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Degrading women in God’s Own Country
Degrading women in God’s Own Country. Even as the Central government is making a lot of hype and hoopla on the need to empower, educate and embolden women in the country, their larger base in the political firmament - the saffron clan - seems to be hell-bent on demeaning, degrading and dominating women, not just the fairer sex from the lower strata, but from the intelligentsia and creative lots as well.
The news of a woman writer from Kerala being denied a public stage just because a spiritual leader who attended a book release ceremony simply “did not want to share dais with a woman” calls for urgent attention of the civil society
Even as the Central government is making a lot of hype and hoopla on the need to empower, educate and embolden women in the country, their larger base in the political firmament - the saffron clan - seems to be hell-bent on demeaning, degrading and dominating women, not just the fairer sex from the lower strata, but from the intelligentsia and creative lots as well.
The news of a woman writer from Kerala being denied a public stage just because a spiritual leader who attended a book release ceremony simply “did not want to share dais with a woman” calls for urgent attention of the civil society. The woman, Sridevi S Kartha, who translated a book written by none other than former President APJ Abdul Kalam was not allowed to attend the release function as a spiritual guru - Brahma Vihari Das of Swami Narayana Sanstha - did not like the presence of women on the stage along with him.
Angry and agonised, Sridevi wrote on her Facebook page, “The first three rows also should be reserved for Swami’s followers so that they can ensure that even impure shadow of women must not fall on him,” before calling it quits. Nay, this can’t be viewed as just a case of humiliating a single woman. By doing this, the so-called apostles of Hindutva have shamed the entire Indian womenfolk. The preacher of a religion that worships women as Goddesses stooping to such a despicable level shows the dangers lurking in Indian society.
In a society where the conformist dogmas of Manusmrithi have been imbibed in the psyche of a larger section of the populace, apparently by the so-called makers and keepers of ‘Indian culture,’ woman has always been regarded as someone to be taken care of all the time, someone who is supposed to be sly as a minister, serve man as a maid, be patient as the earth and a be subservient like a whore in bed.
The case in point is just the beginning of a subtle move to downsize the will and win they have achieved through ages of strife, thereby transforming them into slaves and acquiescent objects of pleasure and toil. This is a blatant negation - negation of their rights, their individualities, dignity and roles in building the country. Today they were denied a stage. Tomorrow it might be their education, their self-reliance, thoughts and deeds. It is high time our women should wake up. If it had happened in Iran or Islamabad, there would have been no surprise. We need to wake up. We need to react.
By Payam Sudhakaran
