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Yet another year. Yet another International Women’s Day. A day rooted in the demand for parity and equality in a world unfairly tilted toward men. Much has changed, but much more remains just as awful—or even worse.
So when will International Women’s Day be a reminder of progress rather than a reflection of persistent struggles? When will March 8 be a day to tell our daughters, “Once upon a time, when things were not this good…”?
Given the present scenario—where individuals, both men and women, blur the lines between right and wrong to suit their convenience—that day could take forever. And a day more too.
After all, when a 12-year-old child is pushed into marriage with a 30-year-old man, the entire village joins in the celebration. When a 17-year-old gives birth to a weak, barely breathing baby girl, she is congratulated—not for surviving the rapes she endured as part of the “illegal” marriage but for bringing yet another girl into the world to live the same life.
When a 9-year-old confides in her mother that an elderly uncle—a so-called family friend—has been touching her inappropriately every day, the mother silences her. She warns her to stay away from him but also makes her promise not to tell anyone.
International Women’s Day should be a day of remembrance, not a reminder of ongoing battles. But as long as women remain mute spectators to injustice or unwilling accomplices due to societal pressure, the crimes will persist.
For centuries, countless women labeled as vulnerable and meek waited for others to act while enduring child marriage, sexual abuse, and countless other injustices. What they didn’t realize was that their silence fed the beast, ensuring neither the crime nor the criminals disappeared.
The Ones Who Fight Back
There is hope, though. Change is slow, but it is happening.
Take Sonu Kanwar, a 28-year-old woman from Rajasthan’s Ajmer. She was married at 12 and gave birth to triplets at 17. But instead of entrusting her daughters to the same fate, she became the change she once needed. Today, as part of Just Rights for Children—a network of over 250 NGOs fighting for child rights—she rides her scooty from village to village, spreading awareness about child marriage. So far, she has stopped 12 child marriages.
But she saved more than just 12 children. When the police intervened, when the parents were forced to sign an undertaking, when the guests were reprimanded for participating in this crime, an entire village watched. And later, many more heard about what happened. Hundreds of future marriages were prevented.
Similarly, when Lata (name changed) discovered that her 9-year-old daughter was being abused by her tuition teacher, she did what most women before her didn’t. She confronted him and filed a case, despite her family urging her to stay silent to avoid “bringing shame” upon them. The easier option would have been to fire the teacher and tell her daughter to forget about it—just as Lata was told to do as a child. But she knew firsthand that unspoken wounds hurt the longest.
Women Must Become Their Own Saviors
The world is changing—not because society is speaking up, but because the ones who suffered the most are refusing to stay silent. International Women’s Day will remain a harsh reminder of reality until more women turn their scars into weapons and fight for justice.
The ones who have been wronged—especially the ones who have been wronged—must turn their shame into strength and become the saviors they once needed. They must not just fight for themselves but for every girl who is still trapped in silence, for every child on the verge of losing her future, and for every woman who never had the chance to fight back.
Between this International Women’s Day and the next, let us not wait for change. Let us be the change. Let us have more superheroes—women who don’t mind wearing their trauma on their sleeves, who refuse to bow to fear, and who turn their scars into shields so that no other girl has to suffer the same fate.
Because the world doesn’t change when society speaks. It changes when the silenced find their voices—and use them to shatter the chains that once held them back.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.