The Word Everyone is Afraid Of.

Feminist. Yes I said it. We live in an era where referring to yourself, as a Feminist is no longer fashionable or even worthy of admiration.

In fact it’s quite passé or so I have inferred. When people think of a feminist, they picture a woman with a crew cut, in kitsch clothes, thick glasses, and a gay partner in tow. Now, I don’t think there has been any causal link established on this front, yet this stereotype precedes any effort or work that a said feminist may do. Now, I may myself have a short crop and thick glasses, but believe me when I say, the way I look doesn’t influence my ideology or the other way around. It doesn’t matter to me, and it shouldn’t matter to you.

But anyway, enough about aesthetics and appearances.

Feminism is not about establishing supremacy, it isn’t about proving anything. It is a belief that women ought to be respected, be treated at par with men, and be subjected to the same economic, societal, and professional norms and expectations that are applicable to men.  It seems like an obvious stand doesn’t it? But it doesn’t come naturally in India, for reasons entrenched in it’s society and it’s bastions of patriarchy.

The gender imbalance is everywhere – from a sex ratio of 917 girls to 1000 boys (2011 census) to every time a mother buys dowry for her daughters wedding. From the 500,000 girls being lost annually through sex-selective abortions (Lancet Journal) to qualified women quitting their jobs to marry and living in bitter resentment.

India is at the threshold of modernity and tradition. As these worlds collide, Indias world crumbles, its women struggle to maintain their identity - that of strong, professional, independent women, with the traditional garb of expectations wrapped around them. A woman in India knows this well, this veil of fear, of looking over her shoulder. Some of it is real, some is paranoia. How can it not be? When all the news channels are running amok talking about rape cases by the dozen everyday. At this time, we need to brace ourselves; we need feminist ideals and feminists. We need to talk about standing up for ourselves and rejoicing in our strength, our ability to outshine boys in high school exams (Indian Express: CBSE Class XII board exam results out, girls again outshine boys) and essentially realize our-self worth.

I think the atmosphere in the country is ripe for this collective feminine conscience to come together. We need to pledge to stand up for ourselves, our wants and desires, our education, nobody else will come fight this battle for us. We need to pledge to stand up for one another, to not let an innocent woman be undermined, her identity stripped, and molded into a life of fulfilling others dreams. We need to stand up against the insane behavior of cretins against women, and put them to shame. We are 50% of the population after all. If we are together, and fortify each other, no amount of misguided social lubricant can make us slip.
Let us finally, stop hiding behind the veil of fear.