I have made my views clear about how much I loathe the current presidential elections. There is only one word for it - fiasco. I don't know (and I don't care) who's comparatively better but I do know (and care) that whether it's Shekhawat or Patil, this country is doomed. Neither of them seem to fit in Rashtrapathi Bhavan. Do we want a president who claims to channel spirits? A president who seems to have scammed several account holders in her co-operative bank? Or do we want a president who's so cheap that the first image that comes to your mind is that of some sort of political lackey, looking adoringly at fellow politicians while taking the vilest potshots at his rivals?
But what infuriated me the most is how everyone went agog about the fact that Patil might be the first female President of the country. What of it? Are people really such fools to believe Woman's Rights are going to be uplifted the moment Patil assumes office (if she does get elected that is)? Please. When Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister (which is a realistically more powerful office than that of the President), Woman's Rights hardly went anywhere. On the contrary, the much broader concept of Human Rights went down the drain with the imposition of the Emergency. At the risk of sounding misogynist, we don't necessarily need a woman to improve the quality of life for women. We need concerned people who are conscientious about what they do, regardless of their gender. Frankly speaking, I cannot see Patil in that position.
Feminism has always been a hotly debated topic. While it is generally agreed that discrimination against women exists in many societies in the world, a lot of people in a particular society often disagree as to what constitutes discrimination. For instance, when voting rights to women was granted in western countries during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, most opponents to this act did not consider Denial of Voting Rights as a form of discrimination.
Similarly, in India, subtler forms of discrimination still exist. The concept of a Woman Staying At Home was so firmly embedded in social consciousness that when women first started working at offices, most people, including other women, labelled them as impertinent, ultra-rebellious or even unfaithful to their husbands. That image of a working woman thankfully no longer exists in most urban areas of India today but it seems to be still rooted in rural and semi-urban parts of the country.
Apart from this particular idea, there seems to be a lot of opinion on what a Good Indian Woman should be like. Good Indian Women are often expected to be submissive, to never disobey their husbands or parents and to keep a low profile. Relatively backward areas of the country still practice that outrageous act of Sati, forcing unwilling wives to join their husbands on the funeral pyre. And of course, a lot of times, women are considered a burden to the family. Many couples still curse their luck when the wife gives birth to a girl and the dowry system is exploited very badly in India.
Comparatively liberal workplaces and a recognition of gender equality in urban areas has helped. But a lot of credit goes to Woman's Rights Organizations and other NGOs for improving the status of women in this country. It takes courage to stand up and speak about any social issue but Woman's Rights (along with Caste Rights and health issues like AIDS) is probably one of the toughest challenges to face due to the strong stereotypical mindsets of most members of society, including women themselves.
Having said that, I think it's important to point out that just because you take a woman out of her home and put her in office, you don't necessarily 'liberate' her. If society can accused of stereotyping women one way, many Woman's Rights Activists can be accused of stereotyping women another way and failing to recognize the fact that every woman is different (indeed every individual is different). If some women feel great being independent and not being confined at home, there are others who'd love nothing more than being a good housewife and taking care of their husbands. It's like remembering that all people who wear skimpy clothes probably have a liberal outlook but not all those who are liberal wear skimpy clothes.
I have quite often witnessed both men and women make statements like "Oh, when all women go to work, society is truly liberated". I have also read reports of how Woman's Rights Activists go on what are called 'liberation drives' where they claim to have freed several women from the clutches of conservative husbands. These reports often make me wonder if among every fifty such freed women, there are at least one or two who stayed at home not because they were forced to, but because they chose to. Does this mean I support Sati if the woman goes willingly to a pyre and isn't forced into it? No, because of the simple fact that death is irreversible and you're denying the woman a chance to change her mind. That chance should always be there.
I'm all in favour of gender equality and I'd love to be in a society where equality is so obvious that there is no debate about the matter. But I also wish and hope that activists are careful enough to ascertain what each woman wants. By all means, please make sure that every woman is aware of the opportunities she has and the rights she deserves. But at the same time, leave the ultimate decision to her.
Meanwhile, I'm getting ready for four years of torture under either Patil or Shekhawat.
But what infuriated me the most is how everyone went agog about the fact that Patil might be the first female President of the country. What of it? Are people really such fools to believe Woman's Rights are going to be uplifted the moment Patil assumes office (if she does get elected that is)? Please. When Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister (which is a realistically more powerful office than that of the President), Woman's Rights hardly went anywhere. On the contrary, the much broader concept of Human Rights went down the drain with the imposition of the Emergency. At the risk of sounding misogynist, we don't necessarily need a woman to improve the quality of life for women. We need concerned people who are conscientious about what they do, regardless of their gender. Frankly speaking, I cannot see Patil in that position.
Feminism has always been a hotly debated topic. While it is generally agreed that discrimination against women exists in many societies in the world, a lot of people in a particular society often disagree as to what constitutes discrimination. For instance, when voting rights to women was granted in western countries during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, most opponents to this act did not consider Denial of Voting Rights as a form of discrimination.
Similarly, in India, subtler forms of discrimination still exist. The concept of a Woman Staying At Home was so firmly embedded in social consciousness that when women first started working at offices, most people, including other women, labelled them as impertinent, ultra-rebellious or even unfaithful to their husbands. That image of a working woman thankfully no longer exists in most urban areas of India today but it seems to be still rooted in rural and semi-urban parts of the country.
Apart from this particular idea, there seems to be a lot of opinion on what a Good Indian Woman should be like. Good Indian Women are often expected to be submissive, to never disobey their husbands or parents and to keep a low profile. Relatively backward areas of the country still practice that outrageous act of Sati, forcing unwilling wives to join their husbands on the funeral pyre. And of course, a lot of times, women are considered a burden to the family. Many couples still curse their luck when the wife gives birth to a girl and the dowry system is exploited very badly in India.
Comparatively liberal workplaces and a recognition of gender equality in urban areas has helped. But a lot of credit goes to Woman's Rights Organizations and other NGOs for improving the status of women in this country. It takes courage to stand up and speak about any social issue but Woman's Rights (along with Caste Rights and health issues like AIDS) is probably one of the toughest challenges to face due to the strong stereotypical mindsets of most members of society, including women themselves.
Having said that, I think it's important to point out that just because you take a woman out of her home and put her in office, you don't necessarily 'liberate' her. If society can accused of stereotyping women one way, many Woman's Rights Activists can be accused of stereotyping women another way and failing to recognize the fact that every woman is different (indeed every individual is different). If some women feel great being independent and not being confined at home, there are others who'd love nothing more than being a good housewife and taking care of their husbands. It's like remembering that all people who wear skimpy clothes probably have a liberal outlook but not all those who are liberal wear skimpy clothes.
I have quite often witnessed both men and women make statements like "Oh, when all women go to work, society is truly liberated". I have also read reports of how Woman's Rights Activists go on what are called 'liberation drives' where they claim to have freed several women from the clutches of conservative husbands. These reports often make me wonder if among every fifty such freed women, there are at least one or two who stayed at home not because they were forced to, but because they chose to. Does this mean I support Sati if the woman goes willingly to a pyre and isn't forced into it? No, because of the simple fact that death is irreversible and you're denying the woman a chance to change her mind. That chance should always be there.
I'm all in favour of gender equality and I'd love to be in a society where equality is so obvious that there is no debate about the matter. But I also wish and hope that activists are careful enough to ascertain what each woman wants. By all means, please make sure that every woman is aware of the opportunities she has and the rights she deserves. But at the same time, leave the ultimate decision to her.
Meanwhile, I'm getting ready for four years of torture under either Patil or Shekhawat.
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