There is something inherent in the feeling of being a woman that is not only intensely political, but witnesses a perverted societal desire to dominate her. Why is society afraid of her? ? What makes people fear women across cultures? The basic emotions exhibited by both genders and the choices they make constitute important indicators of politics. When a man wakes up, he has little idea of what clothes he will wear or what he will need to paint on his face. But these mundane acts become political choices for women. The length of the hem, the shade of lipstick, the color of the dress. Men seem much more confident than women.
As the wife of an Indian Air Force officer, I have lived in several locations, from the North East to Kashmir to the Indian coast. I have seen women in all these regions struggle to speak out on various issues. In the Northeast, communities like Kashi and Garo are matrilineal, with the mother’s property passing to the youngest daughter. But when she marries an outsider, say a Marwari or a Punjabi, her family begins to agitate against the “outsider”. The simple act of marrying someone of her choice becomes a political rebellion.
When my husband was assigned to the ‘progressive’ state of West Bengal, I witnessed the ugly reality of tea plantations. Most of the women picking the leaves are Santal and Munda Adivasis who were brought there during the British rule. They strap babies on their backs and carry them to farms filled with pesticide fumes.
In a country like Iran, a casual act like untangling your hair becomes a political issue. In the United States and some European countries, the choice of abortion is political, as is open breastfeeding. Strangest of all, even the age of consent to be able to have sex becomes a political choice for women, the most intimate emotion we know.
In developing countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Angola, the age of consent for girls is 12, and in developed countries like Germany it is 14. It’s easy to predict what consent means for a 12-year-old girl. It gives legal protection to child prostitution and other sex crimes against underage girls. India’s comparative age is her 18, but in many states, like my home state of Rajasthan, child marriage is still a reality and opposition to such practices is political. is becoming a problem.
For women the individual is political, for men the personal is personal and the political is political. In fact, for men, everything is hypothetical, their views, choices and actions. Being a woman is a political act. Everything a woman says is a political statement.
India is a vertically and horizontally multi-layered country. Not only do we speak many languages and dialects, we live in multiple financial, social, cultural, political, geographical and historical worlds. Few women are asking the questions that matter to their lives because their conditioning lacks questions. Sensitive politics make them believe they have no right to speak or be heard.
In the decades I have lived in the world of “progressive Hindi literature,” I have often been judged by my dress choices and by my male friends. called me a “nationalist” in a disparaging way because I live in the Canton Zone. They don’t know that my experience in the army was much better. was paying I have never been judged by my caste or class, my dress, or my dancing with other men. When women were allowed to join the military as officers, I felt the winds of change. The military used to have a big gender gap, but female officers have broken down the barrier.
It has been achieved by a strong sense of femininity, an emotion that has kept us moving. We need to transform the way we are presented and represented in media and media. In addition, our representations often differ from our requirements.
Bringing a feminist perspective into the media is also a political act. What I feel as an Indian woman, what I need for the system, what I can give to the system as a woman. We explore diversity, femininity and fantasy. It’s our emotional need. If it’s political, yes we are political.
The feminist experience is so ingrained in the living environment that it has become a slogan among feminists that “the individual is political.” Women’s personal problems are inherently political because they are caused by socio-economic inequalities and can only be resolved through political struggle. The phrase was a slogan for second-wave feminism, shaping the development of social analysis and theory and encouraging new forms of activism.
And then there is ecofeminism, another extension of being a woman. The ecofeminist movement proposes that women are stewards of biodiversity. This theme has been popular in India for nearly half a century. It advocates restoring women’s involvement in saving the planet by saving forests and agriculture-related forestry. In an interview, Vandana Shiva defined ecofeminism as a complex system of forestry, agriculture and animal husbandry, which necessarily included the participation of women. She also emphasizes that while women farmers treat biodiversity as a spiritual issue, for the biotech industry it is a financial vehicle.
Connecting with Mother Nature has two distinct facets. One is how both nature and women are treated by patriarchal societies, and women’s relationship with nature. Second, fighting this patriarchy leads to sisterhood. Women need to recognize that the words we use to describe ourselves can be catalysts for change, and to inspire the next generation to pursue activism once reserved for men.The journey begins with women’s rights. , culminating in feelings as a woman.
(Manisha Krushleshta is a Hindi-language fiction writer.)
