Unfinished Dreams

The progress of civilizations in different parts of the world has taken a definite shape and some common forms of institutions are prevalent in different cultures at different places and times. Patriarchy is one such institution which has institutionalized in different parts of the world. India is also a patriarchal society. In patriarchal societies, the ‘public’ and ‘private’ spheres of women are demarcated and various boundaries are drawn and different appellations are done for this boundary in different cultures.  These boundaries have defined the limits to freedom of the female members of the society which is affecting the life chances in other dimensions of the life like health, opportunity, work, etc. The society has many norms and values which justifies the act of society in the name of the institution of patriarchy. The most powerful value among these values is the right to make decisions and through these decisions they shape the desires of people and especially female members. They think that they have right to control the female body.

The ‘power’ in just being a different sex has turned the social character of society. The social settings are seemed to be in equilibrium and these values or norms are mistakenly taken as the cause of the social equilibrium. So, there is another justification in the name of the functionality of social institutions. The voluminous titles on morality are available in the market and after reading some of the famous works I am confused that it is the morality of the society or the balancing act of the philosophers to reinforce the old values and justify it in the language and the tone of the elites. Many of the apologist philosophers have justified the imprisonment of the body and the soul of the women in the name of communization of wife and other theories. The role of the religions is even more glorious in this cause.

Man does not only control female’s sex but also rule. There are different theories on the origin of the institution of the patriarchy. Some of these theories are less convincing and some are more convincing. But the key for the emancipation of women does not lie in the antediluvian thesis. It is around and inside us. The concept of ‘modernity’ which promised people elysian journey towards rationality and the intelligentsia have celebrated the transition from ‘tradition’ to ‘modernity’. The superiority of matter over mind has given the notion of objectification in all the spheres of the society. The objectification of women has intensified with the intensification of capitalism.

The most progressive form of the capitalism called globalization, which changed the definitions of the political vocabulary like nation-state, citizenship etc., also has affected the status of w,omen in the society. Globalization has turned emotions into commodity. Now love is more easily accessible, available and exchangeable in the market. It is now more attractive and accepteable to most of the people. So, the new age religion of ‘consumerism’ has changed the diagram of women in the social picture. The inherent flaw in the so called concept of ‘enlightenment’ is now more easily visible and enumerated in the various discourses of life.

The ideological notion of female oppression is not understood by the masses because of having justification of the acts. The creation of ‘pink collar jobs’ and then justifying it in the name of the physical characteristics and social norms has taken the deep divide into a new paradigm. Sexual harassment is common. Also, the judges are not sometimes gender sensitive (pre-mathura cases). The traumatic experiences of female sex in their childhood in the form of sexual harassment and other discriminations is one of the main cause for low reporting rate of the crime against women. Even most of the reported cases of rape are against the people known to the victim which shows the hermunitical conclusion of family and neighbourhood as the most repressive organ of the society.

After the 16^th Dec incident in Delhi, every media houses, intelligentsia, legislators etc have called for gender sensitive education, inculcation of moral values, better policing, amendments in CPC for more severe punishments, police reforms ,special police force for women, empowerment of women. Some steps were taken but most of the structural changes were not taken and the improvement in the rate of crime against women is not seen.

The inculcation of value can be done through family, education and society and the inculcation of value is very necessary in lieu of the surge in the new forms of crime. But, the external environment has to be made more conducive for change. The problems of poverty and hunger, unemployment, corruption, rising middle class and new technologies have gender dimensions and the society has to be seen in the totality to find the solution of this problem. The concept of women empowerment has to be revisited to provide total empowerment and the vague notion of isolated economic empowerment and social empowerment has to be changed.

The short cut steps to pacify the protestors and the media will not help in solving the problem. The need of the hour is a gender sensitive state and having the clear goal of giving at least equality of opportunity to all the sexes. The reforms in every sector are necessary to curb the problems of gender discrimination viz. giving the subsidy in the name of the female head of the family. Every small step is going to bring a change in the psyche of the members of the society and a better future. The unfinished dream has to be completed very soon.