अस्तित्व: The Female Existence
Women. Who are women? What are women? Do you know? Does anyone know?
Well let me tell you, a woman is consciousness shaped within the boundaries she didn't choose. A presence that persists despite erasure. A woman is the thread that carries humanity further while being denied authority over it. She is the first home of humanity, where life begins, yet history forgets to honour that origin.
Women, they're innocent, yet are guided by the society. They're taught to shrink. Taught to cover their heads with a veil, to dress modestly, traditionally as they "carry the tradition", told to apply vermilion and wear nuptial chains after marriage to "symbolise their marriage," to "show that they are married," while men aren't expected to do any of these things. They're denied to go to temples when menstruating and are considered impure. Wouldn't God allow a menstruating woman if he allows a rapist or a criminal?
I, being a woman, don't really share a good rapport with people. I'm uncertain or should I say they are uncertain. Yes they are uncertain. I don't fit in this society, perhaps, I don't even belong to it. To this patriarchal society. I was made to live in a parallel universe where women would lead the world so profoundly, words like patriarchy and misogyny would be termed as "from the parallel universe."
When I say this, I don't mean that women do nothing at all, I mean that women literally do everything but are not given the credit, the adequate respect. They're not honoured. They're just praised for a moment or two and then are treated like a slave. Yes a slave of patriarchy. Patriarchy and misogyny runs so deep in our society that certain women, being the victims of it, see it as their tradition, their sole responsibility, their valour.
Taking in instance, the generations of women before us, who were the obedient victims of patriarchy, so brainwashed and conditioned that they began to perceive the abuse they tolerated as "parampara", "sanskar," "Bhartiya sanskriti", "aurat ka dharm," their tradition, responsibility, culture and what not. The abuse and misogyny is glorified into silly terms like these. Even this generation romanticises patriarchy and abuse as "the last generation of innocent mothers."
Well you're mistaken if you think I'm a liberal feminist, I'm a proud, prominent, radical feminist, who doesn't want to peacefully work within the societal structures to grant women equality, but wants to dismantle the gender stratified society, male supremacy, misogyny and all that follows. I'm a feminist who wants to challenge the typical orthodox gender roles, sexual objectification, marriage, society and its counterparts.
It's time we dismantle and critique the androcentric structures, it's time we incorporate micro feminism along side the fight against patriarchy. Women aren't merely a symbol, they are presence, memories, resistance, even when the society tries to demolish them. Patriarchy has long structured men to be privileged, however it is neither natural nor immutable. Change begins not only through laws or policies but through simple acts of kindness, persistence, recognition and affection. By acknowledging, analyzing and resisting patriarchal systems, we reimagine a society where women are treated with the respect they deserve, where they are honoured.
~SOUMYA
