Women empowerment is a frequently discussed topic. But what does the term truly mean? Is it merely restricted to empowering women, be it through agency or through the way they are treated in the society? India primarily has a patriarchal society. In a patriarchal society, men are given more precedence over women. They are considered as the protector who safeguard the society and the women, besides earning the bread too. Women’s roles are condensed to merely the kitchen and the inner yard of the house. She cooks and takes care of the family, not just the children.
In the West, women had almost similar roles. They used to prepare toasts with peanut butter and crack brown eggs for breakfast, and spray perfume while going outside for shopping. She cooks sunny side up for her hardworking husband, and sees him off with a goodbye kiss. End of the day. The rest of the day would go on by watching black and white films, soap operas and household chores for the rest of the day. Early white feminists asked, what is a woman’s existence without her marriage? Can she not have her own life? She is more than a housewife, a person with a purpose.
White feminists talked about the voting rights of the women. If their husbands and sons could vote, why not them? Electing a government is a very basic human right. Thus began the iconic Suffragette Movement. White women demanded the right to vote. For the black women, they were doubly marginalized. Same for the Indian women. During the colonial era, women were initially free to dress up as they desired. The introduction of blouse in the scenario of Indian fashion was solely upon the basis of modesty. That too, European or Victorian modesty. The idea of not showing too much skin.
Indian women used to wear sarees without a blouse. The humid weather of the nation forced them to do so. However, with the advent of the Britishers, the idea of fashion for women began to change. Introduced by the women of the Tagore family in Bengal, blouse and petticoat soon became a part of saree styling in India. This is still followed till date. It was Rabindranath Tagore’s sister-in-law , Gyaadanandini Devi, who brought this fashion into trend in eighteenth century Bengal. This idea of modesty was totally Victorian in nature. This has been ingrained in our psyche for centuries.
The stark contrast between the strict Victorian society and the free-flowing Indian society contributed to the slowly evolving ideologies of Masculinity and Femininity. The worship of the supreme Feminine in the form of Goddess Kali was questioned as well. The grotesque form of the motherly figure was constantly questioned by the invaders. Women were expected to cover up, and cater to the idea of Victorian modesty. In Rituparno Ghosh’s film ‘Chokher Bali’, Binodini’s piano tutor, a White Nun, tells her to cover up in her presence. This question might apparently be simple, but it speaks volumes about the contemporary society.
In her book ‘The Will to Change’, Bell Hooks talks about how women are boiled down to their mere bodies instead of their personality and dreams. The problem of eve teasing is pretty prevalent in India. Whenever a woman goes outside, she is treated like a private property of the people, specifically the men. They can touch her wherever they want to, and as per their will. Who decides what exactly defines a woman? Men, or the society. The society we live in is a by product of the distinction between both the genders. This differentiation becomes transparent now.
Even if we look at the societal treatment of women till date, dowry deaths are still quite prevalent. The practice of dowry directly commodifies women. A hefty amount is paid in return of the bride being sent to her marital home, almost like the purchase of a product, a commodity. Big fat Indian weddings are nothing but glorification of this patriarchal system, in my eyes. All the royal tents, decoration, the scent of freshly prepared jalebis, the red bridal dress – is just a façade to conceal the reality. Marriages might end up being good too, at times.
Feminism might have initially begun with voicing out for the voting rights of women, but went on to become one of asking existential questions. The idea of the ideal White woman was someone who would cook, clean and take care of the family. Early White feminists talked about the ulterior purpose of the housewife, somewhere beyond her identity as a mother and a wife. Did she even have her own existence, a goal to fulfill in her life? Or was it just her role to spread out the peanut butter evenly on a toasted slice of bread? The answer has been discovered just partly though.
