Generation Equality
Gender equality comes into play when we see how brutal the patriarchal society treats women. The patriarchal society does not want women to raise their voice. They value male more highly than female. They educate male to think and act in a masculine way while female in a feminine way. The opinions of female are ignored while all the household works are taken care by the women. Women are not allowed to participate in decision making of their own house, let alone the society. Those who do not obey this rule are punished. This cultural myth takes the role of each gender seriously. The progressive society has boycott this culture however the practice is still the same in the rural conservative society.
Biologically, human beings are divided into two categories: male and female. A male homo sapiens is one who has one X chromosome and one Y chromosome; a female is one with two Xs. However, culturally, they are categorized as ‘man’ and ‘woman’; as a whole ‘gender’ (Harari, 2011). Culture has various parameters to distinguish the gender like; attire, hairstyle, physique, behavior etc. Physique is the main parameter to label gender. Masculinity is used for male whereas feminine, for the female. The cultural myth of man assign him in particular masculine roles like engaging in politics, rights like voting and duties like military service. Similarly, the myths of woman assign her unique feminine roles (raising children), rights (protection against violence) and duties (obedience to her husband) (Harari, 2011). The attire also defines their physical nature. The floral and curvy patterns are for female whereas the straight lines and the dark colors are for the male. Likewise, long hair and smooth skin denotes female characters whereas short hair and rough skin denotes male characters. However, if we turn the pages of history, we’ll see just the reverse. Also, if we observe the nature, we can see that the male characters are always beautiful; for instance; the peacock and lion. It shows how seriously we have been enchanting the role of gender while modifying our culture.
The holy books also display how pathetic the status of women is and how they should be treated. The holy book of Hinduism has portrayed women as baby producing machine. Take an example of Mahabharata, the princess Draupadi is won by Arjun while she is shared by all five Pandavas. There are so many questionable traditions where the holy books want women to follow. One of them is the rituals to be done during menstruation. When special care should be given at that time, they are compelled to stay in an unhygienic and unsafe place like cowshed. They are killed by the snake attacks and many other health issues. This practice, ‘Chhaupadhi’, can still be seen in a rural village, Achcham, Nepal despite ban in the custom (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/feb/06/young-woman-dies-fourth-period-hut-tragedy-this-year-nepal). In Muslims society also, women are not allowed to take out the ‘Burkhas’.
Having said that, some society has become profoundly open-minded and liberal. Women and men are now taken as one. Women can participate in income generating activities. Their opinions are given value. Though softness comes in women with nature, they play great role in diplomacy and manipulation. Nevertheless, we are now seeing them in the technical field as well. They are now standing in a highly prominent role like president, scientist, doctor, engineer, and what not! They are as equally competitive as men. The progressive society permits men to cry and female to raise their voice. There has been copious research done why their voice should be equally valued. While introducing new technology too, the activities, time and opinions are taken into account. As in many cases, women know the household chores more than men, the opinions of women can change the configuration of the technology.
Yet, walking home alone is still unsafe for women. Their decisions are misjudged when she says, “I’m tired today. Let’s not f**k.” or, “I don’t want to get married and raise babies.” The society is still thinking that she cannot run their home alone while men have rights to speak and do whatever they want to. She doubts herself and cries out loud inside. Let’s hear her voice:
I was born with plethoric boundaries
“Don’t do this!! Don’t go there!!
Don’t wear this and don’t sit that way!!”
I didn’t discard them
I was made to believe whatever they said is right
I did question them but what’s its use
what’s its use when you didn’t get the answer?
The answer I am seeking for when I reached my puberty
Then I started losing my confidence
I started trembling while talking
I wasn’t like that before
I was made to think while doing anything
Think before you speak! Think before you sit!
Think before you walk! Think before you.. “Whatever!!”
I was made to believe I might go wrong!
I might get kidnapped or being raped!!
I was made this way on a very small age!!
What might have gone in my minds?
Anxious?? Terrified??
Yes!! I had been there all the time!
All the time!!!
While my brother was doing whatever he liked to do
He was active and versatile
the only thing I was jumbled was,
“Why not me? Why is my life tortuous? Why do I have so many boundaries?
Why am I believed to live in this chaos? And why am I creating the same? Why am I not spontaneous?”
Then my heart spoke out loud, “No, the universe didn’t plan all this.
It has given you the purpose.
Purpose to think free and plan your own way
Carve your own path and splurge on your needs
you might go wrong but it’s okay
it’s okay because this is how you will learn
Learn from your mistakes you cannot repudiate your desires, because you are a GIRL!!”
©Rojita
Now let’s imagine a world where there is no gender bias, where the views of women are equally valued and they have equal opportunity to say “No!” and “I can!” Let’s not only imagine but work on it; raise the voice and pour views. Let’s ignore the demeaning voices. Let’s walk together. Let’s make the world safe for the women. Let’s raise children without discrimination. Shout out to all the women who speak about sexual harassment. Let’s speak up whatever lagging us behind. Let’s empower each other. Let’s incorporate all the women. The world would be a better place if the culture hadn’t defined the jobs as per gender.
Concluding with a note from the book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, “The statement that ‘men are stronger than women’ is true only on average, and only with regard to certain types of strength. Women are generally more resistant to hunger, disease and fatigue than men. Furthermore, and most problematically for this theory, women have, throughout history, been excluded mainly from jobs that require little physical effort (such as the priesthood, law and politics), while engaging in hard manual labour in the fields, in crafts and in the household. If social power were divided relation to physical strength or stamina, women should have got far more of it.”
