The misogynistic Indian Society
The misogynistic Indian society
The society that we have today according to me is divided into 2 different groups of women. The women with privilege and women without it. The women with privilege come from urban cities meanwhile women without it comes from rural India and small-town India And today I wanna talk about women without privilege who every day of their lives live in a world that is full of patriarchy and misogyny. A world where basic rights like education are taken away and all they are made to be is someone who is to be married off and produce kids. No one even grants them the right to say no. For them, consent is a privilege that they can't have.
A privilege is something everybody should be given but unfortunately, it's not the case for them. They have to everyday live life like a caged bird in their home and if they try to fly away their wings are cut down. An example of this is a woman who was recently killed in UP because she refused to wear Indian attire and wore jeans instead for a puja. Another case was in Gujarat where a girl and boy were beaten because they were talking on the phone to each other. Well, these might be one of the many examples of the inhuman treatment that women get. Well now let's talk about factors that lead to the creation of this misogynistic society and what we as people can do to eliminate them.
1.Inequality in Indian household: The basic structure of an Indian household stands on inequality. A house in which the work is not divided equally but on the unfair premise of women doing all the household work and men going outside to work. In a house, the treatment of men and women is also quite different. Men are treated like this big blessing who will provide for their parents and bring them money, whereas women are treated like this outsider who will eventually marry and leave. Ever since childhood, this mentality is fed in the minds of both boys and girls and if they question otherwise they are silenced.
What can we do?
Teach both boys and girls the importance of equality and teach them to be independent on their own. Teach them to question things that don't make sense. And the biggest solution would be to give the children an environment at home where both men and women are treated with respect and equality.
2. The Indian Customs: India is a land full of customs and traditions that are followed blindly throughout the country and vary from one state to another. Some customs make sense and some are just straight-up misogynistic and sexist. Some examples of these customs are the name changing after marriage, the sati pratha , the vidaai custom, and the dowry system. The following are just a few examples of some regressive and misogynistic customs some of which were followed and some of which to this date are followed.
What can we do?
Try our best to Improve or eliminate these customs in our day-to-day lives. And the most important change we need to make is to stop following customs and traditions blindly but rather to look for the correct and sensible logic behind them and then follow those.
3.The Impacts of Politics and judiciary: We have often heard people say Beti Padhao Beti Bachao but have you ever heard them say Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Beti ko ladke ke barabar karo ya beti ko Azadi do. The answer is obviously no, proving that politicians aren't willing to give women the independence and equality they deserve. Even today, various politicians at high levels make sexist and misogynistic remarks. Some instances of this can be seen in the comments made by the recent ex-chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, the comments made by the CM of Uttar Pradesh on inter-faith marriage, or the comments made by the Goa CM on a recent rape case.
Laws like love jihad, Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code that reads sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape or Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 198(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code that lays down that only a man who has sexual intercourse with the wife of another man can be charged for adultery. The following examples are some of the misogynistic and sexist laws that still exist today despite being sexist and misogynistic.
What can we do?
The first major thing that can make a huge impact is the increase of representation of women in the parliament so that women's issues can come to light. The second thing that we as people can do is call out the politicians when they make such misogynistic statements and help people around you understand why the politician is wrong. The thing that we can do as citizens regarding unfair and misogynistic laws is we can raise awareness of these laws and file petitions against their adoption, making our constitution more equal for everyone.
4. The impact of misogyny on men: Misogyny does not only impact women but also impacts men. The difference is that men got the better share of the pie of misogyny. But that does not mean that it does not come with a set of disadvantages. By society's standard, men are not supposed to express emotion, do household tasks, or be weak and vulnerable as these are considered to be girlish.
What can we do?
We must stop telling boys phrases such as "boys never cry" and "boys are always strong," instead teach them that it is alright to be emotional and vulnerable.
The most important thing that we should remember is that the end target for all of us is equality and eliminating all forms of discrimination against men and women.
In conclusion, all I wanna say is that misogyny is evil towards equality, and until and unless it isn't eliminated the society cannot become an equal place for all. And to do so all of us must contribute our best and make this society an equal and safe place for all.
