Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
People claim to be feminists, but take the smallest excuse to deny women their basic rights for the 'good' of family or society. It is time this stops.
People claim to be feminists, but take the smallest excuse to deny women their basic rights for the ‘good’ of family or society. It is time this stops.
Often in the fight for equality and rights for women the virtues of women are highlighted. Their endurance and emotional strength is emphasized. But what I don’t understand is this. Do women need to be strong or successful or productive to deserve basic rights and equality?
Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of equality? Don’t regular men enjoy the same basic rights as strong ones? Is strength or virtue a prerequisite for men to enjoy basic rights? So why do we women feel the need to prove that we deserve equality? Are we saying that only strong worthy women deserve equality?
We don’t have to prove anything. Just like people are born innocent, they are born equal. If someone wants to take away a right from us they have to justify it. We do not have to justify our rights, just like we don’t have to prove innocence in a court of law. Guilt needs to be proven and depriving someone of their rights needs to be justified. Not the other way around.
We do not need to be defensive, when we expect equal rights for women. We need to own it. We are citizens of this country and human beings and we don’t need to explain ourselves or beg for our rights. We just need to exercise them. Then those who try to stop us can do the explaining. After all exercising our rights is the obvious thing to do, and should require no explanation.
So the next time we upset anyone by exercising our rights, instead of being apologetic or angry, lets just stare at them blankly and wait for them to do some explaining for a change, and blink perplexedly and laugh when they say things that make no sense.
No amount of explaining is ever going to satisfy someone who entertains a different set of axioms. That is the problem with logical arguments. They only work when people share the same basic set of beliefs on which the logical arguments are constructed.
People who claim to accept equality for women, and yet find reasons to argue against specific cases of it, for stability of the family or society or a greater good, do not fundamentally believe in women’s equality, but feel the need to pretend to do so, to be politically correct in the current atmosphere. They will use the slightest excuse or inconvenience to create exceptions or find rationalizations. They are uncomfortable saying outright that they don’t believe women deserve the same rights, respect and opportunities as men, in so many words, and hide behind specific instances where they suggest women’s rights must be sacrificed for the greater good.
If indeed, allowing women all their rights creates some problems to the old social structure, then the structure must be modified instead of limiting women’s rights. Otherwise we are not a society truly committed to equal rights for women. Some of our laws are archaic, set in the ancient Victorian age. They need to be amended, or the fact that the Indian constitution grants women equality is simply not enough. It is only politically correct and quite insufficient, if women can’t get justice in our courts.
Become a premium user on Women’s Web and get access to exclusive content for women, plus useful Women’s Web events and resources in your city.
Published here earlier.
Image source: shutterstock
Kanika G, a physicist by training and a mother of 2 girls, started writing to entertain her older daughter with stories, thus opening the flood gates on a suppressed passion. Today she has written over read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
It is shameful that in today's world too, women are abused and even killed for giving birth to a girl, and the infant's life is also of no value.
Trigger Warning: This deals with domestic violence, suicide, and violence against women, and may be triggering to survivors.
I am so glad that the esteemed courts are now giving the much-required verdicts regarding certain ideologies that were not at all entertained earlier. I mean we all have studied this much biology at our school level and it is our duty (our generation) to educate our elders about it.
Why someone have to lose a life to bring such awareness to the society. Delhi High Court gave this judgement concerning a case that filed by the deceased daughter’s parents against her in-laws. She committed suicide as she was harassed and tortured for dowry and giving birth to two daughters.
Please enter your email address