If woman is Shakti, what is empowering Shakti?

For over 100 years women have celebrated 'Women's day' by sharing stories of courage, hope and achievement that can inspire, transform and celebrate the spirit of womanhood, to the coming generation of daughters and grand daughters to realize their dreams. The theme for this year's celebration by UN is “Equality for women is progress to all.”

As we witness the societal changes with regard to achieving gender equality and uplifting their socio-economic status with equal rights and privileges as the opposite sex, let us introspect womanhood by taking a look at how women were held by Hindu sect of ancient India.

In ancient India, Hindu women were held in high esteem and possessed equality of opportunities with men. In fact they enjoyed certain rights and privileges not claimed by the male sex.

Women were treated and worshipped as Godlike, in the form of 'Divine mother'. Seclusion of women was unknown in the Vedic times. The Atharva veda refers to daughters remaining with their parents until the end of their lives. A part of the ancestral property is given to them as dowry, which becomes their own property and is called sthridhana in later writings.

With regard to equality, a young daughter who has observed brahmacharya should be married to a bridegroom who is learned like her. 

The aspects of knowledge, intelligence, material wealth and harmony are personified by Goddess. It is understood that in families where women are honored, there the gods are pleased. Hence women are adorned by their fathers, brothers, husbands, in-laws and held as key aspect to their welfare.

If this is how the scriptures had them, what must have happened in modern day to shift equality and status against the favor of women?

Today the birth of a female child is considered unfortunate by some parents. The reason being that a girl is considered as the wealth of the family of her in-laws, which means the parents in their old age are on their own. Moreover the parents might have to part with substantial portion of their wealth as dowry. This gave way to the practice of female infanticide.

Now the picture gains clarity as to why women who were earlier revered started to lose out in the equality segment. They were slowly let down in matters of education and other privileges where the male counterpart thundered supreme. This combined with the fact that males were physically stronger than the females, lessened their hope in offering any sort of resistance. This is the case in India and other similar cultural societies were today women need to stand up for their rights and celebrating 'Women's day' has its significance.

So much said, is there a solution to this than just arguing the case either ways. I would like to try to gain an understanding of the fundamental difference between a man and a woman, other than the anatomical difference. Considering an out of body experience, would there be a possibility of a male soul and a female soul? Somebody who gives directions and says, male souls please use stairway X and female souls can use stairway Y to heaven.

Today there is an option of a sex change procedure; what happens to the character of the person then. What about people from LGBT community. 

Maybe we are just human beings and we can relate to God as the highest state of the highest being, which according to Shaivite Hindus is Shiva. Shiva the supreme manifests into two halves namely Shiva and Shakti. 

Shiva is the masculine energy whose fundamental quality is having no desires or being detached. Shakti on the other hand is the feminine energy (maternal/nature), whose fundamental quality is materialistic attachment. It is when Shiva and Shakti combine that action, movement and creation arise.

I believe the above fragment is essential to really focus on the state of empowerment. Why? If you want to work for the cause of empowering women, don't you need to understand what women is.

As feminists organizations across lead the concern for empowerment of woman by mostly pointing a finger at male atrocities, they lose focus due to missing out on the role of men. After the male and female energies come together (say in marriage), to sustain their binding both partners have a role to play with increasing social support to each other.

Another concern would be to stop belittling the achievement of women in various leadership roles or roles earlier dominated by male fraternity by calling them women achievers. As the difference of energies is the fundamental difference, then a mindset gap should not pave for further gender inequality.

For a transformation that is to be evident at large, one must start at an individual level. Each guy should be patient with his girl and the girl support the guy understanding that they are two sides of the same coin. 

Shakti is the feminine energy; has the word origin from Sanskrit 'Shak' “to be able” - meaning “power” or “empowerment”. 

That is, Shakti is the feminine energy, meaning power or empowerment.

So if woman (Shakti) is the symbol of empowerment, what is empowering woman?