nternational Equal Pay Day, observed on September 18, is usually discussed in the language of economics: wages, remuneration and workplace discrimination. The United Nations estimates that women globally earn around 20 per cent less than men. The statistic is important. It tells us something about how opportunity and income are distributed.

But statistics do not tell the whole story. Before asking whether women are paid equally, perhaps we should ask a more fundamental question: Do we value women’s work equally? A salary can be measured. Value is more difficult to see.

Consider a mother raising children. Her work may involve years of care, teaching, emotional support and household management, yet it rarely appears as income-generating activity. Consider a daughter caring for an ageing parent and quietly postponing education or professional opportunities. Consider a craftswoman carrying decades of knowledge but being described simply as someone who “makes things at home.”

Modern economies are highly sophisticated at measuring some forms of productivity. Yet much of the work on which societies depend remains economically invisible.

We call it duty. We call it family. We call it tradition.

And sometimes, by naming it so, we stop recognising it as work. This is why equal pay is ultimately larger than the payslip. It is also a question of equal value.

Kashmir does not need to borrow the idea that women’s voices matter from the modern world. Its own history provides powerful evidence.

Centuries ago, Lal Ded—Lalleshwari—became one of Kashmir’s most enduring philosophical and spiritual voices. She had no university, publishing house, newspaper column or digital platform through which to establish her authority. Yet her vakhs travelled across generations.

Habba Khatoon transformed love,........

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