I recently saw a thought provoking ad on TV.
You can catch it on http://www.facebook.com/sftimetochange
The brand is called Stay-Free. Very apt if you ask me. Besides I like the fact that they portray women who are willing to bring about a change. Not just in their own life, but in the world around them as well. Enough said. I really don't want to start sounding like a closet feminist. But since we are on the highly debatable topic of women and change, I really want to share my views on it. There is just one major change I'd like to see in the world around me and that is gender equality in the true sense of the word. Now some of you will just stop reading beyond this point. Nobody wants to hear a woman gushing about how life and especially men have been unfair to her. I'm not like that. If I'm talking about equality, I mean complete and total equality. Which obviously means that I strongly oppose women's reservation, special laws for women and essentially everything that is designed to 'empower' women. Is it just me or does every sensible woman see through all this and realise that all these ways of empowerment are basically hinting at the fact that women are the weaker sex and therefore need something to make them stronger? Its like saying, "I'm a woman, the weaker gender. Cut me some slack, will you?" I don't think women need it. We have been shouting from the rooftops about gender equality, haven't we? Then we should be getting exactly that. Absolute equality. I do understand that earlier, women were part of the downtrodden segment of society and special laws and reservations were required to uplift their status. But its about time that we do away with those 'crutches' as I like to call them, and start walking straight with our head held high. Even our President is a woman now. And if every woman wants to claim proudly that she is doing better than men in almost every field, she should also be able to state that she does so without any concessions. Now equality does not have just one aspect. Social equality is important too. Why do women lust after men who are chivalrous? Men who open doors, pull chairs and do the like to make us feel special? Will opening doors, pulling out chairs and paying for our food make us any less feminine than we are? We have got to stop behaving like the 'damsel in distress'. We have to change this sorry picture that we have painted of ourselves. If a man hits a woman, she cries hoarse and claims that he's harassing her because she's the weaker one. A man may be physically stronger but a woman is definitely capable of protecting herself. She just needs to know how. And it is unfair to the men who get beaten up by their wives. If women can make a big issue about marital abuse, men should be able to do the same. Only then can they both be truly equal. A guy friend once remarked that women are constantly whining about everything. They complain about eve teasing, sexual abuse, two timing boy friends and everything in between. It really got me thinking. Are women really so weak? If yes, then why do we talk about being strong and powerful? Maybe most of us are just unaware of how much we can do and what we are really capable of. It is so easy to talk about change, isn't it? Ask anyone and you will get a long list of things that need to be changed. Corruption, Global warming, The Education System, The Economy, Poverty, Illiteracy... The list is endless. What we forget is that change begins with us. and in order to change the world, we need to change ourselves first. I dedicate this post to all the wonderful and amazing women out there who want to bring about a change. Start with yourself. That is the difficult part. The world will be easier to change.
You can catch it on http://www.facebook.com/sftimetochange
The brand is called Stay-Free. Very apt if you ask me. Besides I like the fact that they portray women who are willing to bring about a change. Not just in their own life, but in the world around them as well. Enough said. I really don't want to start sounding like a closet feminist. But since we are on the highly debatable topic of women and change, I really want to share my views on it. There is just one major change I'd like to see in the world around me and that is gender equality in the true sense of the word. Now some of you will just stop reading beyond this point. Nobody wants to hear a woman gushing about how life and especially men have been unfair to her. I'm not like that. If I'm talking about equality, I mean complete and total equality. Which obviously means that I strongly oppose women's reservation, special laws for women and essentially everything that is designed to 'empower' women. Is it just me or does every sensible woman see through all this and realise that all these ways of empowerment are basically hinting at the fact that women are the weaker sex and therefore need something to make them stronger? Its like saying, "I'm a woman, the weaker gender. Cut me some slack, will you?" I don't think women need it. We have been shouting from the rooftops about gender equality, haven't we? Then we should be getting exactly that. Absolute equality. I do understand that earlier, women were part of the downtrodden segment of society and special laws and reservations were required to uplift their status. But its about time that we do away with those 'crutches' as I like to call them, and start walking straight with our head held high. Even our President is a woman now. And if every woman wants to claim proudly that she is doing better than men in almost every field, she should also be able to state that she does so without any concessions. Now equality does not have just one aspect. Social equality is important too. Why do women lust after men who are chivalrous? Men who open doors, pull chairs and do the like to make us feel special? Will opening doors, pulling out chairs and paying for our food make us any less feminine than we are? We have got to stop behaving like the 'damsel in distress'. We have to change this sorry picture that we have painted of ourselves. If a man hits a woman, she cries hoarse and claims that he's harassing her because she's the weaker one. A man may be physically stronger but a woman is definitely capable of protecting herself. She just needs to know how. And it is unfair to the men who get beaten up by their wives. If women can make a big issue about marital abuse, men should be able to do the same. Only then can they both be truly equal. A guy friend once remarked that women are constantly whining about everything. They complain about eve teasing, sexual abuse, two timing boy friends and everything in between. It really got me thinking. Are women really so weak? If yes, then why do we talk about being strong and powerful? Maybe most of us are just unaware of how much we can do and what we are really capable of. It is so easy to talk about change, isn't it? Ask anyone and you will get a long list of things that need to be changed. Corruption, Global warming, The Education System, The Economy, Poverty, Illiteracy... The list is endless. What we forget is that change begins with us. and in order to change the world, we need to change ourselves first. I dedicate this post to all the wonderful and amazing women out there who want to bring about a change. Start with yourself. That is the difficult part. The world will be easier to change.
I think (after much deliberation) the topic of equality is a bit more complex than that! I mean I don't particularly think that I deserved less college fees than my guy-friends, just because I am a girl, and so, the supposed weaker sex. What I do think is that there are women out there, probably not living in the cities, who actually do suffer from discrimination and are weak and need to be told they don't deserve it. I guess, the feminism is not intended for the women, who understand it or who can talk powerfully about it!! I do like the points you've made though; the change always starts with oneself.
ReplyDeleteI agree it is quite complex. The above is just my take on it. Inequality, discrimination is something that we have been battling through the ages. It won't disappear in a wink. About the women in the villages, you may be right. But I suggest you read about the Barefoot college of Tilonia. Women there are far more accomplished than those in the cities. They are all 'uneducated' in terms of bookish knowledge but have achieved more than us city folks. Thankyou for the insight, Priya. I appreciate you dropping by to share your views.
DeleteNice :)
ReplyDelete