Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
Watch Kamla Bhasin, the well known Indian feminist activist, in conversation about feminism in India in this engaging video!
Kamla Bhasin ia a well known Indian feminist, social scientist, poet and author. In this video, she talks about feminism in the South Asian narrative, concentrating on India and Pakistan.
The video begins with the host asking her if the word feminism is as infamous in India as it is in Pakistan, and she laughs and says, “Bibi, ye to poori duniya mein badnaam hai” (it’s infamous everywhere), and I can’t help but let out a hum of approval.
She goes on to state that it may be because feminists criticise everything, because “har cheez patriarchal hai!”- everything is patriarchal be it education, religion or capitalism. This could just be the much needed answer to those people who complain about how ‘feminists drag feminism into everything’. What they don’t realise is what she points out so, so simply.
“Baatcheet karke hi samjhane ki koshish ki hai, magar fir bhi badnaam hum acche khaase hain.” (We have always tried to use only dialogue to create change, but we’re still pretty infamous)
Right before coming to this, she explains how feminists, unlike other movements (cough JatReservation cough), have never torched buses or used violence as a medium to make themselves heard. This, right here, is when I almost clapped because of how true it was! Feminists have been protesting about their causes but not at the expense of human rights and yet.. we’re still called ‘feminazis’.
She moves on to talk about the dynamics of a movement, how feminism has brought about changes in India and Pakistan, how schools were inherently a feminist institution and are now being used a a tool of patriarchal propaganda, drilling gender roles, stereotypes and all sorts of regressive constructs into the impressionable minds of children.
Watch the full video to hear her talk about these things in more detail, with a delightful Urdu drawl, if you’re interested!
New Delhi, India I like to read, write, and talk. A feminist through and through, with a soft spot for chocolate. 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!
Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
Please enter your email address