway inferior to men. throw away every thought that tells you you cant do the things men can.your own confidence and belief will do half the work..if you're convinced that you're just as good as the men, it'll fill you with a sense of power that'll enable you to take on the men in a completely different and easy manner..show them that you can do anything they can..know inside your heart, and believe, that even YOU deserve every opportunity given to HIM..

as i heard everybody in the audience and on the panel talk about all the things women can do, and are good at, i was reminded of a song by Shania Twain. its called "SHE'S NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE". it goes like this:


She hosts a T.V. show--she rides the rodeo
She plays the bass in a band
She's an astronaut--
a valet at the parking lot
A farmer working the land
She is a champion--she gets the gold
She's a ballerina--the star of the show

She's--not--just a pretty face
She's--got--everything it takes

She has a fashion line--
a journalist for "Time"
Coaches a football team
She's a geologist--a romance novelist
She is a mother of three
She is a soldier--she is a wife
She is a surgeon--she'll save your life

She's--not--just a pretty face
She's--got--everything it takes
She's--mother--of the human race
She's--not--just a pretty face

She is your waitress--she is your judge--
she is your teacher
She is every woman in the world

She flies an airplane--
she drives a subway train
At night she pumps gasoline
She's on the council--she's on the board
She's a politician--she praises the Lord

No, she's (she's) not (not)--
just a pretty face
She's (she's) got (got)--everything it takes
She's--not--just a pretty face
She's got everything it takes
She's not just a pretty face