IS IT TOUGH BEING A WOMAN IN OUR SOCIETY?
Woman since ages has been an epitome of beauty, love, strength and many such admirable traits. If we look into mythology, we will find goddesses like Durga and Kali symbolising such traits of women. Even history has many great names etched out clearly in our minds. Such has been the power, strength of character and endurance of women that they played a pivotal role in the national movement and shamed men. Gandhi had rightly called them the mainstay of his national movement. Even the contemporary period is replete with such women as are a force to reckon with.
But these are just a few of the positive aspects surrounding women. Just as a coin has two sides to it, similarly a woman has two facets of her life. And the truth accompanying one of the facets of a woman’s life is that it is indeed tough being a woman in our society.
Since time immemorial, women have borne the brunt of men’s atrocities and tyranny and they have been subjected to all sorts of miseries. The scenario was worst during the pre independence era with practices like sati, child marriage, purdah and many such derogatory customs deteriorating the already deplorable condition of women. However, the work done by the reformers improved their condition, elevated their status and granted them the long forbidden legislative rights. Thus began a phase of empowerment of women.
But if we look at present, we will find that all this ruckus and bal-ly-hoo surrounding the empowerment of women is just a fallacy, a false dawn. The fact remains that a woman is always unsafe and insecure, no matter where she is.
Even today practices like dowry persist among educated and well to do people. All forms of crimes against women, be it sexual abuse, dowry deaths, child abuse and female foeticide are being committed and the miscreants loom at large. The fearlessness on their parts, the vulnerability of the woman and the callousness of the authorities, emboldens the criminals and they continue to indulge in crimes against women with dogged determination.
No matter how well educated, professionally satisfied and economically independent a woman is, at every stage she has to face a sinister and sadist society with men at the helm of affairs.
True that women are now at par with men but ultimately she has to have a man in her life legally wedded to her, to concur with social norms. This and many other situations will always pull down a woman.
There are but a few women of substance, who lived life on their own terms, broke away from conventions and created their own rules. But they constitute only a fraction of the society.
The saying that God helps those who help themselves is very apt particularly for women if they are to create a better standing for themselves in this male dominated society and lead a more dignified, rewarding and fuller lives.
But taking it all together, the good and the bad, its is not unreasonable to say that if we are to live as women, then this time and this place is one of the best that Indian history has known.