FEMINISM

In this article our intern Manya Dudeja has expressed her views on the topic "FEMINISM".

“Men and Women are born equal, Society makes them unequal.”

Feminism is a range of social movements, political movements, and the ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that societies prioritise the male point of view, and that women are treated unjustly with those societies. Feminism is awareness of women’s oppression & exploitation and the efforts to fight it. Feminism is the equality of rights & entitlements, gender roles inside & outside the home for all the women & men. Feminism is Humanism for it’s a struggle for a just & equitable society. Feminism is widely misunderstood not only in India but across the world. In fact, it is a liberating way of thinking for both men and women. Relations between boys and girls are fast changing today. We need to listen to each other, talk to each other, to make the world a better place where respect, dignity and above all freedom is a reality for everyone across genders, castes, faiths or socio-economic status.

Boys are asked to be brave, strong, articulate they are made to think they are superior & they are going to lead the world, girls on the other hand are asked to be subdued, don’t be argumentative, told not to exercise and get muscles because you won’t look like a lady, men are even pushed to become alpha men have strong muscles, six pack abs and what not. Girls are told to be gentle, not to go out at night, not go out alone, come to home before it is dark, why are all these restrictions there for women? And then when you break that, go out, you are raped then and you are to blame. Imagine the victim of a crime is blamed for the crime committed on her what kind of justice is this? Girls are always told to be back home before dark, boys can loiter hang around outside have all the fun, why? because a women could be sexually assaulted. When society is made up of men and women, why are there such “rules” only for women?

Gender roles should be a matter of choice not compulsion. Questioning gender roles is threatening for patriarchy! Why does a women have to nurture and care for a child because she gave birth to that child? why can’t a men be a homemaker if he wants to? why can’t a women go and step out and work if they want to? will the days ever come when men will become the homemakers and caretakers, is a question we need to think about, and when you ask this, people tend to say, this is the culture it has always been like this so it will be like this, but the thing is people make culture, culture does not makes us! society keeps changing, and so should the culture.

Feminism is universal. The beauty of feminism is that there is not one but there are many feminism’s, it’s cultural specific, it’s born in a social cultural context so we have our own indian feminism. Women seek partnership of men to create a just and equitable society. As boys what can you do, as boys you can listen what women have to say, dialogue with them, put yourselves in their position and look at the world and that way you will become sensitive men and join hands with the women in this. We are not wanting to take control of the world, men need not be threatened that we are anti-men rather we want you as partners in the trouble for justice.

At the end i would like to conclude with this statement made by radical coloured women who was fighting racism and she said NOBODY IS FREE TILL EVERYBODY IS FREE. The society is changing a little bit everyday, we see strong and fighting women and we are proud of what all they are doing.

Authored by- Manya Dudeja ( intern for the month of February)

College- GIBS,ROHINI

THANK YOU!