To be honest, I feel
little uncomfortable with a word ending in “ism” – this suffix added to a word
restricts the realm of the word I think. Take an example of the name – Marx.
Who would deny the contribution of the Karl Marx in Western philosophy? But the
moment the theory constitutes the area of “Marxism” – it’s for Marxists! Many
of us would avoid going close to the fence surrounding the area.
Radical thoughts are part
of the advancement of civilization. Wasn’t using fire to cook raw meat a
radical thought? Wasn’t Copernicus’s idea considered radical in his time? But
do these examples encourage us to become followers of “Radicalism”? I doubt!
Almost everyone loves to
become patriot, but what about PATRIOT-ISM? The value of own land and culture
is immense to every person. But who defines that one national culture\ interest
is so superior to others that its followers should be entitled to impose that
standard everywhere in the world? Which route the followers would take to prove
that superiority?
I think same happens with
the word “Feminine”. We all are comfortable with femininity. But the moment it
becomes FEMIN-ISM, we know the topic forces us to look at things conforming to
a particular point of view. It excludes people from entering the area of
discourse; creates a field for gladiators denying the universal nature of
femininity.
One friend suggests me to
write for some “feminist” magazine where I have to follow the standard of their
style and language. At that very moment, I remembered
Chapal
Bhaduri – the man who used to transformed himself into a woman representing wonderful
women characters from the world of Indian history and mythology. I remembered
Kelucharan Mohapatra - his beautiful face of the mythical Radhika I once fell
in love with. I remembered the bright pensive face of the male professor, who
was going through the painful long process of gender change, sitting beside me
and praising my skirt – “I love your dress. Once I become a woman, I will be
able to wear dresses like you.” Am I allowed to write about them in the
feminist magazine? Or my area of discourse needs to be borderlined by certain
physical attributes of persons? Am I supposed to support the causes of the
person having a female reproductive system and not hesitating before killing a
hundred people in the company to ensure a promotion for herself? Or does the
expression of “feminism” also include the subtle face of femininity manifested in persons born with male reproductive system?
Chapal Bhaduri
Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra
Dictionary meaning of
FEMIN-ISM tells reveals this is a “theory
of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes” led by the belief that men and women should
have equal rights and opportunities. How
many other than some fringe political groups like ISIS deny that equality?
Stopping a women from becoming a political or social leader because of her
gender is rare notion these days; the world has seen many of them in different
countries – more in so-called underdeveloped countries that in so-called
developed ones. Only a few countries prevent a women from being an economist or pilot if she
wants to and have the capability to become one.
I stay in a country where
Durga and Kali and Lakshmi and Saraswati - all females take significant stature
among the worshiped deities. Do Siva, Ganesh or Kartikeya create larger scope
of business than that Durga, Kali, Lakshmi and Saraswati do every
year? I do not have statistics but I have doubt whether the female deities
really need to fight against males to establish own equality.
How many of registered
Indian companies offer lesser package to their female employees than the males?
I do not know of any. Statistics tell IT sector in India hires more women than
men at entry level, 51 % as per a recent NASSCOM report. 22% of women
applicants get final offers whereas only 15% of male applicants receive offer
letter. We cannot deny women laborers face issues in unorganized industry sectors,
but male laborers too face lots of troubles there - may be
different, but life is not trouble-free for any of the genders.
Right now, when I am
writing sitting on my desk – I hear a neighbour couple fighting over some
domestic issue. And I hear only the high-pitch voice of the young housewife
cursing the man - seems he expected her to cook in the absence of
domestic help - not a job for “equal” housewives for sure!
Domestic violence is a hot
topic no doubt. If a woman feels that she has been a victim of domestic
violence and files a case for separation, the law of the country probably tells
that she is entitled to claim a considerable chunk of the man’s earnings. I was
wondering if there is a similar law to protect men who are subject to domestic violence.
Or it is difficult for a single person to decide how much “equality” is still
needed.
Like most of the favourite
topics dominating the discussion of section of academia and accomplished women
in Indian drawing rooms, the root of “Feminism” also lies in some other part of
the globe. There is no harm in cultural exchange between different geographies.
In fact, exchange keeps civilizations alive. But it seems better to go through
the social, political and economic status of women in the history of those
parts of the globe to understand their context behind starting a movement
before finding similarities between them and us – eventually finding examples
from my geography which could fit to their context.
I think we need to go through the history of feminism in the western part of
the globe before jumping into their movements. How social, economic and
political issues made a section of society feel the necessity to establish own
equality with men, make them demand the right to take up same professions as
men, change the choice of cloths too - in turn making them the primary
decision-makers for consumer goods in 85% of households. Once a subject of
empowerment-advertising campaigns, women are no more "next-emerging"
market, but a force controlling the market in all the countries where western
economic concepts flourished. Shall we look at feminism through the same
glasses we have been using since a hundred years or try to use a different pair
of glasses now?
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