Some weeks ago during the launch break at a seminar on women and the media in Mumbai, coversation turned to the rapid commercialisation of every aspect of Indian life. Someone frivolously predicted that International Women's Day this year would be sponsored by a major cosmetics firm. The response she got was somewhere between laughter and horrified disbelief. It was, of course, meant to be a joke. An oddly prescient one though, considering what has come to pass. Far from being a date that hardly anyone apart from women's activists kept note of, March 8 this year evoked the enthusiastic support of a range of highly unlikely entities such as music channels, the Life Insurance Corporation, Indian Airlines, the government of Maharashtra, cosmetics companies such as Ponds and Chambor, Citibank and so on.It is hardly a secret that the sudden flurry of activity was prompted by material considerations rather than a sudden and overwhelming commitment to women's rights. The growing visibility of the Indian woman andher increased earning power in recent years has had both advertisers and politicians scrambling to make the right noises that would appeal to her. The fact that even Women's Day should be perceived as a media op by advertisers however shows a new and daring foray into an area of hardcore feminism; in the past Indian women's groups have used the occasion to focus on serious issues such as caste prejudice as evidenced in the Bhanwari Devi rape case and representation of women in political fora. For those who have been leery of the growing emphasis on beauty for women, the idea of a cosmetics firm supporting Women's Day is akin to Hitler throwing a party for the Jews.The fact is that the phenomenon, however ludicrous, has occurred. And what are we to make of it?On the face of it, it is not all bad. The most potent fact in its favour is that it is an opportunity to spread consciousness. A movement, after all, aims to bring about change by spreading a message. And that one picture of the women crew thatIndian Airlines had selected for its Karachi flight on March 8, flashed on the front pages of most newspapers, was probably a more effective blow for feminism than a dozen morchas and seminars. The problem is that not all the images or messages put on the occasion are necessarily going to conform to feminist ideals. In fact, the primary consequence of appropriation is that there is no control over what is disseminated.In the past, the event - thorough programmes mounted by activists and media coverage - denoted a sense of struggle, for rights and for equality. This year, thanks to its new patrons, it has taken on a new image as a day of tribute to or celebration of womanhood. How vague this concept of womanhood is can be perceived from the fact that while one advertiser scrawled International Women's Day across a bare navel, Citibank offered a `special card' for women, a primary feature of which was special discounts at `supermarkets, boutiques and shopping malls'. One company even sent out red roses towomen with ``Happy Women's Day'' message.And this is just the beginning. Given the hunger for marketable events it is only a matter of time. By next year there will probably be specially created cards, presents and a whole slew of schemes that have everything to do with commerce and nothing whatsoever with women's rights. Given the difference in resources between women's groups and business enterprises, there is no question about who will generate the bigger hype.Unless women's groups decide to take matters in hand. Admittedly, their powers are limited. No one can actually claim to own an occasion, nor can anyone prevent an individual or an organisation from acknowledging it. What they can do is be vigilant about the manner in which it is acknowledged. By protesting loudly against attempts at subversion. And by offering their services to business houses to suggest measures that could be both profitable and genuinely beneficial to women or by appropriating some of the methods of the market (such asadvertising) for themselves, they can try and protect the spirit of the occasion. The danger here is not just the trivialisation of an event but of the many things it represents.The writer is a Mumbai-based columnist
