Be the change you want to see : Time to end the gender bias

A group of my friends and I were having a discussion on the women of today. One of my acquaintances, a woman herself, felt very strongly about how a woman will be considered disgraceful and ‘impure’ if she was in an affair before marriage. According to her any man would never accept such a woman, on account of her prior dispositions. When asked whether it was okay for a man to be involved in any such relationships the answer was yes. Women are dependent on men, she said. I was a little taken aback by such a mindset. But after careful deliberation and introspection I realized that maybe it wasn’t her fault. It was the society we lived in. Ours is a patriarchal one, which is internalized by women who watch the world through the prism of this patriarchy. At that point it dawned upon me that people, educated or otherwise need to get rid of the asymmetrical power equation rampant in this male dominated world. It is necessary to change the belief that women are a weaker gender. There is a need for a new school of thought to arise that states that men and women are equals and nothing less than that.

The different stereotypes for women

My colleague characterized women in a certain way. This led me to think about the various gender stereotypes existing in the society I live in. The society needs women to be elegant, soft-spoken, well dressed, accepting, flexible and unambitious among the several other qualities. Everywhere I look I am made well aware of the fact that I am a woman. My friends often complain of the gender stereotypes forced upon them- ‘No late nights. No wearing shorts. No cussing. No being loud. Don’t be so strong headed. You need to be adaptable. What will you do once you go to your husband’s house? Don’t ever forget you are a girl. Fortunately for me my parents have never made any distinction between my older brother and me, nor did my mentors at school make me feel less competent just because I was a girl. Just like me there are several others who share similar thoughts and uphold similar beliefs. I understand that there is no automatic solution to transform the orthodox realm of thought process that encompasses us. I believe that the change is slow, but already in action.

As my views on the state of women in my own country and the world, crystallized I became aware of how strongly I felt against any gender discrimination prevalent in my society.

 There is a need to end gender inequality. By overcoming this disparity we can take the first step towards solving several other social problems faced by the world. 

Boko Haram kidnapped 300 Nigerian girls from their school

Issues borne from gender bias have grim consequences on the lives of the victims. For instance, the United Nations estimates as many as 200 million girls are ‘missing’ in the world today. In India and Pakistan, thousands of women are victims of dowry deaths. In India alone, there were almost 7,000 dowry deaths in 2005, with the majority of victims aged 15-34 years. In a study of female deaths in Egypt, 47 per cent of female rape victims were then killed because of the dishonour the rape was thought to bring to the family. In Nigeria, a treatment centre reported that 15 percent of female patients requiring treatment for sexually transmitted infections were under the age of five. An additional six percent were between the ages of six and fifteen. In Nepal, 40 percent of girls are married by the age of 15. 31 million girls of primary school age are not enrolled in school.

Despite progress, girls and women continue to be discriminated against and lack access to education, political and social rights. There is a need for change. There has always been a need for change. A change for a better and sustainable tomorrow. For female empowerment and equality. I believe in a school of thought that propagates gender equality. A school of thought where girls are taught to be free and not submissive. Where men and women walk shoulder to shoulder without any bigotry faced by either. Where the struggles of women have been energised to further break the barriers set by society. 

I believe that I am a feminist. Gender equality or feminism does not mean overpowering the opposite sex or ‘anti-man’, it is in fact by definition the opposite. Emma Watson's speech on feminism to the UN defined a feminist as, “a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.” If one believes in these ideologies, she or for that matter even he is a feminist. Feminism can also be construed as a woman maintaining her sexuality, in the same way men do.If we really want equality we must all make an active decision to abandon phrases such as “You are such a girl” and the like. If we really want equality we must try our best to ignore gender and stop competing with one another. We must stop pressuring each other to fit with this stereotype, which more often than not leaves us feeling repressed and unable to express ourselves. 

International's Womens Day

These Values need to be instilled in the minds and hearts of children right from school. CACR strives to give equal opportunities to girls in school . Facilitation of 75  municipal school girls to participate in DNA iCan Marathon  was one such initiative. We hope to have many more. On the occasion on International Womens' Day its my appeal : Do join us on ur endeavour.

+Meesha Gandhi  is a intern with +Citizens Association For Child Rights  a non-profit startup striving to improve the functioning of public schools in India 
Edited by +Richa Singh 

This article first appeared on her Blog Here 

 Image courtesy : sayingimages.com ; idiva.com ; carpoolcandy.com

Does Women Empowerment truly create a EQUAL world?

The concept of equality of sexes has been taught to us right from our childhood  and in support of the same concept the idea of  women empowerment was born and since then this movement has gained  popularity. But the question that should have been asked before the rallies for equal rights for women gained strength is :What exactly is women empowerment? The question itself is quite simple but the answers are varied and complex.

The gender gap captured in Media 

According to the document published by the United Nations, the term basically entails the following five components:

• Women's sense of self-worth; 
• Their right to have and to determine choices; 
• Their right to have access to opportunities and resources; 
• Their right to have the power to control their own lives, both within and outside the home; and
•  Their ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just social and economic order, nationally and internationally. 

However, as more organizations joined the fray to fight for women empowerment the definition became vague.

  Women empowerment should enable women to fight against any injustice done to them or should enable them to fight for their rights. In the earlier days, when India was a young free country, many laws had to be laid down to bring the status of women at par with the men in the society. However, as time passed these arcane laws were never changed. The quota reserved for women in every government institution and in most  fields was a necessity in those days. To continue in the same vein even now when most women are at an equal footing with men in all walks of life is a violation of the ideology in the support of which this initiative was first taken. These laws automatically put men at an disadvantage.They are not given even a fighting chance at grabbing the opportunities that in a perfect world should have been available to both the genders equally. 

The society has various means of twisting the definitions of concepts in a way that suits itself and the definition is generally distorted to such proportions that the original meaning of a coined term is forgotten. Such is the case with the term ‘women’s empowerment’. By granting women freedom, it no doubt aids them in making conscious choices and also makes them independent, but it doesn't entail handing them opportunities like gifts for it only makes them weaker. A child only becomes strong when it has fallen time and again, only to make one more attempt at walking till it takes its first step. If the women do not fight for their own rights and do not compete with the men in a world apparently dominated by men, they will never realize their self-worth in the true sense and may never reach the peak of their potential. Granted that women are considered to be the fairer sex and they are weaker than their counterparts in terms of physical strength, it should not result in the male gender bearing the brunt of unfair practices to compensate the wide gulf.

The concept of women empowerment will be truly implemented only when the women make themselves capable of competing with the males on an equal footing. Only then will the scales of equality be balanced.The men of today’s age understand the importance of their female counterparts in more ways than we can possibly count and I guess the time is ripe for women to pick up their arms and walk down the path to the new world as equals with the men and not as the underdogs that need special offers or concessions to make their presence felt in the world.

Dream for a EQUAL world 

Hence, when we teach gender equality in our schools today to girls and boys, let's tell them that both the sexes are truly equally-equal opportunities, equal importance, and equal reward-punishment standards for both.But for these values to get ingrained in the minds and hearts of our children the teaching should start at home and continue in our schools. Hope, this would lead us to a equal world where women are respected and treated as par with men. Neither women are  discriminated against nor granted undue favors. 

I AM

“I have hopes,

I have dreams,

I want to fly high,

 I want to swim deep,

 I speak many languages,

 Of love, peace and silence,

 I have been crushed many times,

 Yet I get up every time bearing the bruises,

 I give u birth,

 And at death, I am the one you melt in,

 I am a vortex of emotions,

 I am your shore in a storm,

 I am simply.... a woman!!”

-Kavisha Shah

--by Kavisha, a volunteer with Citizens Association for Child Rights a  non profit education start-up working to improve quality of health and education in municipal(inner city) schools of Mumbai