I dread opening any messages on March 8th. For the moment I switch on my phone, thousands of pink tinted images and texts from women and mostly men deluge all my social media accounts. First, let’s deal with the men who feel terrible, if they have forgotten to send some sweet, sugar coated imagery of women - more out of fear of being labelled as misogynist rather than any genuine thought. These messages from men who otherwise put down women, body shame her at any given opportunity, ogle and jeer at women of all ages – suddenly turn into ‘holier than thee’ attitude and shoot off messages- I feel angry and ashamed of my fellow men’s behaviour. I’m fed up praying for these men to put into practice what they so eloquently preach only on women’s day.
My issue is with the women who too fall into this trap of worshipping and adoring women. Today, my good friend – a strong woman, a single mother who’s confidence and courage under all circumstances I deeply admire. I had even told my daughter to be like her – to be bold and face the world on her own terms. So, I was surprised, upset and disappointed when today, she posted pictures of goddesses -and topped it off by saying women were always treated well and held in high esteem in ancient Bharat and how women were celebrated in our culture. What finally got my goat was the statement she made at the end of all this adoration – In modern India, women are daily celebrated as ‘Shakti’ and only the Western World needs a specific women’s day to celebrate it. Either, she just forwarded the message without much thought – which I doubt because she has a keen analytic mind of her own. Or perhaps, she doesn’t read the Indian newspapers on a daily basis – either way, I’m really sorry to see well educated, otherwise free thinking young woman like her -falling to this false notion of how women were celebrated in our Ancient Bharat culture and adored in Modern India.
She has failed to see that this pseudo adoration, elevation of women on to a pedestal and worshipping her as god is nothing but a carefully crafted narrative. This morality laced narrative hides a bitter truth and sad reality - that the moment a woman is seen trespassing her god’s status – either by the way she dresses, the way she talks or god forbid, if she dares question any man. She’ll be promptly pulled down and trampled under the feet into dust. Truth is, she’s placed on a high pedestal only to be thrown and torn down at the slightest opportunity.
I’m not saying in other countries women are treated better – the fight for women rights and equality rages on even today across the globe. But, the fact remains that in India, we have allowed and even encouraged this hijacking of the truth by craftily colouring it with culture, religion and myopic morality. By taking the high moral ground, in India, some narrow minded sections deny the Indian woman a right to be a woman. Why worship her as a God, when the next moment she’s blamed for instigating raging hormones of otherwise perfect gentlemen? Does she not have a space of her own, does she always have to fit into this straight-jacketed view of her shaped by men? Is the ‘Shakti’ too weak to face the world on her own terms?
Why this hypocrisy ? Why Women’s day messages have to be all pink tinted, flowery and stereotypes of women?
And for God’s sake, please stop comparing women to Gods.
agree agree agree
ReplyDelete