Sounds awkward? yes! Iron man stands for nothing but a “fe”+male..If you by any way had the chance of viewing the BBC documentary on Nirbhaya Rape case ,then it is sure shot that you would never forget the great educated defence lawyers of the criminals who spoke for the rapists..their words kept ringing my ears.. iam sure it would have atleast disturbed your sleep the same day … but what could I do within the 4 four walls of my room when education even couldn’t change the mindset of these people…
ML Sharma said in the BBC documentary, ”A girl is just like a flower. It gives a good looking, very softness.. performance, pleasant. On the other hand a man is just like a thorn. Strong, tough enough. That flower always needs protection. If you put that flower in a gutter it is spoilt. If you put it in the temple, it is worshipped.”
Such a wonderful explanation he has given why women are raped every second in some corner of this besieged world.. lets just go through the condition of women in our country since ages…this article has a lot of ctrl+c and ctrl+v… hope you don’t mind that!!
The condition of women remains unchanged even during the modern times with only little changes. In India, women were never given any right of liberty & equality. Their condition becomes even worse when they gave birth to girls. Men treated them in a humiliated manner. They were not only permitted not to step outside their house but also abstained from being educated.
They were also supposed to eat after their husbands or even sometimes to eat the leftovers of other’s food and I am surprised to see that the tradition exists even now in very developed parts of our country… They were under the influence of their parents before marriage & their husband after marriage.
THE PREVAILING ANTI-WOMEN & CHAUVINISTIC SOCIETY..
The ever green Dowry Tradition
Though dowries were made illegal in India in 1961, the law is almost impossible to enforce, and the practice persists for most marriages.
Yes obviously the male counterpart is doing a favour to the female by marrying her and obviously he has to be showered with gifts…
The model used to calculate the dowry takes the bridegroom’s education and future earning potential into account while the bride’s education and earning potential are only relevant to her societal role of being a better wife and mother.
The bridegroom’s demand for a dowry can easily exceed the annual salary of a typical Indian family, and consequently be economically disastrous especially in families with more than one or two daughters.
Women are a burden! Aren’t they?
Though the Indian constitution grants women equal rights to men, there are solid reasons to justify why a women is a liability in every family…
- Not considered capable of earning money
- Seen as economically and emotionally dependent on men
- While they help with domestic duties during childhood and adolescence, they go to live with their husband’s family after marriage, which means less help in the household of their originating family, and most importantly loss of money due to the dowry tradition.
This might explain why the birth of a daughter may not always be perceived as equally blissful as the birth of a son, and why “May you be blessed with a hundred sons” is a common Hindu wedding blessing.
Discrimination against Women
There are even communities in India, such as the Nairs of Kerala, certain Maratha clans, and Bengali families, which exhibit matriarchal tendencies, with the head of the family being the oldest woman rather than the oldest man. Being brought up in Kerala I am proud of that but conditions are just the opposite elsewhere in India !
Various stages when women are discriminated and put to torture:
- Before Birth / As an Infant
- As a Child
- After Marriage
- As a Widow
Well… in short from birth to death..
STAGE 1: BEFORE BIRTH / AS AN INFANT
India is a country where males outnumber females by a great margin and yeah! It’s a moment to rejoice…
though in some states the sex ratio shows a positive trend as in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, some states are just unbelievable!!
Though “prenatal sex discrimination” was legally banned in 1996, the law is nearly impossible to enforce and is not even familiar to all Indian families. Hence, the preference for a male child persists, quite often out of mere practical, financial concerns, because the parents might not be able to afford the marriage dowry for (another) daughter.
This leads to some of the most gruesome and desperate acts when it comes to gender discrimination:
- Selective abortions
- Murdering of female babies
- Abandonment of female babies
While abortion is officially illegal in India there are some exceptions to this rule such as the failure of contraceptive device used by a couple; if the woman was raped; or if the child would suffer from severe disabilities.
STAGE 2: AS A CHILD
Health care :
Girls are often treated differently from male children in terms of nutrition and health care; where limited food or financial resources are available, the insufficient means are prone to be allocated unevenly in favor of the male offspring.
This imbalance results in insufficient care afforded to girls and women, and is the first major reason for the high levels of child malnutrition. This nutritional deprivation has two harmful consequences for women:
1. They never reach their full growth potential
2. Anemia
Both consequences are risk factors in pregnancy, complicating childbearing and resulting in maternal and infant deaths, as well as low birth weight infants.
It’s a common scene to see a mother feeding her son with rich diet like milk, eggs etc. while the girl is ignored.. after all the boy has to develop 6 packs when he grows up.. so that’s justified as well..
Education
Primary education in India is not universal, and often times not seen as really necessary for girls. As the legend Mr. M.L. Sharma pointed out “In our culture there is no place for a women” .Its just necessary for them to learn domestic chores, as they will need to perform services for their future husbands and in-laws.
Some orthodox kinds of homo sapiens think that by sending their daughters to school ,she will get the chance to mingle with boys and become impure … LOL… yes! Such humans still do exist… in fact everywhere!! Even for the atrocities that men do, women are blamed upon..
This results in one of the lowest female literacy rates in the world.
- Literacy Rate for Women: 65%
- Literacy Rate for Men:82%
Some states like Rajasthan have female literacy rate as low as 52%.Social sector programmes e.g. “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan” (Education for Everyone) are promoting girls’ education to equalize educational opportunities and eliminate gender disparities, but these initiatives will take time to unfold their whole effect and we can hope for the best..
Child Marriages
As religion, caste, society dominates over the rules written down in the constitution many children under the legal age of 18 are married off. Still prevalent in many parts of india its such a shame to marry off small children who don’t even know the meaning and sanctity of a marriage.
Why does it happen?
- Financial Benefit
- As outlined above, due to the dowry tradition women are prone to be a (financial) burden for their families, thus seen as a liability.
- If the match is made at an early age, the dowry is usually much lower, as the dowry is calculated on the future husband’s societal status and education, which – obviously – would be much lower at an early age.
- Common Hindu phrase: “The younger the groom, the cheaper the Dowry”
These small girls are target to the torturous environment and often prone to crimes like marital rape.the vicious circle of poverty, illiteracy, child marriage are just passed on to the further generations as the girls aren’t mature enough to take decisions after marriage
STAGE 3: AFTER WED’LOCK’
In certain parts of Indian society, women are conditioned from birth to be subservient not only to their future husbands, but also to the females in their husband’s family especially, their mother-in-law. Accordingly, the surrounding society mandates a woman’s obedience to her husband and her in-laws. Any disobedience would bring disgrace to both, the wife herself and her originating family, and might lead to the woman being ostracized and neglected by her very own family and in her own home.
There is no cultural or religious tradition behind one of the most ghastly incidents of female oppression, but the prevalence of the dowry tradition has supposedly lead to “Bride Burning” (or other form of murdering) of the newly-wed wife by the husband and his family, who would claim, that she died in a domestic accident, so that the widowed husband would be free to marry again and collect another dowry.
STAGE 4: WIDOW
why do you live? Your better half is dead!!
There are multiple laws to protect widow’s rights, including prohibitions against traditional practices for which India has been discredited, such as the burning of widows (Sati). A widow is still seen as a liability in some part of the Indian society, which might result in her being abandoned by her in-laws.
She might be left on her own, without any education, skills, or financial assistance. Instead, she is subjected to many restrictions, and might be required to shave her head permanently, or to wear white clothes for the rest of her life; thus, stigmatized, she is not allowed to enter in any celebration e.g. weddings, because her presence is considered to be inauspicious.
Moreover, a widow might face trouble securing her property rights after her husbands death, nor be allowed to remarry, disregarding at what age she became a widow. When a man remarries after his wife’s death he is praised and if a woman does the same she is showered with brickbats all over!
HISTORY TEACHES!
Traditions such as Sati, Jauhar, and Devadasi among some communities have been banned and are largely defunct in modern India. However, some instances of these practices are still found in remote parts of India. The purdah is still practiced by Indian women in some communities. Child marriage remains common in rural areas, although it is illegal under current Indian law.
Sati is an old, almost completely defunct custom among some communities, in which the widow was immolated alive on her husband’s funeral pyre. Although the act was supposed to be voluntary on the widow’s part, its practice is forbidden by the Hindu scriptures in Kali yuga, the current age. After the foreign invasions of Indian subcontinent, this practice started to mark its presence, as women were often raped or kidnapped by the foreign forces. It was abolished by the British in 1829. There have been around forty reported cases of sati since independence. In 1987, the Roop Kanwar case in Rajasthan led to The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act.
Jauhar refers to the practice of voluntary immolation by wives and daughters of defeated warriors, in order to avoid capture and consequent molestation by the enemy. The practice was followed by the wives of defeated Rajput rulers, who are known to place a high premium on honour. Evidently such practice took place during the Islamic invasions of India.
Purdah is the practice among some Muslim communities requiring women to cover themselves so as to conceal their faces and form from males. It imposes restrictions on the mobility of women, curtails their right to interact freely. It is so prevalent all over the world and most of the women have embraced it as a part of their lives as they have been taught so.
Devadasi is often misunderstood as religious practice. It was practiced in southern India, in which women were “married” to a deity or temple. The ritual was well-established by the 10th century A.D. By 1988, the practice was outlawed in the country though there are still devadasis is remote places who are now under abject poverty and ignored completely..
STATUS OF WOMEN IN ANCIENT INDIA
In ancient India, women enjoyed equivalent status & rights like their males counterparts. In addition they were properly educated in the early Vedic period. References are available from the works of Grammarians such as Katyayana and Patanjali.
Women also had the freedom to select their husbands. Yes.. the ‘Swayamvar.’ !! In fact during this time, women had superior position than the males. The epics are a proof to that.
STATUS OF WOMEN IN MEDIEVAL INDIA
The status of women in India deteriorated during the medieval period with the entrance of the Muslims. Several evil practices such as female infanticide, sati and child marriage were practiced during this period. ‘Purdah’ was introduced to the society. Women were also forced to practice ‘zenana.’ Polygamy was also common during this period.
Some great-women rulers were Razia Sultana who was the only women-monarch to-rule-the throne of Delhi, Nur Jahan, Gond queen Durgavati who ruled for fifteen years before she was defeated in a battle by Ali emperor Akbar’s.
Nur Jahan is still considered as the most effective ruler by the society. In spite of these powerful women, the condition of poor women remained the same. At this time girl were forced to get married at a very tender age.
The society also practiced Sati where women were forced to jump over the burning bodies of their husbands during funerals.
The southern India also practiced Devdasi tradition where girls were forced get married to trees or deity.
STATUS OF WOMEN IN MODERN INDIA
During this time there was a little development in the women status. There were many women reformers in India who worked for the uplift & betterment of their female counterparts. The begum of Bhopal discarded the ‘purdah’ & fought in the revolt of 1857. Their education was elevated and English was introduced during this period. Various female writers emerged in the society.
HOW CAN WOMEN BE EMPOWERED?
SOCIALLY:
social benefits including awareness about the existing social problems in the society, good recognition & image in the family & community, role in making important decision in their family, plan & promote better education for their children, taking care of health of the aged and the children just to mention a few are to be given
EDUCATION:
women should be given a chance of finishing their education to the degree level. They should be discouraged from getting married and raising a family when they are young.
There’re various scholarships that benefits women in India to achieve their career by going back to school or various training institutions where they can further their education. Also, many NGO‘s in India offer support to women in order to benefit them in education. The government of India is also setting aside funds that are used to empower women & other initiatives that will empower them like the Beti bachao, Beti padhao etc
BUSINESS:
The government of India set aside some reasonable amount of money which women who have business ideas can borrow in order to start businesses. Women are encouraged to start small business in order to have their own source of income thus they become independent. Various non-governmental organizations also offer financial support to women in India and encourage and teach them how they can be making their own money by starting various business activities.
The status of the women in India has greatly improved and there are many women who are holding high position in the government offices. This has proved that women can be even better than men if they are given an opportunity. Women are given equal opportunity like their male counterparts by the government.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS A WOMAN?
Its only untill you turn 18 that the Indian constitution doesn’t recognize you as a fully mature woman! After that you have the power to take decisions on your own and no one can blame you.. you have the freedom to change your religion if it places bounds on your freedom or even be an atheist for that sake.. you have the freedom to marry the person of your choice or not marry at all. Article 51 A (H) states that it’s a fundamental duty of yours to develop a scientific temper and of course developing a rational and sensible thinking towards any situation is the prime motive behind why you were provided with education all these days, isn’t it?! So women out there who still think that you are inferior to any man should turn over a new leaf and start living for yourself.Learn to say “NO”.. speak up against harassments..incriminate the guilty!.. you have the right to live..stay safe..what more can I say as we live in a country where a crime against womaen occurs every third minute.. The article has been dedicated to all women who have faced any harassments at some stage of her life..
Something to ponder!! 