Women - The Doers of Past, Present and Future

“You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.” ~Jawaharlal Nehru

Women are not only the epitome of beauty but they also reflect the social, economic, and mental condition of a nation. Every woman has faced some struggles in life due to living it on their terms and they’ve overcome them throughout their lives.

Likely, let’s look upon some of the struggles women face in everyday lives and how they overcome them and become an inspiration for all other women out there!

“The one struggle I have faced and continue to, till now, as a woman, is body image issues and shame. A year back, I used to be chubby with lots of fat, almost everywhere. Back then, people expected me to lose weight and get “fit”. And today, I have a very fit and lean body all because of dancing and working out. But now, the irony is that I am body shamed for being “too slim” and also called “malnourished”, “kamzor”, and whatnot. All these labels used to affect me a lot initially, but now, as I have gone through them a million times, I’ve grown through them. I respect my body the way it is, and I love and pamper my body, and thus, I feel extremely EMPOWERED!”

“I was 9 when a family member forced me, I lost my faith in humans since then, and I couldn’t recover. I had issues in forming relationships after puberty because maybe I never received support from my family. They always blamed me for the same, but I experienced more of it in the form of eve-teasing with time. I am still not over that trauma, but I have LEARNED better to understand my emotions, deal with them, empathise with people; I am growing, healing, and learning, and want to specialise in trauma and abuse recovery isn’t limited to me. I like the growth to be for all.

Why is everything in a woman's life related to her marriage? Why do our relatives keep forcing us to get married? Why don’t they all say Work Hard, Achieve Something, Become Independent? You don’t need a man in your life. But all I hear is who will marry you if you are fat. Who will marry you if you are not earning well? Why do our looks, our earnings are all just for men to believe that we’re enough for them & not for ourselves? Why is this society not supportive of a girl’s dream? I still haven’t overcome this situation, but it’s an ongoing process.

We have read the sentences, books, and fables that today women have achieved and reached new heights in every field as men. They are frequently compared with men, saying they are on par with them and can now work in every field like men. Likely, it says a lot about our country’s past situation; it is undoubtedly evident that women have come a long way since then.

Indian goddesses like Lakshmi, Saraswati are worshipped by people throughout the country. They are part of our scriptures and architectures, yet women in the past, patriarchal society rarely received the same amount of respect or status. They have been mistreated and considered inferior to men. Social evils like female foeticide, dowry, child marriage, sati, and marital rapes have been prevalent that had exploited women for a long time. Educating women was also not considered and given much attention until recently, with combined efforts of many prominent personalities. Women face such social evils in present times in the workplace; as one moves to a higher position, one finds fewer women and lower wages despite working at the same post as a man.

It is easy to say that every cloud has a silver lining and that there is light at the end of the tunnel, but you cannot begin to imagine the struggle unless you have been through that tunnel. In the past, our country has seen some significant women’s achievement and success stories, such as Rani Lakshmi Bai, Kamla Nehru, Kalpana Chawla (the first women to go to space). Others are Mary Kom, Gita Gopinath (chief economist), and Savitribai Phule (the first to fight for women’s rights in India). These women and every woman, a daughter, sister, mother, wife, have sacrificed something or the other for the ones she loves.

But, as there is advancement in technology and awareness, many women are coming out and standing up for themselves. This standing out is encouraged by some movies and shows that have helped overcome such stereotypes.

THAPPAD, “JUST A SLAP BUT NAHI MAAR SAKTA”

‘Thappad’ is a silent slap on our society’s age-old belief that — ‘Shaadi main sab kuch chalta hain’. ‘Thappad’ is not just a film aimlessly ranting about borderline domestic violence. This movie emphasises the struggles and pressures women face from society and their own families. This movie has uncovered the narrow-minded beliefs of bearing the brunt of a family’s name and legacy; one hung up on the idea that marriage is the ultimate destination. It also focuses on the concept that one coming from a lower section of the country forces them to believe that getting thrashed by the husband is the norm.

PINK, “NO MEANS NO“

The director criticizes society’s regressed views where women are stereotyped as prostitutes if women live life on their terms independently. Still, this stratification does not apply to males. He closes with the fact that his client said “NO”. No means no, and does not require further explanation. This movie, in the end, credits revealed how males turn the story and try to win over in the court just because they are males, and the other side is female. The end credits scene reveals what happened: the men systematically isolated the women, and one male tried to force himself on a female, who then attacked him with a bottle to his head in self-defense around which the movie revolved.

Many other such movies and web series like Delhi crime, Mardaani, and English Vinglish have made a significant mark on society. They have done a great deal to break stereotypes existing in our community.

STRUGGLES FACED BY WOMEN THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES

“Women are the real architects of society” ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe

We have read many quotes, poems stating the importance of women and how they build up society. But, earlier in the past, this was not the case. Women have struggled a lot to reach the position where they are now. Earlier in society, as mentioned above, women face many issues and problems such as child marriage, dowry, sati pratha, pardah pratha, the pressure to live as a widow instead of remarriage. Other atrocities include widow exploitation, devadasi system, favour towards a mail child, horrors in the workplace, domestic violence, marital rape, and many other atrocities.

Child Marriage has been a prevalent condition in early India where individuals are married before 18 years old and have to live with their partners, especially without their consent. Women were the most affected by child marriage because, at the age of 10-18, they had to live with another family without knowing them. A Hindi show, Balika Vadu, has also thrown light upon the concept of Child Marriage. Statistics show that earlier in India, more than 50% of girls were married before 18 years old, and the significant incidents were from Rajasthan and Bihar.

The Dowry system has been widely prevalent in India and is the primary cause of female suicides. It includes durable goods, money, and other tertiary items to the groom’s family as a marriage condition. Reports showed that nearly 7000 cases recorded of dowry and death rose about 19 per day from 2001 to 2016.

Sati Pratha and Pardah pratha were the horrific atrocities done to women in early India. Sati pratha involves the custom of burning the widow alive, as seen in the movie Padmavat where 90 women burn themselves alive due to their partners’ death. Earlier, 30 new cases were reported of sati every day, and it goes on for 44 years. Pardah Pratha involves the segregation of women and forced to cover their whole bodies; if not, the society called them Prostitutes or a shame for the family.

Discrimination against menstruating women is widespread in India, where periods have long been taboo and considered impure. They are often excluded from social and religious events, denied entry into temples and shrines and even kept out of kitchens prohibited from going to temples, watering sacred plants like tulsi because it is considered impure. It is not something people are comfortable talking about and is followed by a series of shushing and whispers. The taboo and discrimination regarding menstruation are evident in accessing sanitary pads, which in the Hindi movie PADMAN reflects.

As mentioned earlier, women’s education is not of utmost importance; their gender roles include household chores and behaving like this because it is “lady-like”.

Gender roles follow societal norms. Women are expected to do household work. Women are always expected to be feminine, polite, and to listen to what the male in the family says. It has created so much psychological pressure on women, and they are tied in the chains created by patriarchy, struggling to get free.

CONQUERING THE WORLD THROUGH STRENGTH AND POWER

Women have faced many struggles throughout their lives; as mentioned above, still women have come a long way and are still fighting these atrocities. As stated by a prominent personality, there is no force more powerful than a woman determined to rise. Different statistics show that now women have made their position into different fields such as air force, police (IAS and IPS) and even sports. Today, as we have seen, many women have come out from the repression of society. They have formed many groups and organizations to fight against the atrocities of the patriarchal society. Many People from rural and urban areas are now educating their girl child and providing the same level of education as compared to the male child. It has risen from 10% to 60% in 2020, especially today, due to a pandemic where everything has become online. Women and men build up a nation, which is more prevalent in lockdown, where both men and women complement each other in their works and help each other, making this nation based on equality rather than the patriarchy. In current times, women are overcoming the boundaries of gender roles and segregation in jobs. There is a rapid increase in women at higher positions of CEOs and managers in various MNCs. However, still, women are seen as inferior to men and to bring real equality in the nation, there is a long way to go for women.

Efforts and hard work of all the women have also led to abolishment of sati pratha. But, still, many people practice the dowry system in rural areas in the name of (Apni Beti ko to gift denge). Through the collective efforts of women who experienced struggles ranging from higher to lower degree in their everyday lives, many other accomplishments include, in current times, the change in the impure definition at times of menstruation. Now, women can live in the same room and eat on the same plate while menstruating. They have created a lot of awareness regarding menstruation as “SOMETHING BIOLOGICAL AND NOT DOGMA OR UNSCIENTIFIC”. Other achievements of women include respect for their decision in family matters, saying no to marriage, living outside their homes for education and jobs, taking part in the fields where earlier men dominated, and many others. Each small step taken up by a woman has contributed to their achievement and positions where they stand but still, a very long way to go to accomplish full-fledged equality.

On a positive note, women comprise half of the Indian population, and without them, our life is incomplete. It is not just vague; instead, it is impossible to even think of the existence of the human race without a woman. Her portrayal, just as a wife, a sister, a mother, or a daughter, isn’t what she deserves. She deserves much more; her own identity independent of her relations. Instead, she is the epitome of power and strength. Women have overcome a lot of struggles and are on the way to achieve a lot more, keep one thing in mind.

“THERE IS NO LIMIT TO WHAT WE, AS WOMEN, CAN ACCOMPLISH, WHETHER IT’S IN POLITICS OR OTHER FIELDS” ~Michelle Obama

Written by:

Khushi Bajaj

Ishika Khandelwal

Reviewed by:

Manvi Mehrotra

Aasis Kaur Sethi