Feminism and India

Kaustov Kashyap
Contd from previous issue
For example, professions like engineering, aviation, and military are considered masculine and professions like teaching, fashion designing, and homemaking are considered feminine. Stereotyping in family roles includes how men are expected to be the sole breadwinners of a family and females are presumed to single-handedly take up the responsibilities of managing the home.
India prides itself on producing great female warriors such as Rani Padmavati, Razia Sultana, and Rani Ahilyabai Holkar, yet the participation of women in the Indian defence forces is disheartening. Equal involvement of men and women in the army is still a far-fetched dream. This only supports the stereotype that masculinity implies physical strength and femininity, sentimentalism.
India needs feminism because no man should be under the pressure of being emotionally and physically stronger than a woman. It’s time that statements like “Mardko dard nahihota” and “Ladke rote nahi” are sidelined and men are not sneered at for volunteering to take up responsibilities at home. India needs feminism because girls are shunned for their choice of clothing. There have been several unreasonable instances where fatwas have been issued against female celebrities for wearing western clothes, one of them for also wearing a saree. Another such appalling incident occurred when a prominent politician compared immodest clothes with an invitation to rape. Mindless WhatsApp forwards and misogynistic serials and movies that normalise stalking and eve-teasing worsen the situation.
It’s time we recognize that feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives this strength. Nobody should be afraid of being referred to as a feminist because it frees both men and women from the imposed gender stereotypes.
The writer is HR & Career Consultant . He can be reached at 9954618690