To be honest, I did not want to write about this. And it was
something that struck me months ago. And it takes me days to get over things
like these but I did and then it happened again.
I have never been a champion of 'Feminism'. Simply because I think
respect has to be earned, power has to be won and rights have to be fought for,
irrespective of you being a man, a woman or just queer. For every 10,000
examples of 'the oppressed', you will find 1 person who earned whatever he/she
wanted against all odds. One may not get something as easily as another
privileged person but then there are privileged people who could not make use
of what they had. It evens out. I think in this whole process one is driven by
the self esteem they have for themselves. Ones with lower self esteem will try
to seek patronage and the ones with higher self respect will fight everything
and everyone to achieve what they want. But I thought everyone has it in them
even if not in same degree. Days ago I was shocked and disturbed when I learnt
that this may not be true.
This was when the Delhi-rape case happened and we were discussing
this among friends. And a friend who is born and raised in the city said,
"Oh, I am so glad I don't have girls, girls are so hard to raise." To
which another friend responded, "Yes, after this incident, I would not
want to have a girl." Two dear friends, one used to be a women's rights
activist in Delhi and one is a bright IT professional and both women! In those
two lines without realizing they trashed their whole existence and acknowledged
the huge responsibility they presumably were on their families when they were
born. Boys get raped too. And there are men who feel ashamed that a man did
this to a woman, but I have never heard a man trashing his own existence over
it.
It got me thinking, it must have taken centuries of cleverly
designed societal practices and that too world-wide to belittle the female of
this species; to an extent where they themselves feel lowly about themselves.
It makes me wonder if it was indeed men who oppressed women in the first place.
Think about it... mothers raise their sons instilling in them the special
privileges they earn thanks to being males. You would think a woman whose self
respect and ego was trampled at every stage of her life would end up raising
her children doing it the right way but guess what happened! Men never think
too much, mom says I don't do
dishes, 'Great'! But in that
one small lesson, he was taught, all work
is not equal, all work is not dignified, you can expect some else do things for
you, especially if it is a female. Your mom can be bigger to you in age,
relation and respect, but she will still do your dishes! And I will bet my
bottom dollar that a man will ever reconsider this after he grows up. It's us
women who have the boon & curse of thinking too much, not them.
Next time lady, when you plan to raise those placards against the
oppressions of the male-dominant society, do give two pence to the fact that
maybe you are barking at the wrong tree. Maybe it was always in your own hands.
