Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
New parliamentarians Mimi Chakraborty and Nusrat Jahan were trolled because they wore Western clothes and posed enthusiastically in front of Parliament. Judge-y much?
It was a bright, sunny and definitely proud day for Mimi Chakraborty and Nusrat Jahan, the newly elected MPs from Bengal who made their way to the Parliament House. They looked suave and classy in their Western clothes and truly represented the new generation of leaders.
But as they posted photographs displaying their identity cards as MPs on the premises of Parliament, they were handed down mindless pieces of advice and trolled mercilessly for their choice of attire.
And so, once again, the old-fashioned sexist attitude of our society comes to the fore. Well, if clothes can ensure exemplary behaviour and integrity from our leaders, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have tailor-made costumes for the entire lot of people’s representatives.
This isn’t of course the first time that women have been targeted for the clothes they wear. Priyanka Chopra was similarly shamed when she chose to wear a dress when she met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Berlin.
It is uncanny how a set of clothes worn by a woman gives everyone the right to overlook her mammoth achievements and reduce her to nothing more than her attire. In a day and age when woman empowerment should be at its peak, do we still care about such regressive and redundant opinions?
Have we still to step out of an era when women have no freedom of choice, not even in the clothes they wear? Considering that they form more than 60% of the electoral populace! Well, do we need lessons on freedom in the largest democracy?
More than once, the fight for gender equality has been questioned by millennials citing it as unnecessary and blown out of proportion. Well, if a woman exercising her freedom to choose her attire can raise so many eyebrows, I think we have more than one reason to believe that gender equality is still a myth.
Does the credibility of an individual depend on their dressing sense? Why do we have stereotypical, fixed ideas and specially when it comes to women? Why is a woman’s ability judged by the way she looks? Why do we have pre-conceived ideas/notions of how women should behave and can look no further than them.
The day to question an MP is when they fail to perform their duty or steer clear of serving their people. That is the day to question your representative, irrespective of their gender. Until then, let your quick judgement on women rest in peace!
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.
Being a writer, Nivedita Louis recognises the struggles of a first-time woman writer and helps many articulate their voice with development, content edits as a publisher.
“I usually write during night”, says author Nivedita Louis during our conversation. Chuckling she continues,” It’s easier then to focus solely on writing. Nivedita Louis is a writer, with varied interests and one of the founders of Her Stories, a feminist publishing house, based in Chennai.
In a candid conversation she shared her journey from small-town Tamil Nadu to becoming a history buff, an award-winning author and now a publisher.
Nivedita was born and raised in a small town in Tamil Nadu. It was for schooling that she first arrived in Chennai. Then known as Madras, she recalls being awed by the city. Her love-story with the city, its people and thus began which continues till date. She credits her perseverance and passion to make a difference to her days as a vocational student among the elite sections of Madras.
Please enter your email address