In 2024, UNESCO joins its voice to that of the entire UN family by celebrating this International Women’s Day under the theme “invest in women: accelerate progress”, which is aligned with the priority theme for the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-68).
SHE CRAFTS THE DAWN OF THE BRIGHTER FACE In the heart's delicate web, women weave, Grace and strength, in every reprieve. Their essence, a symphony, pure and true, Infinite hues, like morning dew. In her eyes, galaxies softly dance, Embracing worlds with a single glance. Her spirit, a tapestry of resilience and light, Guiding souls through the darkest night. With words that spark, like stars ablaze, She crafts the dawn of a brighter phase. In her touch, healing whispers flow, A sanctuary where dreams can grow. Through laughter's melody, she paints the air, A song of joy, beyond compare. In the depths of silence, her wisdom gleams, A beacon of hope in the shadow's seams. In the garden of life, she blooms and thrives, Nurturing love, where the soul survives. A masterpiece of creation, endlessly spun, Woman, the muse, in every one. K RAJARAM IRS 7324 II There is a saying in Manu Smruti. Where the women are worshipped, there deities will dwell and there will be prosperity. Throughout the many years of Vedic culture, women have always been given the highest level of respect and freedom, but also protection and safety. The Women Rishis though very few contributed a lot for the cause of society and Vedas. "yatra nāryaś cā pūjyante ramante tatra devatāḥ। yatraitāstu na pūjyante sarvāstatrāphalāḥ kriyāḥ॥" This verse translates to: "Where women are revered, there the gods are pleased; but where they are not honored, no sacred rite yields rewards." III Manu says: 1. “The mouth of a woman is always pure” V, 130. 2. “Women must be honoured and adorned by their fathers, husbands, brothers, and brothers-in-law, who desire their own welfare” III, 55. 3. “Where women are honoured, there the *Devas* (gods) are pleased; but where they are dishonoured, no sacred rite yields rewards” III, 56. 4. "Where female relations live in grief, the family soon wholly perishes; but that family where they are not unhappy ever prospers” III, 57. 5. “In like manner, care must be taken of barren women, of those who have no sons, of those whose family is extinct, of wives and widows faithful to their lords, and of women afflicted with diseases” VIII, 28. 6. “A righteous king must punish like thieves those relatives who appropriate the property of such females during their lifetime” VIII, 29. 7. “In order to protect women and Brahmins, he who kills in the cause of right commits no sin” VIII, 349. 8. “One’s daughter is the highest object of tenderness; hence, if one is offended by her, one must bear it without resentment” IV, 185. (Compare this with the statements of the missionaries that the Hindu religion sanctions the killing of girls). 9. “A maternal aunt, the wife of a maternal uncle, a mother-in-law, and a paternal aunt, must be honoured like the wife of one’s spiritual teacher; they are equal to the wife of one’s spiritual teacher” II, 131. (In India, the wife of a spiritual teacher is regarded as a living goddess). 10. “Towards the sister of one’s father and of one’s mother and towards one’s elder sister, one must behave as towards one’s mother; but the mother’ is more venerable than they” II, 133. 11. “But the teacher is ten times more venerable than the sub-teacher, the father a hundred times more than the teacher, but the mother a thousand times more than the father” II, 145. 12. “A chaste wife, who after the death of her husband constantly remains chaste, reaches heaven, though she have no son, just like those chaste men" V, 160. (Compare this with the statements of the missionaries that Hindu widows are cursed by their religion). 13. “In that family where the husband is pleased with his wife and the wife with her husband, happiness will assuredly be lasting” III, 60. 14. “Offspring, the due performance of religious rites, faithful service, highest conjugal happiness, and heavenly bliss for the ancestors and one’s self, depend upon the wife alone” IX, 28. 15. “Let mutual fidelity continue till death; this may be considered as a summary of the highest law for husband and wife” IX, 101. >From other Hindu laws: “Woman possesses an unequalled means of purification: they never become (entirely) foul”. “Women are pure in all limbs”. 1. “Man is strength, woman is beauty; he is the reason that governs and she is the wisdom that moderates”. 2. “He who despises woman despises his mother”. 3. “He who is cursed by a woman is cursed by God”. 4. “The tears of a woman call down the fire of heaven on those who make them flow”. 5. “Evil to him who laughs at a woman’s sufferings; God shall laugh at his prayers”. 6. “The songs of women are sweet in the ears of the Lord; men should not, if they wish to be heard, sing the praises of God without women”. 7. “There is no crime more odious than to persecute women, and to take advantage of their weakness to despoil them of their patrimony”. 8. “The woman watches over the house, and the protecting divinities (*devas* of the domestic hearth are happy in her presence. The labours of the field should never be assigned to her”. 9. “When relatives, by some subterfuge, take possession of the property of a woman, her carriages or her jewels, such evil-doers shall descend into the infernal regions”. 10. “The virtuous woman should have but one husband, as the right-minded man should have but one wife”. Here is the definition of a wife given in the *Mahabharata*: A wife is half the man, his truest friend; A loving wife is a perpetual spring Of virtue, pleasure, wealth; a faithful wife Is his best aid in seeking heavenly bliss; A sweetly-speaking wife is a companion In solitude, a father in advice, A mother in all seasons of distress, A rest in passing through life’s wilderness. IV Women praised by Tiruvalluvaar: *peNNin perundhakka yaavula kaRpennum* *thiNmaiuN daagap peRin* Kural 54 Translation: There is no greater treasure than a woman who guards her chastity. *thaRkaaththuth thaRkoNtaaR paeNith thakaisaandra* *soRkaaththuch soarvilaaL peN* Kural 56 Translation: It is the duty of a woman to protect her chastity, to take care of her husband’s needs, and thus establish her name as a virtuous woman. *mangalam enpa manaimaatchi matru adhan* *nankalam nanmakkat peru* Kural 60 Translation: A virtuous wife is a household’s blessing, and the crowning jewel of such a household is to have good children. V And the sad part of it in recent times:1 Events at Sandeshkhali <https://theprint.in/india/will-die-for-justice-sandeshkhali-women-allege-mistreatment-by-tmcs-sheikh-shahjahan-aides/1967110/>, which was until recently an obscure village in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district. That the Bengalis haven’t yet committed suicide, that their society still has some vitality in it, is being demonstrated by the rebellious agrarian Bengali women of Sandeshkhali, who, even in this ‘progressive’ 21st-century era, can be seen sporting their white *shaankha* and red *polaa* bangles as well as vermillion *sindur *marks on their proud foreheads—all unmistakable symbols of ethnic Bengali identity. Sticks and brooms in hand, they’ve sparked off a mass movement against tyrannical power and lawlessness in the state. 2 Aarthi, a 5th-grade student from Pondicherry, was reported missing on March 2nd after she didn’t return home that evening. Her parents along with Solai Nagar residents in Muthialpet, conducted a road blockade on March 5th, urging the police to take immediate action in locating the girl. A special team was assembled for the search operation by the Pondicherry Police and various CCTV footage were analyzed to find the girl. After 3 days of rigorous search, the police recovered the body of the 9-year-old in a canal near her house in the Muthialpet area of Pondicherry. The body was found in a sack with her hands and legs tied. This caused tension in the neighborhood, with the public revolting against the police for taking the body to the hospital. Following this, additional forces were called to action and Aarthi’s body was taken to Government Medical College Hospital, Kathirgamam. According to reports, the body was then sent to Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research for the post-mortem. K RAJARAM IRS 8 3 24 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZopHrTgCJYb1MwECJ%3DzZmwteyjPpkF7Sit_Vi_Ew53NHBA%40mail.gmail.com.
