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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
Edited by +Richa Singh
This article first appeared on her Blog Here
Image courtesy :
