-Ramphal Kataria
Flowers on March 8, Inequality All Year
Introduction: The Quiet Cost of Being Born a Woman
On the surface, the modern world celebrates women.
Every year on March 8, speeches are delivered, flowers are exchanged, and social media fills with slogans about empowerment. Governments release reports on gender equality; corporations launch advertising campaigns with the rhetoric of inclusion. The day is known as International Women’s Day, a global event recognising women’s achievements and advocating their rights.
Yet beneath the spectacle lies a quieter reality.
A pink razor often costs more than a blue one. A woman’s haircut costs more than a man’s. Cosmetics, clothing, sanitary products, and personal care items marketed for women are frequently priced higher than similar products designed for men. Economists call this phenomenon the “pink tax.”
But the pink tax is merely the most visible manifestation of a much older and deeper inequality.
For thousands of years, women have been positioned within social systems that restrict their autonomy, control their sexuality, appropriate their labour, and regulate their bodies. From the patriarchal codes of ancient civilizations to the consumer culture of modern capitalism, women’s lives have been shaped by institutions that often claim to honour them while simultaneously subordinating them.
As the philosopher Simone de Beauvoir famously wrote in The Second Sex:
“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.”
The sentence captures a profound truth: womanhood has been historically constructed through social structures that define, discipline, and often diminish women.
To understand the real meaning of International Women’s Day—and why it remains relevant—we must trace the long historical trajectory of women’s status in society: from early human communities to modern capitalism, from ancient religious texts to contemporary markets.
This journey reveals a troubling pattern.
Civilisation, for all its progress, has often deepened women’s subordination.
I. Women in Early Human Societies: Equality Before Patriarchy
Anthropological evidence suggests that early hunter-gatherer societies were not necessarily patriarchal in the rigid sense later civilizations became.
Many anthropologists argue that prehistoric societies exhibited relatively egalitarian gender relations. Women participated in gathering food, producing tools, and sustaining communities. In some societies, descent was traced through the maternal line.
The German philosopher Friedrich Engels, in The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, argued that early societies had forms of “primitive communism” in which property and labour were shared.
According to Engels:
The historical defeat of the female sex began with the rise of private property.
When agriculture developed and surplus production emerged, societies gradually shifted toward patrilineal inheritance. Property had to be transmitted through male lineage. Controlling women’s sexuality became crucial because men needed certainty about biological paternity.
Thus began the institutionalisation of patriarchy.
Marriage became less about companionship and more about regulating women’s reproductive capacity.
In this system, women were transformed from autonomous members of the community into instruments of lineage.
II. The Rise of Patriarchy and the Domestication of Women
With the emergence of organized states and codified laws, patriarchy became entrenched.
Civilisations across the world—from ancient Greece to Rome, from India to China—developed legal frameworks that positioned women as subordinate to men.
Greek philosophers were explicit about this hierarchy.
Aristotle wrote that women were “naturally inferior,” arguing that their role was to obey men and manage domestic life.
The Roman legal system classified women as perpetual minors under the guardianship of fathers or husbands.
In many societies, the public sphere belonged to men while the private sphere—the home—was designated for women.
The home became both sanctuary and prison.
Women’s labour inside households—childcare, cooking, cleaning, emotional care—was essential to social reproduction, yet it remained invisible and unpaid.
As the sociologist Silvia Federici later argued, the unpaid domestic labour of women became the hidden foundation of economic systems.
Civilization thus advanced not only through technological progress but also through the systematic control of women’s bodies and labour.
III. Religion and the Codification of Female Subordination
Religion played a crucial role in legitimizing patriarchy.
Hindu Texts
Ancient Hindu legal codes contain deeply contradictory ideas about women. On the one hand, women are revered as goddesses. On the other, they are denied autonomy.
The Manusmriti famously states:
“In childhood a woman must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, and after the husband’s death to her sons.”
The text further declares that women must never be independent.
These prescriptions shaped centuries of social norms: child marriage, prohibition on widow remarriage, and strict codes governing female sexuality.
Christian Traditions
Christian theology also reinforced patriarchal hierarchies.
The Biblical story of Eve—who is portrayed as the origin of sin—has historically been interpreted as evidence of women’s moral weakness.
Church fathers such as Tertullian described women as “the devil’s gateway.”
For centuries, women were excluded from religious leadership roles.
Islamic Interpretations
Islamic texts contain both egalitarian and patriarchal elements. While the Quran granted women rights to inheritance and divorce in the 7th century—radical for its time—interpretations in many societies later restricted women’s autonomy.
Across cultures, religious institutions frequently functioned as guardians of patriarchal order.
IV. Capitalism, Industrialisation and the Gendered Division of Labour
The Industrial Revolution transformed women’s roles but did not liberate them.
Factories drew women into wage labour, yet they remained paid less than men and continued to shoulder domestic responsibilities.
The sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild described this phenomenon as the “second shift.”
Women worked outside the home yet remained responsible for housework and childcare.
Capitalism simultaneously exploited and romanticized women.
Advertising industries constructed an idealized image of femininity—beautiful, nurturing, submissive—while selling products designed to maintain that image.
The modern beauty industry is built upon this contradiction.
Women are encouraged to pursue empowerment while being subtly pressured to conform to standards of attractiveness defined by patriarchal culture.
V. The Birth of International Women’s Day
The modern women’s movement emerged from labour struggles.
In 1908, thousands of women garment workers marched through New York demanding better working conditions and voting rights.
Inspired by these protests, the German socialist activist Clara Zetkin proposed an international day dedicated to women’s rights at the 1910 Socialist Women’s Conference in Copenhagen.
The first International Women’s Day was celebrated in 1911 across several European countries.
Its revolutionary significance became clear in 1917 when women workers in Petrograd launched strikes demanding “bread and peace.”
The protests sparked the Russian Revolution, which ultimately toppled the Tsar.
International Women’s Day was born not from corporate campaigns but from working-class rebellion.
VI. The Indian Reality: Progress and Contradiction
India presents a deeply paradoxical picture of women’s status.
On paper, constitutional guarantees promise equality. Women have held the highest offices in politics, from prime ministers to presidents.
Yet everyday life tells a more troubling story.
According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau, 4,48,211 crimes against women were reported in 2023, including rape, domestic violence and abduction.
Domestic cruelty by husbands or relatives remains the most common offence.
These numbers likely underestimate the scale of violence because many crimes go unreported due to stigma and social pressure.
Gender imbalance also reflects persistent discrimination.
Studies indicate millions of “missing women” in India due to sex-selective abortions and higher mortality among girls.
Even in states celebrated for development, sex ratios remain skewed.
In Haryana—where the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign began—the sex ratio at birth reportedly fell to 933 girls per 1,000 boys in 2025.
These numbers reveal a disturbing truth:
The discrimination against women begins before birth.
VII. Economic Inequality and the Feminisation of Poverty
Economic empowerment remains one of the greatest challenges.
India’s female labour force participation rate remains far below the global average.
Recent labour data shows female participation around 34 percent, reflecting limited economic inclusion.
Even when women work, they are often concentrated in informal sectors with low wages and little security.
The Global Gender Gap Report places India among countries with significant gender disparities in economic participation.
Women also carry the burden of unpaid labour.
Globally, women perform the majority of domestic work—cooking, childcare, eldercare—tasks essential to society yet excluded from economic accounting.
Thus the economy runs on invisible labour.
VIII. Violence Against Women: A Structural Problem
Violence against women is not merely a law-and-order issue.
It reflects deeper social structures.
In India, crimes such as dowry deaths, honour killings, trafficking, and domestic abuse remain persistent problems.
The majority of crimes against women occur not in public spaces but inside homes.
Domestic violence alone accounts for a significant share of reported cases.
This reality challenges the common narrative that danger exists only outside the household.
For many women, the home itself becomes the site of control and violence.
IX. The Pink Tax and the Economics of Femininity
In the modern consumer economy, gender inequality often appears in subtle forms.
Products marketed for women—from razors to shampoos—are frequently priced higher than equivalent products marketed for men.
This phenomenon is widely known as the pink tax.
The price difference may seem trivial for individual items but accumulates over a lifetime.
Women also face social expectations to spend more on appearance.
Clothing, cosmetics, skincare, hair treatments, and personal grooming become implicit requirements for social acceptance.
Thus the market monetizes femininity.
Women are encouraged to invest in beauty not merely as personal choice but as social obligation.
X. The Feminist Intellectual Tradition
Many thinkers have exposed the contradictions of patriarchal society.
Simone de Beauvoir argued that women were historically defined as “the Other” in relation to men.
Betty Friedan, in The Feminine Mystique, described the psychological emptiness experienced by suburban housewives trapped in domestic roles.
Virginia Woolf argued that women required economic independence and intellectual space to achieve creative freedom.
Her famous assertion remains powerful:
“A woman must have money and a room of her own.”
These writers revealed that gender inequality operates not only through law and economics but also through culture and psychology.
XI. Women Who Broke the Barriers
Despite structural obstacles, many women have shattered barriers.
Figures such as Rosa Luxemburg, Malala Yousafzai, Marie Curie, and Indira Gandhi transformed politics, science and activism.
Their achievements demonstrate that women’s capabilities were never limited—only their opportunities.
XII. The Hypocrisy of Celebration
International Women’s Day today often appears detached from its radical origins.
Corporations run marketing campaigns celebrating empowerment while paying women lower wages.
Governments release statements praising women while failing to ensure safety and equality.
The day risks becoming symbolic rather than transformative.
The radical writer Emma Goldman once warned:
“The history of progress is written in the blood of women as well as men.”
Her words remind us that social change rarely occurs through celebration alone.
It emerges through struggle.
Conclusion: Beyond Symbolism
The story of women is not merely a narrative of victimhood.
It is also a history of resistance.
From the garment workers of New York to the revolutionaries of Petrograd, from suffrage movements to contemporary campaigns against violence, women have continuously challenged structures of oppression.
Yet the struggle remains unfinished.
The persistence of violence, economic inequality, and cultural stereotypes shows that patriarchy has adapted rather than disappeared.
International Women’s Day should therefore be more than a ceremonial event.
It should be a reminder of unfinished revolutions.
For the question remains as urgent today as it was a century ago:
Can societies truly claim progress while half of humanity continues to bear the hidden price of being born a woman?
References
1. National Crime Records Bureau. Crime in India 2023.
2. Periodic Labour Force Survey, Ministry of Statistics, Government of India.
3. World Economic Forum. Global Gender Gap Report 2023.
4. Simone de Beauvoir. The Second Sex (1949).
5. Friedrich Engels. The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (1884).
6. Betty Friedan. The Feminine Mystique (1963).
7. Silvia Federici. Caliban and the Witch (2004).
8. Research on missing female births in India.
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