or log in with

Women empowerment- Is it really happening?

Posted on 03/11/11 by User_image_bgNikhila Chandrashekhar

User_image_bg Nikhila Chandrashekhar View Profile
Member since 26 February 2011
  • 9 Posts
  • 10 Comments

One of my favourite quotes: “People called me feminist because I wanted to be treated as something more than a doormat”- Anonymous.

Nevertheless, I do call myself a feminist. But I’m not sure the society knows what women empowerment is. Is it just about getting them education and jobs? Surely all that is provided for men too! There are hardly any organisations that promote feminism and work on it. What they are doing when they fight for women’s rights are fighting for human rights!

Women are still the lower section in the society because inherently men are made to be superior, and women are taught to accept it. As kids, we hardly learn about women warriors, scientists, or even characters in stories. When we do encounter them, they are always portrayed in conventional roles. The same applies to movies. In India we hardly ever come across movies like Lara Croft, or even Margaret Thatcher (Save for ‘No one killed Jessica’, which is the real-life story of two women who went all the way to secure justice for a murdered sister). Why? Chauvinistic men wouldn’t watch them. It is always the women who are the wives of heroes, assistants of superstars. So I guess it is too much to expect that they be given real jobs in flying a fighter jet!

Although young women have emerged as winners in various fields today, they still have to obey husbands and fathers. The mentality is imbibed in women too and they refuse to change! They are the ones who need to give up their careers to raise children (In many cases). It’s interesting to note that roles have been reversed in countries like Holland, where the fathers stay at home to raise their kids. But a thought like that in India would be considered preposterous!

Young women in India cannot do much without an identity for themselves. Equality in the job sector and education may soon be realised, but what about equality in the minds of people? I think it’s time we started looking into this matter.

Read More →

Comments

  • on 03/13/11, by jkcarillo:

    i like ur post. Its very moving. Having come from an asian background, i agree with the things u have stated. its true that we barely see any women as superheroes in our own region. However we women dont need to be magnified and proclaimed the many good things we've achieved in life. Its been proven men cant live withtout us. They depend on us greatly. u mentioned in holland men stay at home. More men do that these days. Specially when the crises happened. lots of men were forced to stay home with the kids while the women continue their work. Many men realised at that time that we women actually do more work than they do. We have work in our offices and more work when we get home. We live it day by day with no complain. I actually salute to a guys mother who does his house chores & takes care of his kids when he gets home from work. Women are proven to be better than men. Im not much of a feminist but i hate it when someone tries to use women as objects. Its unacceptable.

  • on 03/14/11, by Nikhila Chandrashekhar:

    yeah I agree in many cases, we do get recognision for the good work we do. And yet, a large section of the society treats women badly and consider them inferior. Female infanticide for is one example.Sometimes, widows and rape victims are ostracised from their towns. Men are even taught to treat women as their inferiors in many parts of rural India. So maybe by magnifying ourselves, we could see a change in the mindsets of the people.

  • on 03/14/11, by jkcarillo:

    For certain cases like the ones you've mentioned, Yes, women do need to be magnified and change the way they are treated. I remember when I was in India, I heard stories of women who had to jump into a fire when their husbands die. I don't know why they do that though but I was told they had no other choice. Another story that I heard was that when a woman gets married to a man, the man's family has the right to do whatever they want with her. There have been many cases in India, I remember, that the woman was treated badly. When she escaped from her husband's family, she went back to her family. However, her own family disowned her in a way and gave her back to the man's family. Apparently the parents' reason for doing that was 'cause they had to pay so much dowry for her so she doesn't belong to them anymore. Many women are also not educated. They don't go to school. It's really sad to see this division and attitude that the women have to face. Another point I'd like to point out is the caste system in India; Brahmins, Rajputs and Kshatriyas and the Untouchables, etc. The attitudes of people are still kept to this day 'cause of the caste system in the society. I asked a couple of my friends there in India what if the person from the Untouchables actually becomes rich and successful. He said that unfortunately he will still be considered someone lower to a person from a Rajput who is a higher caste. Unless people change that ideology in their head and wake up that they are now living in a different century, only then things will start changing. However, many towns have worked harmoniously with the caste system. I guess it just depends whether one of them starts taking advantage of the power entrusted to them.

  • on 03/15/11, by Nikhila Chandrashekhar:

    You are right. There are times when the husband's family treats the woman as they want. The girl's family disowns her, even in cases when the girl is tormented by the husband's family. They consider it a disrespect to their own family if the girl is back at her father's house. India has some backward views and systems that poeple still follow. The only way to get rid of them is for people to change. But unfortunately, education alone does not help solve the whole problem. As you said, people of lower castes are still treated badly even by some educated people. I guess it all depends on the upbringing of the individual.

  • on 03/20/11, by aris1963:

    Do female in India watch some oversea soap opera? If so, they would be able to know that there are so many prominent, successful women in other regions of the world. Furthermore, the Internet can also have an impact on the concept. Would they regard themselves inferior any more? With globalization, many conventional thought could be changed. Say, in China, most terrific management in a business are female because they are more diligent than male. And I regard nothing of the discrimination and prejudice in India because the criteria for success and a peaceful life depends on one's ability and wealth. No matter what the attitude of those who have "higher" caste think, it is a fact that an educated, civilized person can afford an ideal life-to travel around the world, to buy things he or she likes, to be able to help others. Everything is changing and those stubborn "higher" ones would never look down upon someone just because of caste system.

  • on 03/20/11, by jkcarillo:

    @aris1963 The caste system in India unfortunately is still a very big deal up to this day. It is something that can't easily be shaken off ones shoulder. It's been in their culture and tradition for many centuries. Even though a person had reached success, the caste system is still there. However as Nikhila stated, ".....people of lower castes are still treated badly even by some educated people. I guess it all depends on the upbringing of the individual."

    • on 03/20/11, by aris1963:

      Confusing....I wonder if a high-rank man who only gets bad grade at school, doesn't even have a university degree, doesn't have a good job and very poor, will he be respected by others?

      • on 03/22/11, by jkcarillo:

        Yes aris1963, he will. In his own community yes he will 'cause of his caste rank. However when he goes out of the country, of course he will be treated differently. In India, it's like this. I actually saw this happening right before my eyes when I was living there for a while. It's really weird for me when I witnessed it for the first time.

  • on 04/14/11, by Nikhila Chandrashekhar:

    @aris1963 I quote you, " And I regard nothing of the discrimination and prejudice in India because the criteria for success and a peaceful life depends on one's ability and wealth." How i wish this was true. But here in many parts of India, when women are not even allowed to step out of the house, let alone study or get a job, there is no question of success or wealth. Even in cases where women are successful and educated, it does not mean they have an equal status to that of a man. For example,there was a woman working in a big corporate company was harrassed by a male colleauge. Guess what the corporation did. It threw the woman out, despite her protests. Such cases are quite common in India, Pakistan, Nepal etc. No matter how weel educated or wealthy she is, woman has still not got the eqaul status.

  • in the not-too-distant future, by a New User: