Pestsov promptly started a new conversation: “The
education of women, for instance, would naturally be regarded as likely to be
harmful. Women is deprived of rights from lack of education, and the lack of
education results from absence of rights. We must not forget that the
subjection of women is so complete, and dates from such ages back that we are
often unwilling to recognize the gulf that seperates them from us”
Sergey Ivanovitch put in his word without
waiting, “You mean rights, meaning the right of sitting on juries and voting.
But if women occupy such positions, one can only sympathize with this desire to
assist in the general labor of man”
Alexey Alexandrovitch broke in, “The question is
whether they are fitted for such duties”
Pestsov said, “Duties are bound up with rights –
power, money, honor, those are what women are seeking.”
This scene unfolds at the Stephen Arkadyevitch’s house
in a house party hosted by his partner Darya, elder sister of Kitty, one of the
protagonists in this classic ‘Anna Karenina. The novel is written by much
revered Russian author Leo Tolstoy. The once benumbing chill in the room fades
when Arkadyevitch enters the setting and joy surrounds, until the conversation
veers into women and their position in a society.
This novel was published in the year 1878. Not much
has changed since then and we have seen many Pestsov and Ivanovitches over
centuries, pelting stones on the thought of uplifting women and giving them
equal and fair rights. I chose to fish out the excerpt from this novel because
not only it is a classic but serves as a classic example of what the past
generations have thought about women’s role in a society. How upsetting they
all have been!
Women and the talk of their rights are often ridiculed
or subjected to judgements. It doesn’t matter where the conversation is taking
place. Be it in closed confines of one’s room or be it over evening tea, or be
it in the board room, the rights of women did not come in the priorities of
mankind. And even today, this grim reality reverberates in the corridors of
society and echoes the extreme disparity in women’s rights.
But this modern era, though it is folded with murky
layers and shadows of unkept promises to liberate women and give them equal
rights to put in their feet in the areas where only men’s existence played
dominant, sees some change of air in the mindsets of people. The social fabric
gets a makeover and some of the arenas welcome women in par with men.
Historically, the female gender has been concentrated
in certain jobs but due to the changing times, they are seen engaging
themselves in many roles like combat and defence roles, manufacturing,
technology, politics, research, media and many others, thereby offering them a
road to build their identity. The rights are revised now approving women to
enter in such fields and not be judged on their gender but only on their
capability and individual merit.
So, lets read about how changing mindsets have
regarded women and have broken the barrier which paved the way to familial and
professional relationships to see a huge leap in understanding and growth.
Now it is year 2020 and though there are gravels and
stones in the path of women, few aspects that I write below will give you a
drift on how far we have come from Karenina times and how thankful we should be
for this phase.
Equality in the battlefront
As I said, women have entered into the roles that
welcomed and designed only for men since time immemorial. For example, Army and
defence. We will see more parity over patriarchy here in this field as the
Supreme Court has chalked out a rule which says women Army officers will serve
as equals and are eligible for command posts and permanent commissions. The
battlefront will see more women in the forefront which is a welcome change.
Change in household dynamics
The household dynamics have changed with more and more
men participating in household chores. The patriarchal society that we lived in
the past will take time to fade off from the present but society has now warmed
up to the new idea of men chipping in and giving their hand in helping women in
the household chores.
There are also men who call themselves as stay at home
working dads. With more and more women stepping into workforce and returning to
their career, it becomes difficult to gain a complete balance with house
chores, kids and professional demands. So, some men take a backseat and support
their spouses leading them to go out and attain their professional goals while
them acting as hands on dad and balancing their own career by staying at home.
This phenomenon is still in a nascent stage but many metropolitan cities have
embraced this idea.
Also, migration
has played a big role in people moving out of their large, joint families and
setting up their own independent house in an apartment. More and more families
are signing off from the age-old custom of living in a joint family setup
towards a nuclear set up. This is also one more reason for men of this
generation to support women at home.
Platforms for flexible options for women
Many women want to resume their jobs and build their
professional life again. Having their foot at the right place is very important
when they set to restart their career. Many platforms come to their rescue and
make it easier for those women who is looking for a head start. They not only
give them jobs but also give them flexible options like working from home,
putting few hours for their professional demands, and give women a choice to
choose the role they want to engage themselves in.
Web series and cinema focusing more on women
Cinema helps one broaden their views by mirroring the
realities. The fraternity of cinema not only devote their life for a moment of
entertainment but also offer us a vivid picture of sensitive issues encircling
the societal conflicts, issues based on women and children and much more. Also,
the web series has been extremely vocal in expressing the realities that
centers women. Both web series and cinema are resolute in its approach when it
comes to women and the issues faced by them, making the society witness the
oppression and discontent and taking steps to curtail the same.
As we step into 2020, we see many women come this far
by challenging stereotypes, fighting biases, broadening their perspectives on
themselves and the world around them, still there are some portion of women
left to embrace the gender-equal world and some are in dire need to see the
gender-equal world. The latter will see when the society will improve the
mindsets collectively and bruise and rupture that part of society which still
doesn’t shy away from contriving and suffocating women with their fragile egos
and flawed notions.
If German theatre practitioner Bertolt Brecht quotes,
“In the dark times will there also be singing? Yes, there will be singing about
the dark times”, I would like to add few more lines to it and end it in a
hopeful note.
“There will be singing about the dark times,
there will also be expressing the dark times through art and music, and as we
express, there is hope. Let’s soak in the hope that the dark times will be
erased from the history of women.”
Comments
Post a Comment