A free woman : Beautiful, Desirable and very Rare in the Lands to the East
There's not so much so beautiful as equality, especially when it applies to men and women.
and it is getting frustratingly hard to find.
Even as some countries move ahead trying hard to make their women feel equal citizens, some others are falling behind at an alarming rate.
And a few others are stuck, intention take them a couple of steps forward and their implementation looks like they took one step backward.
Notably, India's one of them. Indian women have made rapid strides in the last 15 years, making the most of economic opportunity and a growing awareness about women's rights. But here from a ringside view of society in Britain and Europe, India's progress seems far from satisfactory.
I blame two things for this poor progress report,
1. The Middle Class Indian Mother, who wants her daughter to study in the best possible schools and colleges , wants to buy her a scooty to zip around with independence - Only to let her know that she has to marry a stranger who's been paid to let her daughter cook/earn/sleep for/for/with him, the moment she is 21.
The doting mother also teaches her daughter that the good wife has to be obedient to the point of being subservient if her marriage with her (sometimes unbearable) husband needs to survive a hundred years so that she can remain married (to her still unbearable) for another hundred in their next incarnation.
The middle class mother has the power to determine how the representative Indian girl will be, only however, she chooses to make her daughter no better than herself where it matters most.
2. Our New Identity asserting our Rediscovered "Super Culture".
A good friend from college, on being asked if he would take a dowry said: " I would as I want to get married traditionally". He has since, very thankfully, changed his mind.
So blurred are our distinctions between what is modern, traditional, western and downright medieval that all the blur is causing a considerable lack of focus on the path to empowering women, the path to moving ahead as a modern society.
The new forces of the RSS( A Hindu Right wing organization with close ties to the BJP) and their hypocritical allies have not helped either. Roughing up couples in public parks, while widely condemned, atleast find some support from a society with young men obsessed with virginity and consquently with other sources such as pornography.
Hypocritical men who claim to be fighting for the women's cause don't help either - As they expect a good cooked meal to be served with utmost devotion when they get back home after fighting for society's good all day and can't stop worrying when their daughter reaches 21.
But then there's hope and things are moving in the right direction and there's always something to be proud of when you compare - You only have to look to the middle east, where freedom is wrapped around in a long dark burkha, blurring both vision and hope.
and it is getting frustratingly hard to find.
Even as some countries move ahead trying hard to make their women feel equal citizens, some others are falling behind at an alarming rate.
And a few others are stuck, intention take them a couple of steps forward and their implementation looks like they took one step backward.
Notably, India's one of them. Indian women have made rapid strides in the last 15 years, making the most of economic opportunity and a growing awareness about women's rights. But here from a ringside view of society in Britain and Europe, India's progress seems far from satisfactory.
I blame two things for this poor progress report,
1. The Middle Class Indian Mother, who wants her daughter to study in the best possible schools and colleges , wants to buy her a scooty to zip around with independence - Only to let her know that she has to marry a stranger who's been paid to let her daughter cook/earn/sleep for/for/with him, the moment she is 21.
The doting mother also teaches her daughter that the good wife has to be obedient to the point of being subservient if her marriage with her (sometimes unbearable) husband needs to survive a hundred years so that she can remain married (to her still unbearable) for another hundred in their next incarnation.
The middle class mother has the power to determine how the representative Indian girl will be, only however, she chooses to make her daughter no better than herself where it matters most.
2. Our New Identity asserting our Rediscovered "Super Culture".
A good friend from college, on being asked if he would take a dowry said: " I would as I want to get married traditionally". He has since, very thankfully, changed his mind.
So blurred are our distinctions between what is modern, traditional, western and downright medieval that all the blur is causing a considerable lack of focus on the path to empowering women, the path to moving ahead as a modern society.
The new forces of the RSS( A Hindu Right wing organization with close ties to the BJP) and their hypocritical allies have not helped either. Roughing up couples in public parks, while widely condemned, atleast find some support from a society with young men obsessed with virginity and consquently with other sources such as pornography.
Hypocritical men who claim to be fighting for the women's cause don't help either - As they expect a good cooked meal to be served with utmost devotion when they get back home after fighting for society's good all day and can't stop worrying when their daughter reaches 21.
But then there's hope and things are moving in the right direction and there's always something to be proud of when you compare - You only have to look to the middle east, where freedom is wrapped around in a long dark burkha, blurring both vision and hope.
posted by Mohanakrishna C at 4:01 PM
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