Freedom must be a right that we should have throughout our life without giving troubles to others. Yes! Is this freedom being withheld from women in India? Is it being denied only for women? Why is it being denied for women? With all these critical questions, how can we proudly say that India is a Democratic country?
In my opinion, I’m not ready to say that my country is a Democratic country. A Democratic country means a country whose government provides for the people’s rights, safety, value for their opinions and all the other basic human necessities, but we see that these are not at all being provided in our country. Though India became an independent nation on August 15, 1947, it declared itself as a Sovereign, Democratic and Republic state with the adoption of the constitution on January 26, 1950. But now, India is behaving like a patriarchal society which upholds the rights and values only for men. When carefully looking into this matter it shows that ‘patriarchy’ plays a crucial role within a woman’s life.
One of the primary rights we all deserve is gender equality. Before talking about gender equality one significant question we must ask ourselves is that, why does gender discrimination still occur? India is no more a democratic country because women are not getting their rights, they are being denied expressing their opinions. When we look back in history, we can see that women were like house material, they were dependent on men, busy with their kitchen works, and so on. Though caregiving services can empower women, the scope of other available choices for a career is often constrained by societal notions of what is “suitable” for a woman and what is not. This is what defines the role of women in India, and how limited their contribution to society will be. The boy on the other hand has no such fetters tying down his choices.
In India, women are not getting freedom. Nothing is being done for them. The actual problem is the patriarchal society norm, people think that they mould up a woman to be within 4 walls and to look after their husband, children. They have no one to fight for them. Society is implementing all these shits on them. There are many instances in our life where people ask a woman if she is Ms or Mrs.? What importance should be given for that? What matters in her titles? The identity of a woman is represented by her name, it defines who she is. What is the purpose of knowing whether she is still a daughter of someone or wife of someone? People are not ready to accept the reality about women, the reality is they can also work, they can also go for a walk at night, they can also rule the country. About 95 per cent of matters can be done by women better than men.
Marriage and its aftermath spell a different kind of security issue for women in India. For most cases, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas, marriage is a social ceremony, at times an economic contract of sorts between families with the bride and groom have very little say in the entire affair. It isn’t about them, it’s about what their parents want. There have been instances where the bride and groom have met on the very day of the marriage for the first time! After marriage, the woman often must deposit all her jewellery and assets with her in-laws as she is not permitted to possess her own bank account. There are instances where women had to seek permission to visit the doctor. In India, there is a serious rule that married women should place that red mark called ‘sindooram’ in her forehead. For what purpose is that? If she is married let her husband know that. And why it’s so hard that all of society wants to know her social status. There are so many rotten customs that are still alive in India like ‘sati’. Why are men not pushed to fire? It’s all because of patriarchal behaviour in humans. If her husband dies, she has so many ways to live her life, she can marry someone else or she can live without marrying.
Parents invest more on a boy for his studies and career whereas more on a girl for her marriage. As women are to be married off as per societal norms, the family naturally makes it a point to make the son the heir of inheritance and not the daughter. According to the 2001 Census, 45.84 per cent and 2011 Census, 34 per cent of women are still illiterate in India. Even literate women also do not exercise their right of equality wherever it is required. This naturally results in the girl being conditioned to believe that she is a liability while the boy believes he has the right to stand for his claims as he will be running the home in the long run. Even though laws have been crafted to ensure that women get their due share, it is a very few women that are aware of the legislation and stand up for their right to inheritance.
Women have the right to live with all her likes and dislikes. Women should be independent. They also have the right to study. These days we can see some posts like “Give your daughter more education, not a husband”. People are starting to rethink but that’s not enough. Both men and women are equal but most of the time women are not getting rights. Why can’t they study more? Why are women denied for achieving high? Our society gives men superior power and they’re not ready for bringing up women. It seems to say men should understand each woman’s value. Earlier as we all know one of the crucial issues as female feticide. And when girl babies are born, they should be killed. This kind of foolishness is still alive in some places in our country. We are not ready to bring up women to be empowered.
Freedom for women in India is still a significant issue these days. There is 1 rape case reported each 15 minutes. People see women as an object of pleasure. No political leaders or No Bollywood stars are there for girls who need good education or who get raped. Our India is a developed country in all records but there are still women who do not come towards the public. The freedom should be given to women also, they also have the right to enjoy it. Men can play crucial roles in helping women to achieve big. Women should be able to learn, not just household works. They can be independent financially and physically by earning a living.
India is a country which develops each minute, but even the basic rights for women are being denied. This kind of ignorance can’t be promoted. Respect each woman, give them space and let them build a beautiful world around us. The Human Development Report 2015 published by the UNDP (United Nations Development Program) recorded that women across the world undertake most of the unpaid housework and caregiving work in their homes and communities. Due to a disproportionate workload in terms of caregiving duties, women most often have less time for other activities such as paid work and education. In a sample of 62 countries, it is interesting to note that on an average 4.5 hours a day were devoted by men to social life and leisure, whereas for women the number of hours was reduced to 3.9.
Thus, the status of women has been raised in the eyes of law, but they are still far from equal to men in every sphere of life. In practice, they continue to suffer discrimination, harassment, humiliation and exploitation in and outside the home. Theoretically, women have been given more freedom but in practice, they still suffer many hardships, inhuman dignities and unworthy treatment everywhere. Within the home, she is still not treated at par with her male counterpart. Barring a few urban educated families, a baby girl is never welcomed with as much éclat and happiness as a baby boy.
The patriarchal norms should be abolished from the human’s mind and live with equal rights and opportunities. There are so many movies which speak about women empowerment but it’s not changing people. Whereas when a film shows some foolishness or bunk dialogues people will remember it and use wherever it is possible. All, these topics can’t be ended with just a full stop because it’s unstoppable. There is a vast area on this and let’s wish that these will end one day.
Respect women give them opportunities, let them live their life.
