Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.
G.D. Anderson
The Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Prof. Santisree Dhulipudi
Pandit in a recent interview, citing a conference, made a pertinent contrast to the perception of feminism by the West and its Indian counterpart. While the West sees feminism juxtaposed against patriarchy, Indian philosophy looks at feminism, more as a balance, embracing certain values as epitomised by Mother Goddess Durga. Maa Durga does things on Her own. Like she fought against evil to bring justice. That is feminism in the Indian context and oh! so right. As we celebrate Chaitra Navaratri, one hopes that these values get highlighted specially, now, at a turbulent time that we are all living in.
Given a chance though, I would have asked the outspoken JNU professor, if a women's day is still relevant in India considering the rampant sexual abuse across ages that we get to read daily in the newspapers. Right from infant to aged, mother to daughter, brother to sister, father to daughter, every age and relation are getting severely abused and/or compromised. Worse, workplace abuses like family exploitations are often normalised. Yes, we live in neo-normal times where every relation becomes a suspect, every age a threat. And a lot, we owe it to our own perception, that not only perpetuates, but also strengthens misogyny. Why else stereotypes like a girl is still associated with the colour pink and a boy is looked through the prism of blue? Why should the length of a girl's dress is jeered at ? Why should a responsible police woman be body shamed? Why should an employee make lewd remarks when a mother is nursing her baby in a departmental store?
So, in the land of Goddess Durga, are females getting their due? Else, why should it take so long for the authorities to get a female VC for JNU? A premier public central university in New Delhi, JNU was officially inaugurated on April 22, 1969. Notwithstanding the allegations and controversies surrounding Dr. Pandit, the fact remains that it took over five decades for a female VC to take office in February 7, 2022.
Here I want to add that on March 8, the International Women's Day (IWD), this year, I travelled by train to get into the pulse of the city. I did not get any reminders from anywhere, whether from the station or people in the women and general compartments that today is IWD. There were no messages on the tv placed inside the compartment.
That day and for the next few days, thankfully I did not get to hear any advertisement promoting beauty products in the name of IWD, especially fairness creams. But neither did I get to read any women's day function and/or felicitation. Even banks used to send messages on this day. Now the flood has reduced to a trickle. I read up on the net.
No felicitation or messages along the way from afternoon to night. I was traveling along western and harbour lines in Mumbai.
As the sky turned salmon orange, I walked into the Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha to honour an invitation for a dance programme, organised by its women's wing. Through a visual delight, a team of fluid danseuses fronted by legends and scholars, showcased the dexterity of different gharanas. Among others, I was particularly hooked on to the performance by the legendary dancer of Manipuri gharana, Padma Shri, octogenarian, Darshana Jhaveri. Performances (Ragamala) by Vidushi Daksha Mashruwala's group (Odissi) was awesome and that of Vidushi Shila Mehta for Nimitta ( Kathak) was stunning. She also conceived and curated the entire programme titled, Stree Shakti (female power).The programme transcended with grace, poise and power from the Adi Shakti to Lok Shakti amidst a gathering of mostly women as an audience. I felt good. Why? Because they were not mute spectators. They were a live audience, clapping at the right context of a three hour long programme. This was that jubilant night when India lifted the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.
The only jarring note on this soulful night was the distasteful heaping of empty packets of clothes iron gifted to ladies from less privileged backgrounds by a certain political outfit.
As I made my way back home, I suddenly remembered that repeatedly revived 70s slogan: The Future Is Female. Not male bashing. But definitely gender empowerment and erasing of stereotypes.
Cheers!
#InternationalWomensDay #MaaDurga #JNU #SantishreeDhulipudiPandit #thefutureisfemale #DarshanaJhaveri #Shanmukhananda #SudeshnaChatterjee
A thoughtful piece. The contrast between Western and Indian feminism — one battling patriarchy and the other seeking balance — is striking indeed. Unfortunately, the question that continues to beg an answer, despite years of policy and awareness efforts, is whether balance is even possible when abuse is normalised daily, in explicit as well as implicit ways. The chasm between legal rights and social realities, between women leading global corporations and the “grassroots” struggle for acceptance, is both worrying and frustrating.
ReplyDeleteYou are spot on: more than just policy, feminism requires a cultural unlearning of norms intentionally nurtured and reinforced over centuries. Seat at the table? Checked. But changing the conversation? Forever a work in progress.
Progress is seldom linear, especially when forced to wade through the kind of mindboggling paradoxes that modern India presents. Stree Shakti as slogan and spectacle is motivating, but it isn’t quite where it needs to show up. Yes, even today.
Well thought out and described Sudeshna! I hope the future is Men coz they're taking very long catching up 😀
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