Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
March 16, 2021
Gender
Equality; a popular slogan.
(By
Prof. Imran Siddiq)
Populism
ensures popularity of the subject. Subject of gender equality has seeped into
populism because otherwise, backlash is inevitable. However, negativity of
populism surfaces the positivity of ever increasing wider belief in the myth of
myth regarding gender equality.
Women
constitute better halves of our worse halves; if their more than 50% population
contributes to the nation building, wonders will happen; they are the queens of
our houses; they are sisters, mothers and daughters of all men, if not wives;
their well-being is the well-being of the societies; their status is the index
of civilizations; all these slogans appeal to the imaginations, stir our
emotionalism, attract thunderous applause in the people packed halls, draw
heaps of appreciation, invite global response. But in reality, the reality
hasn’t yet changed, words haven’t materialized to the fullest, imaginations
have yet to wait longer to translate into realization. Patriarchy still reacts,
ego still bleeds and status quo still succeeds in bouncing back from every nook
and corner be it work places, politics or house.
When a
woman breaks the shackles, hope glimmers, when Arfa Kareem shines on the tech
horizon, sky becomes limit for them; when Benazir emerges as a leader of a male
dominating society, egos break; when Malala wins global accolade, they break
the shackles of Mullah-feudal nexus. When our women sports persons face the world
with beaming face, healthy physique; status quo moans to its final demise. When
fathers accompany their daughters to the position point, they raise their heads
in pride because they know they are hope. They are not the imaginative subject
of popular slogans, they are reality. Equality is not populism.
Popular
slogans when raised by the politicians with promises of gender equality, they
attract women constituency. When leaders make high claims at international
platforms about women empowerment, they try to put up a positive national
image. When free market advocates and capitalists propagate the stance of equal
job opportunities to women, their interests lie in creating cheap labour force
for their neo liberal markets. The greater the number of job holders, the more
intense the competition, the cheaper the labour. Profits pile up. For quasi-religious
segment popular slogan centres on ‘women are queens at home’. Not being
unmindful that Clergy need women home for procreation. Over population means
greater number of useless children ready to become fodders for the militancy,
revolutions and holy wars besides more cheap labour. So every vested interest
is out for a popular slogan.
Hollowness
of these empty slogans callously find nowhere to rest. Despite all these
claims, they are still being burnt alive in family feuds, they are deprived of
their equal status in society; they are still becoming victims of acid throwing
incidents only because she hurts the Manchu’s ego by rejecting him, she is
still being killed in the name of honour; her birth still brings stigma in a
society where male children are considered the matter of honour and pride. She
is still being exchanged like property as was the case in the dark ages in
‘vani’ and ‘swara’. She is still denied the due right of inheritance. She is
still being married with Quran because her brother doesn’t want to lose his
land in her dowry. She is still subjected to violence and mental torture
because she is considered a fair delicate creature. A fair creature who doesn’t
deserve fairness. A fair creature who receives popular slogans.
However,
when there is populism in something, it finds popularity among the masses.
People love something because they want something. If all vested interests use
gender equality as popular slogan, it implies that they want the audience’s
ears. If they want so, they must learn that inequality is socially construct
phenomenon. And society now wants to change this phenomenon. Otherwise, why they
should be made to believe that women are equal. Women rights are bracketed with
unbiased gender roles and duties. If they have yet not been constructed, they
have to be reconstructed. Future of our civilization hinges upon it.
Women
and our society are intertwined inseparably. Women build our society. They make
the centre of civilization. Mothers become unifying force of a family, a unit
of society. Powerful women build powerful nation. Thus women are index of
civilization. Women and universe are inextricably compounded. If universe is a
balanced poise; woman brings stability in the otherwise man’s chaotic nature.
She prevents the cosmology of house from being shattered. As the sun binds the
planets into an invisible bond which makes them revolve around, she makes that
invisible force at the universe of our home. He is not complete without the
bond she creates. She is not complete without he whose shoulder her shoulder
needs. If both make universe, if both build cosmology, why then she should be
deprived and he should be privileged. It is in the case of latter; society
collapses out of balance.
Woman
is moving ahead. Once given opportunities, she is breaking stereotypes. She is
breaking myths about her. It is not just a popular slogan. It’s real now. She
has shown she is no more a financial liability; she is not less intelligent;
male isn’t only the bread winner and carrier of the blood line. Blood line is
carried from her womb. Her womb – Rahm – originated from the word ‘Rahim’ where
prophets and saints were couched with celestial protection. If Rehman didn’t
bless her with procreation, lineage never carried on. She has shown that she is
real. She can make men in India go mad when they don’t find woman to marry
after their shortage due to massive female infanticide. She is showing she can
stand in a cricket stadium the whole day and show the same stamina as males do.
She is proving she is powerful. She does the equally exhaustive job as men do
in addition of laboring away in kitchen for hours in the evening without
complaining. She is breaking status quo.
Monday, March 15, 2021
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