In the last couple of decades, we have seen this sudden outburst of feminism take over our country in a way that it is hell bent on bringing a revolution. Frustrated due to the non-compliance or indifferent attitude of the people, the feminists have lately become bloodhounds. The feminists have started sniffing for controversy everywhere, and the moment they find it, it is blown completely out of proportion. Feminism, originally, had a different meaning, it meant the equality of genders, bringing the women at par with the men. It never said that men are our enemies and that they are responsible for the bad or comparatively lower status of women in the Indian society. Looking at the developments in feminism over the last few years, I believe we have lost the plot, we have started debating about anything that we feel is wrong which may not have been even said in the context that could ignite a debate.
Need for Inclusivity in Feminism
Something that we really need to work on is inclusivity in feminism. Being a feminist nowadays people expect you to have a set belief which does not include women who have a different opinion or other groups who may have a more liberal view about things. This also shows how stiff the whole movement has become. Equality of genders meant that women should be as free as men, but the word feminism doesn’t give a person the right to have free thoughts. Feminism was supposed to be a supportive movement where women were supposed to support other women regardless of their ideologies and beliefs. We live in a free world, we have grown up in different households, in such a situation, it is inevitable that every woman will have her own ideology and beliefs. The new definition of feminism needs to change and made a little more accommodating if we are looking at heading towards a brighter future for women.
Need for positivity in Feminism
The notion that everybody on the face of the earth is only trying to pull us women down is not helping at all. We are making more foes than allies. The fact is that all men are not bad, not all societies are against the rights of women, and presuming so is doing more harm than anybody else can ever do. Also, we need to check our response to everything. Women fight for their rights, well good, that is how the world is, we all fight for our rights every single day. So what is the big deal if the woman has to fight to get what she wants?
Maybe a lot of things aren’t even real, we have a sinister image of the rest of the world and we feel they are all up for hurting us. More than anything else, if we are fighting for gender equality, then what are those reservations for women all about? Is that gender equality? Why should somebody who is equal to men be treated specially and if we expect men to behave like gentlemen then should we behave like decent women, shouldn’t we earn and provide for our husbands? Feminism is not a one-way street, we need to understand what we are asking before just jumping on the street and yelling at people because they honked at a woman driver.
Feminism has always been a part of every society, but making it the most debatable topic of the society depends solely on the people practicing it. Controversies do make a topic popular, but it dies down sooner than it came to the top. For a sustainable change we need to keep in check our actions and our approach towards the society as well, because otherwise we will just be as wrong as the society.
One thing we all must have seen is that the feminism has evolved in the incorrect frame in past many years. Today, feminism is talked about as a medium to oppose anything or everything that men do, propose and propagate. It is the time where we need to redefine this concept. Feminism is not just beating the debates with men rather it is a silent symbol to eradicate the social evils from the society with their support.