I was watching Melinda and Bill Gates over at The tonight show with Jimmy Fallon, where they were each asked a common question:

What superpower they wish they had to change the world?

Melinda: Time, in my field of work I have realised that women all over do so much work in twenty four hours, we need to give them back their time. And they are taking care of the child (which they want to) and managing house chores. Either we give them time or share their work.

Bill: Energy, energy is the most fascinating and basic thing. You switch on the light and there goes a bulb. And many countries still don’t have it. The younger generation needs to put in work into science and all of it to build technologies that can produce energy, keeping in mind the climate changes.

It is almost as if despite being connected by a common cause of greater good their ideas cannot meet. They each have different ways of looking at the world. Varied colors of glasses to view life.

Men and women. 

Where is the need for equality?

Why should we even discuss the word equal when we explain genders?

I was fifteen when I almost suddenly started to read more and more about feminism. Maybe it was the effect of growing changes in my body, my sudden awareness about opposite gender a tad too much or perhaps the idea that I could some day be subjugated to the need of this discussion.

And in an instant I had decided. Feminism is not needed. Awareness is.

Funny it has been so many years and I have still not modified this basic tenet of my understanding.

This year’s International Women’s day theme is ‘parity’. And it comes in at the right time for our country.

We are undergoing a transition. Our meaning of life and things all getting modified. Our mothers no longer around, our wives running the show with swag and our daughters decidedly wanting to be more rebel for our comfort.

This word is needed more and more.

What is parity?


And mathematically?

(of a number) the fact of being even or odd.


Why parity? 

Why not a men’s international day? Pops comes the question from many. In between whatsapp jokes and giggles, I often pretend I haven’t heard these words right.

When Melinda Gates said , women need time. I thought to myself. Women and their issues need time.

Why not a men’s international day? They insist often.

Who needs a world where we have to find a spot in an all women metro compartment? Who needs a life where fighting for better maternity benefits induces professional guilt?

Who needs to hear from their parents that they have no problems if we stay out late at night, but they do not trust the society.

Who needs to go all out and celebrate an International Women’s Day at all?

When people challenge the idea of feminism, it hurts my heart to explain to them that we too wish to live in a world where there is no need of feminism.

Parity is not equality. No. Parity is understanding that yes we are different. We have different needs. We wake up to opposite sides of bed.

And hence we need laws, ideas, cultures that cater to these needs. The differences in our needs.

A couple of us bloggers at Write Tribe have decided to blog together under the gamut of International Women’s Day theme ‘Pledge For Parity‘.


 Nabanita Dhar started the series for us by writing this lovely post called I #pledgeforParity. Do you? where she goes on to explain a most heartwarming idea:

“The only thing that separates women from anyone else is opportunity.”

Her post got my writing juices thinking and out came the above ranting. She tagged me to write my own take on the theme and in that spirit I invite Corinne Rodrigues of the very famous Everyday Gyaan to write her own musings 🙂

Hop on to her blog tomorrow i.e International Women’s Day to read more on this wonderful topic!


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