Out of the Box - Women Power

Last week, we had a competition at my office and the theme was Out Of the Box and the rule was that a shoe box had to be used for the competition. That got me and my hubby thinking on what was the best way to present an out of the box thought when it struck us - Women!

What a woman suffers/hopes inside the box

Women empowerment in India has got a new lease of life of late and it is a cause I deeply support being a girl myself and having been through the restrictions and hypocrisy that the society places on us. My view is that the restrictions that have been put on girls in India (and around the world) are simply unacceptable. Rape, dowry, household torture, and many other evils against a girl have  become a common theme in this part of the world and sadly the society accepts it as a routine and in some cases atrociously even faults the girl in question! After some research I figured, that even the western world was biased against women - Wimbledon paid lesser to female grand slam winners compared to men, Switzerland allowed women to vote only after 1971 and the US had never managed to elect a female president (proverbial glass ceiling) to cite a few examples!

Horrors against woman in the news (Pasted over the box cover)

However, now in India at least, the society and the government had started taking concrete steps towards women empowerment and safety. Basic amenities like toilets for girls to IT firms making strict rules regarding female employee well-being are some of the many changes being brought about. The perspective of the society is changing and women are being encouraged to go where no women had gone before. They are slowly coming out of the metaphorical box that the society boxes them in.

What a woman can achieve if the box is opened

I was really keen to capture this and support the cause of women empowerment. To reflect my views and display what a free woman, a woman outside the bonds of a box that the society imposes on her, can do. So this event provided a perfect opportunity to support the cause and reflect my views.

I got a Shoe Box, depicted all the horrors that a girl has to endure on of the box and around it, showing what a girl encumbered by the many restrictions that the society imposes has to suffer and silently endure. She cannot follow her dreams and is limited to those realms that are imposed on her by birth and not by deeds. However, when she is freed of these encumbrances (i.e. the girl is out of the box), she is free and can compete and even beat the best in the world. She is like a free bird, able to sail the highest mountains and dive into the deepest valley with gusto and pride.

The aim of my art was a small contribution towards reflecting my views and supporting the millions of girls around the world who still continue to endure. It is a cause that I will continue to support vigorously as am hopeful. Hopeful, that in my lifetime this bias against women will end and happy that I was a part of this revolution that will end a social evil that has lasted silently for eons gone by.