Mehak Gupta Grover
Growing up as a woman in India is still no easy task. Woman, isn’t she a human? She is made of the same flesh and bones like a man and if injured physically or mentally, she feels pain. The worth of a civilisation can be judged from the position that it gives to a woman. Still gender based discrimination against female is pervasive across the world.
This is the 21st century. Still, the fight for equality is mulling upon us. ‘Gender equality is still the unfinished business of this century.’ Social and legal discrimination against women remains a major obstacle to economic development in emerging and developing countries. Certain forms of discrimination against women remain widespread. Our India- known for its supreme values and traditions- has become a place of demons. Rape has become the most common crime against women in India. Despite having the world’s largest democracy, examples of gang rape and hangings demonstrate what a perilous place India is becoming for women. Millions of cases get registered for female foeticide. And in case, girl to survives, child marriage and high level of trafficking still cast a shadow over the safety of females.
We say ‘Beti Padhao Beti Bachao’. This is a nice initiative taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modiji. But why Beti Bachao? Why are we even supposed to make girls weak? By raising such slogans, we are showing our girls how flimsy they are! Whenever there is a queue at the railways or bus stands, why do the hoarding says- for old-aged, handicapped and women. Why our own people are making girls imbecile? In fact, I firmly believe in ‘Beta Padhao Samaj Bachao’ They really need to be taught how to respect everyone.
Feminism- the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes. Is this feminism making women strong or more feeble? More buttress is required for the one who is inept. First we talk about equality of sexes, then we need support for everything- that’s the misfortune! Most feminists have conflated equality and sameness. And that’s a huge mistake; the sexes are equal but they are different.
In words of Mahatma Gandhi-
” To call woman the weaker sex is a libel;
It is man’s injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, then,
Indeed, is woman less brute than man.
If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man’s superior.”
The literacy rate among women is meagre as compared to men. This is because women are deprived of an equal access to education as males in the society. Proportion of women in highly paid jobs is very small. Women are exploited and harassed at the work place. It is the obstacle women faces in the workplace- not a lack of ambition that leads women opt out or lose interest in advancement. Why these obstacles don’t hinder the males in the society? The preference of male child over female child has always been a sensitive issue leading to abortions. But, I ask, where are girls lacking behind? They are doing extremely well in every sphere. Why inheritance becomes an issue? Despite the fact that women in developing countries provide nearly 70 percent of the agricultural labour, they continue to account for over 60 percent of world’s hunger. Rural women are backbone of their communities. They work in the land and support their families, ensure food security for their communities and feed their nation. However, they fare much worse than rural men. This level of inequality is significant in a world where rural women make up over a quarter of the world population.
‘Birth is given to everyone by Almighty;
Then why some are good, some are bad,
Some criticise on colour, some on gender,
And some kill one another.
Alas, things don’t change!
Does God teach all this?’
Do we actually enact what we say? We talk about equality- do we follow it? We talk about right and wrong- do we accept it? We talk so much and implement so little! ‘Your preachings may not influence, but your examples will surely put an impact.’
When it comes to morality, there has always been one rule for woman and another for man. According to a survey by Ipsos Mori, a fifth of men and women globally say women are inferior to men or shouldn’t aspire to work outside of the house. Nearly half of all men and women in India and Russia believe women are inferior. It clearly shows how people are adapted with this notion of women as ‘the weaker sex’, strangely, including women!
In India, social attitudes are highly conservative. Sex education is left out of most school curriculums; legislators feel such topics could corrupt youth and offend traditional values. There is an expression in India- ‘ Raising a daughter is like watering your neighbour’s garden’ or even the worst – ‘It is better to have a thousand sons than one daughter’. Bride burning has become an everyday issue. India is a home to one in every three child brides in the world. Families are still expected to pay a dowry of expensive gifts or money when a daughter gets married. Millions of girls are never sent to school because it is considered a waste of precious resources. If a family is poor, a son is the first to be fed and the ‘less valuable’ girl is given the leftover scraps to eat. India has an estimate of over million of child prostitutes. Indian widows are seen as a curse. Strange! The land of values and culture mistreat its own people.
This depicts that the core root of this problem is the very mentality of the uselessness of girls from within the Indian continent.
India has started with the spark of giving girls equal rights but this step has to be taken more seriously and with firm minds. Women have been fighting for equal rights for generations- the right to vote, the right to control our bodies and right to equality in the workplace. Still, we have a long way to go. We need to change our perspective- the way we look at the things. Let’s lift each other up to become the law makers. The message has to be loud and clear- we are strong, we are self-sufficing, we can do much better in all fields, we are multitaskers, we are the future!
This is uplifting the exploited one. Men and women- stop underestimating each other. Hold hands and work together for a better tomorrow. Let everyone have their own mark in the world. Let little flowers blossom. “Have enough confidence, to stand with a head high. Have enough humility, not to look down on others”.
In words of all the women in the world-
I just need a chance,
to grow, to explore, to understand,
to learn, to develop, to inspire,
I just need a chance;
To let the world know,
Who I am!
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