Every year, Vasant Panchami arrives, bringing bright yellow hues, Saraswati puja, and cheerful festivities marking the arrival of spring. It’s supposed to be a day to honour wisdom, learning, and creativity. In 2025 too we’ll put our hearts and soul to honour the goddess Saraswati on Vasant Panchami. But let’s take a hard look in the mirror for a moment. How does it make sense to celebrate a festival honouring a goddess when, as a society, we continue to fail our women every single day?

A nation of hypocrisy

We sing hymns to Saraswati and bow before her idol, but the reverence stops at the deity. What about the millions of women who embody knowledge, strength, and creativity in real life? Aren’t they worthy of respect too?

It’s 2025, yet women in India still live in constant fear. We are afraid to step out after dark, hesitant to board a cab alone, and even to exist. While we’re busy arranging grand pujas, the harsh reality for women in this country remains riddled with abuse, harassment, and violence.

Here’s where things get uncomfortable, but it’s a conversation we can’t avoid:

Manipur, 2023: Videos of women being paraded naked and assaulted during ethnic violence shook the conscience of the nation (at least, for a few days before the outrage conveniently faded).

Kolkata, 2024: A 31-year-old female postgraduate trainee doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital was brutally raped and murdered within the college premises. This heinous act not only highlighted the vulnerability of women in supposedly secure environments but also led to widespread protests by medical professionals across the nation.

Hyderabad, 2025: A former army member, Putta Guru Murthy, was arrested for the gruesome murder of his 39-year-old wife, Smt. Putta Venkata Madhavi. Following a domestic dispute, he allegedly strangled her, dismembered her body, and attempted to dispose of the remains horrifyingly.

And there are hundreds more but these are just the cases that make headlines. Thousands of others remain hidden under layers of shame, silence, and systemic failure. In 2022, 4,45,256 cases were registered as ‘crimes against women’ in India. This means an average of 1,220 cases were registered every day and these are just those that were reported.

Festivals without values are just empty rituals

Do festivals like Vasant Panchami hold meaning when we can’t uphold the basic dignity of women? Worshipping a goddess while disregarding the safety, equality, and rights of women is hypocrisy at its peak.

Imagine if the energy we put into elaborate pujas was redirected towards creating safer spaces for women. What if, while praying for knowledge, we ensured access to quality education for every girl child? While lighting lamps, what if we lit the fire of awareness to end patriarchy?

Vasant Panchami is a beautiful festival that symbolises growth, learning, and renewal. But it’s meaningless if we continue to treat half our population as second-class citizens. So, the next time you’re about to bow before the goddess Saraswati, ask yourself: are you willing to fight for the safety and respect of women?

Because until we do, all the yellow sarees and marigold garlands in the world won’t hide the ugly truth – we’re a nation that worships goddesses while failing our women. It’s time to do better.

Related: New Year, Old Fear: The Anna University Sexual Assault Case Shows Nothing Has Changed For Indian Women