Reciting four lines from the Manusmriti on not “giving freedom to women”, KS Chithra, beloved singer of the people of Kerala, said that women have come a long way from those times. They stepped out of the four walls of their home, got an education, went out to do all sorts of jobs from plucking coconuts to flying aeroplanes, and still run families. What they don’t have and badly need, Chithra said, is security. Security at the workplace and security at the place they stay at. Security to travel at night and step out any time of day without fear. For that we needed strong laws, Chithra said, as she accepted the position of brand ambassador for Samam, a one-year programme by the Department of Culture, Kerala, aimed at equality of women.
A series of dowry murders and domestic violence cases of young married women triggered the yearlong campaign, launched in the presence of several ministers in the state by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. “Population wise, there are more women than men in the state. But when you look at the workforce, there are fewer women. This cannot be accepted, it has to change. We have had a renaissance for the progress of women, but all of that didn’t bring change. We thought that with freedom (of the country), social inequality would end. That didn’t happen either. Discriminating forces lurking in the society sent women back to the kitchen. But the notion that women could not plan or implement policies changed when they came to power,” the CM said.
He said that today, most of the local self governing bodies in the state are led by women and they show that they can make and implement decisions. “It was also important to bring financial freedom to women. That’s how the formation and growth of Kudumbashree (25-year-old programme for women empowerment and poverty eradication) happened. Still there is work-based discrimination, which begins at home. The idea that all of the house work and raising of children are a woman’s work should change. There is a huge need to bring awareness in the society and Samam is just a small part of it,” the CM added.
The programme would be implemented by the coming together of various state departments. Local self governments will work with the Department of Culture to take awareness messages to every home in every ward and panchayat. The Education Department would take it to schools and colleges. The Kerala State Film Development Corporation would make films and conduct other programmes to further spread the word.
“We are involving people from all walks of society to bring forth the idea of gender equality. The various state departments and women groups will work together for it,” said Minister for Culture, Saji Cherian.
While brand ambassador Chithra ended her small and inspiring speech with a song on goodness of the world (loka samastha sukino bavandu), Samam honoured 11 women who have done wonders in various fields. This included tribal folk singer Nanjiyamma, traditional medicine practitioner Lakshmikutty, athlete MD Valsamma, former Supreme Court judge M Fathima Beevi, musician K Omanakutty, actor Sethulakshmy, Mayor Arya Rajendran, deep sea fisherwoman KC Rekha and others. One thousand and one women would be honoured through the year-long programme, officials said.