ARE WOMEN REALLY EMPOWERED IN INDIA?

Kristi Flora Karki

“If you educate her, she’ll be hard to control!”

“Why do you have to speak when we are speaking? It’s not some useless discussion going on so keep your mouth shut!”

“Why do you have to dress up so nice you want male attention?”

“Watch your tone girl, it’s not very feminine”, “Have you seen her dress? She was definitely asking for it!”

“Why are you spending so much money on her education, when she has to bear children and marry one day anyways!” …. these are some of the taunts women have to endure almost all their lives even in the 21^st century!

Women a gender that has been oppressed and exploited for ages not only in India, but all around the world. Women have to go through discrimination and inequality almost every day. In this article we’ll be going deeper to the state of women particularly in India.

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In today’s world women have become a subject to Misogyny, but were they always like this even in the past? and for how long were they suppressed and abused?

If we go back to ancient India, during the Harrapan civilization the society used to be matriarchal, women were seen as the mother nature and were worshiped as well. Also, during the Early Vedic age (1500BC-500BC) it is found that the society used to be patriarchal, but the women were treated with respect.

The authors of Rigveda and the other Scriptures were written not only by men like Vishwamitra but women as well, like Poulomi, Apala, Lopamudra etc. which shows education was accessible for women as well. It is also found that women took part in all kinds of political activities and discussions, which represents women as a crucial member of the society. Sati Pratha, dowry system and Parda were not practiced in the Rig Vedic period.

But with the advent of later Vedic period(1000BC-500BC), society started to be rigid for women, as they were debarred from participating in the political discussions and at the same time, Parda and dowry system were introduced as well. Just like that, with time the society became cruel to women and hence misogyny took place in our country.

Women havealways been seen as someonewith no individuality, someone who was born to abide by the rules made by the society and if she ever questioned it, she’s considered problematic and mannerless.

In the past, women were seen as someone’s daughter or someone’s wife. If the husband dies the woman was also burnt with her husband signifying that without her husband, she held no significance and didn’t deserve to live anymore. How cruel and traumatizing…now Sati pratha must have ended in our country but the misogynist mindset hasn’t.

Women used to be perceived as a liability for a long time which led to female foeticide, even today such cases take place in some regions of our country.

There are various so-called rules made by the society that a woman is expected to abide by to be seen as a “good woman,” like, they must dress to please the society, they must be soft spoken, never argue and question people, most importantly they must never say “no” to people. But why?

Why there are no such rules for men? When a man shouts or argues, it is considered normal “He is a boy, they are aggressive and loud it’s normal …” that’s how the society has been covering up for the misconduct of men, but if a woman opposes someone or argues they are called mannerless as women are not meant to show rage and disagreement as they are always expected to be quiet and submissive.

During the late 18^th and 19^th century feminism started, women started raising their voices against the injustice and discrimination towards them all over the globe specially in the west. In India also feminism made its entry making the women realize about their rights, freedom and equality. The journey of women’s empowerment and freedom in India has its roots in the 19^th century which started with socio-religious reform movements and social changes.

Key figures like Savitribai Phule and Pandita Ramabaipioneers of women’s education and fought against injustice.

Post independence era particularly the later half of the 20^th and 21^st century has witnessed significant legal and social reforms aimed at empowering women, like increasing women representation in political bodies, and introduced various acts like the Hindu widow Remarriage Act (1856), the Dowry Prohibition Act (1961) and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005) etc.

Despite progress in various areas, women in India continue to face significant challenges and biases. Even today many women struggle everyday with mental abuse, domestic violence, physical abuse and what not! Casesrelated to dowry murder and domestic violence has never left the scene in our country, even today women are not safe either in day light or at night.

And the sad part is most of these women can’t even do anything about it. As they feel helpless,because in our country the woman, the victim is blamed for the crime against her rather than the culprit! What might be the reason? Then the answer is the society and its misogynist mindset.

A girl is nurtured in a way that teaches her to put other people’s choices and happiness above hers, it is believed that it is not very nice for a woman to have her wants and needs…some phrases like “Aurat to Dharti Ma Hoti Hai sab Kuch Seheti Hai!… Aurat Ho Sehena Sikho!”

Women are fed such ideologies all their lives to accept the fact that they were born to sacrifice and be submissive and forces them to neglect their dreams. This slowly breaks their self-identity and confidence leading them to anxiety and depression.

Once I had a conversation with a victim of domestic violence, she said a husband beating and harassing his wife is a normal thing. When I asked her why would he beat her out of nowhere? She simply replied “He’s a man, he got suspicious… maybe his mood must have been bad so he beats me” to that I asked why didn’t she leave him?

She replied “I couldn’t go back home as my parents told me people will mock us and that I’ve to adjust this way…then …I tried to kill myself but my children would be all alone and we all are dependent on him. So, I can’t leave him I have no choice but to live this way “. This is just one story there are millions of more devastating stories of abuse and torture in every other household in our country.

But why are women unable to stand up for themselves? The answer is the way they have been nurtured all their life, the way they have been deprived of individuality, never taught them to be independent, never taught them about being financially independent and standing up for themselves, rather taught them to shut up, ignore and to keep quiet! This eventually let women into believing that abuse and torture is a normal thing and they must suffer as it’s their fate!

Most of the women in their 40s regret about getting married early and not being financially independent, as it is one of the most important reasons for women unable to leave abusive partners and families. The only solution to end such incidents is to empower women, to make them realize that abuse and harsh treatment towards them is wrong and they deserve respect just like any other human being!

The best way to do so is by helping them become financially independent. Being financially independent gives a woman her voice to stand up against violence, to be able to say no! and have a secure future for herself and her children.

So, its high time, we teach more and more women about being self-aware, being financially independent, to face hurdles,to speak up about the importance of education and about the fact that they deserve respect, that they are allowed to have dreams and follow them as well, their voice matters and most importantly they are an individual with wants and needs just like any other human being rather than just being a children producing machine and serving their husbands.Changing mindset is the key in bringing any kind of change in the society.

A section of people see feminism as a bad influence and a threat which might brain wash women to lose their femininity. Butfeminism is not about forcing women to get out from their houses and pick a job, but to give them a choice whether they want to be a home maker or work, want to marry or not, want to have kids or not!

Real women empowerment will only happen if shift in the mindsets of people take place in our country.

When a woman would be able to study rather than getting married forcefully, when a woman will be able to speak confidently in family gatherings without being laughed at, when a woman is not criticised for being harassed but the culprit, when husbands will stop making sexist jokes on his wife in front of people, when a mother will not be judged for working after having a baby, when a woman won’t be questioned about her character when she wants to follow her dreams, when a woman will be able to make decisions for herself without feeling guilty just like any other human being, then real women empowerment will happen!

Kristi Flora Karki is a student of Mass Communication and Journalism, Gauhati University

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