My friend Vivek wrote an article recently and this post is a
reaction to his article. The link to his article is http://vivekvaidya.com/five-learnings-about-feminism/
Thanks Vivek Vaidya, for a very succinct analysis of urbane
feminism. I agree with all that you say, especially the part about Feminism
being a personal thing.
However, I think, we also need to recognize the stereotypes
that prevail in the society today and in fact rule the lives of most women.
While for the privileged upper class/educated women, choice is what you take
for granted, for a very large chunk of female population in our country,
choice, responsibility and duty etc etc are defined and demanded based on these
very stereotypes...nothing to do with ONLY men or women... it is the collective
thinking that needs to undergo a change. Unfortunately, Deepika's video was
unable to convey this and hence the flak. How many evolved writers,
movie-makers, and other creative people have actually taken a step towards
enlightening the populace?
We condemn rapes and propagate the need for learning
self-defense, create apps for women to alert their loved ones in times of
danger and so on… girls are told not to take chances/risks…to stay safe…all of
this is required…yet, WHY should it be required? Why should someone else TEACH
me, that it is MY CHOICE…when men take all of it for granted? Does it really
have to do with the kind of Feminism you refer to? I think not. It refers to
the fact that what is taken for granted, by 50% of the society, the remaining
50% cannot even aspire to it. The video tries to remind the world, that all of
this, IS, in fact, MY CHOICE and I, as a women have every right to use it…un-burdened
by societal restrictions, judgments…it is not, I believe, a call of Feminism…but
in fact a reminder, that society as a whole, needs to change the way it thinks
and perceives the actions of a free woman.
Every individual, not just women, draws a boundary for
his/her behavior, based on his/her upbringing/social context/education and many
such factors. However, for a large percentage of the female population these
choices are not made by the boundaries she sets for herself, but by the
boundaries that others set for her and force her to live within the confines of
that boundary willingly or unwillingly, thus taking the power of choice away
from her. THIS is what we should be concerning ourselves with.
Even if one feels Deepika’s video was ‘lame’ and irrelevant,
it did generate a controversy and bring about a discussion…on many different
platforms. The very fact that I have spent a precious 30 minutes of my Sunday
writing this response to a blog article by a friend, indicates that there are
many of us who feel rather strongly about it and wish to continue this debate.
I look forward to some responses to this reaction of mine…
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