Feminism in India:

Majority of us out there consider ‘Feminism’ to be a woman supremacist movement. Let me tell you how wrong you are with your typical notions. Feminism is not anti-men; but it is to define, establish and achieve equality of the sexes. Feminism doesn’t advocate to teach your sons to behave and stuff like that. It, in fact, says to remove gender as a judgment evaluation method. Why do we still need justification for India to embrace feminism because time has long passed that country like India, where about a million baby girls are killed every hour, should realize that feminism is not something that puts women above men but it is about eliminating the common Indian thinking of associating gender with everything.

I am not saying that women are facing issues in India itself but the difference is in the critical situation in our country. As of now India only has 940 women to every 1000 men and with every census, the condition remains the same. More than 35% of women in India are illiterate and the majority are forced to leave their career once they get married. Every hour a woman is raped and her very own parents shut her lips and plead her to digest the horrendous torture she went through and live rest of her life in fear with a traumatized soul. Even if a voice is raised the cases languish in Indian courts of law for years. It’s sad that for a country where ‘Durga’ is worshipped, we do the worst job in terms of respecting women in our own lives.

Still Not Convinced Of The Need for Feminism in India? I Hope Following Questions Give You The Answer

Why a girl has to decide her clothes based on anyone else rather than herself?
Why does a girl need to pay a dowry to a man to marry her?
Why is a daughter still considered a liability and not an asset?
Why do we tell our sons to have fun and our daughters to be safe?
Why a girl has to fear for her life in our country if she has to stay out late?
Why a lot of people in our country think of women exercising their own judgment to be against Indian culture?
Why the majority of the girls have to behead their ambitions?
Why a woman needs a son or a brother to feel safe?
Why is a woman told to “try for a son” when she has a daughter?
Why are a vast majority of Indian women not given the right to choose their life partner themselves? A woman is taught not to talk to strangers, but in the end; she is married off to a stranger only under the pretext of “arranged marriage.”
Why a girl’s voice is suppressed when she tries to stand up for her rights?
Why in India is a girl leading a single life looked down upon?
Why in India; to every girl; it is told that she has to go to a new home and she should be within her limits? What are those so-called limits?
Why in the name of Indian Culture a girl is made to live within boundaries defined by this society having a sick mindset?

My Personal Experiences

The list is endless and I am sure none of you is having a valid answer to any of the above-asked questions. You all must have seen and experienced these things happening around you. Let me share a few of my personal experiences:

A friend of mine was mentally harassed by her senior. My friend and I stood up and shared everything with a concerned person who is a woman too. What happens in the end? My friend is evicted from her role and she is said that she should learn to accept things. I am told that there is no proof of the harassment. Who is laughing at the end? Obviously; the monster who harassed her. He gets more courage now to do the same thing again with some other person. The agony behind this is that in my country; a woman herself is suppressing another woman.
A friend of mine got married and she proudly announces to me that they gave 30 Lakh INR to the groom. Why are girls raised up believing that they are inferior? Why Indian parents spend fifty times more funds on their daughter’s marriage rather than on her education? Sad thing is that when I asked her the reason behind this; she says that in our home it is customary.

The Good That Feminism Will Bring in Our Lives

Feminism can make both sexes to effectively stick together and work towards the achievement of a common objective; ‘Mutual Welfare.’ As women will be given equal opportunities and social status it will build their self-respect.
Feminism can make men understand that roles are not segregated according to gender. Both sexes have an equal role to play inside as well as outside the house. This develops better sharing of feelings and a sense of belongingness.
Feminism promotes equality in all kinds of relationships and a balanced life is always happier.
Feminism not only protects the rights of a specific group of women but it incorporates the entire women of the nation. Certainly, our country will prosper if women from every section of society are given the status of being equal with men.
Feminism can definitely put an end to crime against women in our country.

However, the major challenge for feminism in our country is to change the underlying attitude of men towards women. Courtrooms are always there but to bring about a complete change the entire society needs to be revamped.

India Needs To Adopt Feminism | The Conclusion

A woman deserves to be treated equally with respect to men. Rather than raising your daughter to be perfect at cooking and household chores; one must raise their daughters to become independent and to achieve their ambitions. Indian culture doesn’t say that women need to stay inside four walls and men should go out and earn for their family.

Why have we divided our society into two sections? One is men’s area of work and other is women’s area of work and if a woman tries to enter into a men’s area it hurts ego of men. Come on! This is really a sick mentality. The fact that a group of people can threaten other people and force them to do things that they don’t wish to; says a lot about the society we live in. It is high time that we should stop asking a girl about her marriage date and a woman about her husband. Change your thoughts!

In the end, I will like to say to everyone “DON’T WAIT FOR THE CHANGE TO HAPPEN. YOU BE THE CHANGE.”

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Siddhanth Sharma

Siddhanth Sharma is employed in a multinational and is currently based in Hyderabad, India. He has a Master Degree in Computer Applications and discovered his love for writing while working as an English Content Writer along with his studies.