Celebrating International Women's Day
By Mousumi Roy
08 March, 2016
Countercurrents.org
The history of the world is littered with heroic liberation movements. A given "people" win the right to be free of oppression by another "people". How often have we equated "people" with men. How often have liberation movements served only to liberate men. There are lots of "liberated countries" but too often the liberation stops short of liberating the women. Sad. Women DO cry on occasion. Women do fall in love on occasion. Men fall in love with women on occasion. Well, what are we to do? Become robots? Let’s get real.
I wonder if women ruled the world, would they become as ‘greedy’ as the power seeking men, who rule the world today? I feel they would loose their ‘inner softness’ and femininity, become more masculine, domineering and create a world where men would suffer greatly. If women ruled the world it would not be an ideal world, just as a world ruled by men today is not an ideal world. My ideal world would see both working hand in hand for a better world for all.
Being a woman is a gift from God; it should be appreciated that a woman can perform so many responsibilities. All married women (or in a relationship) might say “there is a woman behind the success of every man.”
And to all unmarried women: “Being single is tough”, yes we can do so many responsibilities at home and in the workplace; and yet we enjoy all the good things in life: music, travel and the joy of having many friends, because friends make us smile through good and bad times… I really feel so special… My role, that a woman can do great things by imparting knowledge among students and through some ways, had contributed ideas regarding one sector of a society’s further improvement… In today’s world woman supports the family economically as well as bears the burden of children, so more important and deserving more respect
And it is not just about making daughters bold but also about making sons equally sensitive.
Traditions and cultures –
Our civil society is torn between traditional beliefs, such as male dominance, and modern ideas, which, among other things, empower women.
The issue in India is closely related to the cultural and traditional mindset of majorities where equality of gender is a big question. Unlike in US or other western society we don’t see women rapists more in India because of heavy gender bias. Some Hindu texts consider women as no-valued commodity or a cheap commodity and so can be misused. Another Hindu text gives so much hype on woman as a God and that is also dangerous as it creates a false image of a normal woman and the Hindu mindset doesn’t allow women the freedom of expressing themselves in a modern dimension visavis Sari vs Jeans. Movies show girls with skimpy dress as bad and girls with Saree as good…
Although, I am dead against the manmade traditions and cultures of this world. I practically live of what I say. I am not afraid to say what is wrong in this country for ages. Every revolution has been against traditions on one way or other. Raja ram Mohan Roy broke the tradition of sati. Periyar alias EVR broke the tradition of blind faith and superstition. Until and unless women break these useless traditions they will fall prey for theses unscrupulous elements in society…
I imagine someday women will script their own religious Scriptures –
When a great mind like Hypatia emerges, it is viewed as heresy to everything the religionists believe and must be an abomination. Hypatia, the genius of Alexandria was hacked to death by the barbaric Christians and fed to dogs to complete their display of contempt for a woman with the temerity to be so much smarter than they were… Fanatical religionists have always been intolerant and dangerous. Most fundamentalists hate women, strip them of basic human rights, treat them as chattel – as in property to be owned and controlled by men for pleasure, reproduction and household labor… Anyway, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, uneducated fanatical religionists are pretty much the same…
Women have been considered property in most parts of the world since humans discovered that men were required in the production of babies (women no longer had a monopoly on fertility). The notion of honour goes back a very long time. It is associated with status. Since women were (essentially) owned they were for the “use” of their owner. If you wanted to transfer ownership of a woman (daughter) you had to ensure that she was unused.
Bringing England into it – because even Lady Diana went through virginity tests when she married Charles. Many people in the west condemn Islam for a lot of practices that are found in our own.
Misogynistic and patriarchal –
Tendencies present in almost all societies and creeds need to be curbed. Progressive liberal societies should frame a uniform civil code ensuring total equality of both sexes in matters of inheritance, matrimony etc. social mobilization against practices of honor killings, khap behavior, bride burning etc. will also be helpful. At individual family level we must not only pamper daughters but daughter in laws too. Why do women continue to believe a ghar jamaii is a bad thing but a girl must go to a guys home when she marries? So long as she believes this, she participates in patriarchy… women have to perform a greater role in resisting patriarchal tendencies. A feminist woman carried a campaign against a fraternity member who complimented her to profile pic, calling it misogyny. “Ati Sarvatra varjayate “
Social Inequity –
I think any policy that addresses social inequity fairly, or reasonably fairly, has my support. Discrimination on the basis of wealth, or caste, or gender, or status, seems repugnant to me. The Indian Constitution held men and women at par, and if in getting our social and economic fabric in sync with its principles, our governments need to act by making laws favouring some sections of society, I am for it. The caveats would be – They should be short-term, not permanent measures, and they should be fair in the long run. If governments short change society by using these balancing tools as vote-catchers for their own survival, I think that is a distortion of the right intent. Reservations, subsidies, scholarships are fine in a society that has suffered years of discrimination at the hands of an elite section of it. The discrimination in the US – where women could not vote till about a 100 years ago, and non-white citizens were discriminated against till 40 years back, also took time to correct and for that country to arrive as an egalitarian society. We have to be patient with social re-engineering too.
Women are still subjugated –
we only claim to be a so called “modern society” but within a flash of second all the modernity factor vanishes! women are still subjugated and no one can actually tell for how long this subjugation will exist…
How many people would have noticed that its a male dominated society? India has a long history of system of violence on weaker sections… Father will always ask his son to drop him to station or airport for late night travel not his daughter… Its alright for a son to have a girl friend but its not okay for a daughter to have a boy friend… Its alright for a son to have a night out but for daughter its prohibited…. Bike for son public transport for daughter… Its okay to beat a woman… Woman does not have right to say no to his father / husband… The tradition pass on to next generation. So are we raising our children in a healthy environment? All these things to protect their daughters? From whom are they protecting daughters ? Sons of other parents. Why are they doing so? Because somewhere while parenting they planted a thought in their sons mind that they are superior, they have right to hit on girls and many other things. Here, I am talking about those parents who claim that boy and girl are equal. There are exceptions as well. You can’t judge India by living in metropolitan cities, working in a MNC travelling in cabs with 24 hours Net and electricity access. Now, lets move to rural India. 70%, huge number. Cities, towns or villages its quite okay to abuse your wife. Again 70% of women in India are its victim. You will be surprised to know that it increases in rural areas.
Modern Society –
We are looking at the past and only part of the future. Things are changing at a rapid pace: parents are becoming more fair to their daughters. Unfair treatment to daughters by parents in rural areas are being resisted by daughters going to highest classes in school. Girls are getting more aware of their rights. While cheating of siblings and wives may continue even in future, the picture will change dramatically in favour of women’s right to inheritance in another decade. The seeds have been sown, thanks to progress in literacy, education, TV, mobile, work by women’s organisations, spread of women self-help groups.
Writer is a columnist and based in Muscat