The Other Half

Vignesh Gopalan
Jul 30, 2017 · 3 min read

A few days ago a graduation ceremony was held for our gender equality classes. The young girls in my class really grew in confidence over the 6 weeks, and I’m proud of how much they have accomplished. I was initially nervous to be the only male teacher in my class of girls, introducing topics like sex versus gender, and the dangers of sexual abuse, but the students handled the content well. And my fellow volunteers did point out to me the value in having a male teacher alongside other female teachers agreeing that “Yes, girls can do anything a boy can.”

When we talk about inequalities women face, sexual harassment and lower wages are often a part of the discussion — as they should be. But women’s disadvantages permeate into the seemingly more minor aspects of life. While I was in Kochi I joined a local gym with Kenny and found that there were designated men’s and women’s hours at the gym. Not only were they separate, they weren’t even meant to be equal. In the morning men can go from 6 to 10:30 AM, and women only from 10:30 to noon. (And initially the paper that was printed had 10:00 as the switch off time, but that was scratched out and replaced with 10:30!) Even an activity that is done for health and recreation can be limited for women.

Yet of course this is not an Indian problem, it’s an everywhere problem. It is probable that gender inequalities just may be more easily spotted there — in cases such as the gym. But as I have observed, sexism does not need to be advertised on a poorly made gym poster to exist, it can be the subtle choices made in language or behavior. It’s when an assertive woman is called “bossy” in America, or when a woman walking down the street in India is obsessively stared at by groups of men.

And these issues were reflected in Kochi’s local art as well. One of the galleries I visited in Cochin was full of pieces done by a Paris Mohan Kumar that were dedicated to women. It was explained on a flyer that he centered his works around women because in “real life they can’t even walk or sit peacefully” because of “male attitudes”, but he uses his art to create a “serene world”.

When I was flying to India I watched a HBO documentary on Warren Buffet mostly to pass time on my flight. But in it he says that he grew up in a time where his sisters were limited in their opportunity because of their sex and not their intelligence. He acknowledges the stupidity of the cultural norms, but then notes how this is “encouraging” because up until that point America had only accomplished what it had with “half of our talent”. He then says imagine what can be accomplished with the other half of our talent. I can’t help but agree when I think about the girls from my class or the women I know personally. I am optimistic about what the other half can accomplish, not just for the world, but for themselves.

Student @DukeU & Designer | vigneshgopalan.com

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