From Manpower to Wo-manpower
I recently read this article by Gloria Steinem called If Men Could Menstruate. Though I don't entirely agree with all that she says, the nerve she has touched upon is very relevant.
We (and it is true for both the East & the West) belong to a male dominated society, where most terms and things, from "mankind" to "manliness" get their term from the male counterpart. Language, unknowingly has a tendency of creating a bias in our minds.
Even more ironic is the way the Modi supporters have lashed out at Kavita Krishnan for her showing why she disagrees with the #Selfiewithdaughter movement. Though I don't agree entirely with what she says (yes, again !!), the essence of what she says is spot on...
There are innumerable people, from Sunitha Krishnan to Malala Yousafzai, who have nearly lost their lives on multiple occasions, fighting for women rights.... but the root cause of the problem is closer home than we realize...
The treatment is the function of how we don't flinch when someone calls a friend a bitch, or looks across the street to lech over some extra skin that is visible or refer to her as sexy.... Most women don't say much of fear of being treated as an outcast in a group.. nothing else can be reason enough to tolerate someone using maa ki aankh and behenchod as a part of regular daily lingo. Otherwise how can anyone in their right sense of mind say such things to anyone.. needless to say the repeated usage of the words just undermine the gender...
It's scary.. the underlying bias... and the silent acceptance of it all....
We (and it is true for both the East & the West) belong to a male dominated society, where most terms and things, from "mankind" to "manliness" get their term from the male counterpart. Language, unknowingly has a tendency of creating a bias in our minds.
Even more ironic is the way the Modi supporters have lashed out at Kavita Krishnan for her showing why she disagrees with the #Selfiewithdaughter movement. Though I don't agree entirely with what she says (yes, again !!), the essence of what she says is spot on...
There are innumerable people, from Sunitha Krishnan to Malala Yousafzai, who have nearly lost their lives on multiple occasions, fighting for women rights.... but the root cause of the problem is closer home than we realize...
The treatment is the function of how we don't flinch when someone calls a friend a bitch, or looks across the street to lech over some extra skin that is visible or refer to her as sexy.... Most women don't say much of fear of being treated as an outcast in a group.. nothing else can be reason enough to tolerate someone using maa ki aankh and behenchod as a part of regular daily lingo. Otherwise how can anyone in their right sense of mind say such things to anyone.. needless to say the repeated usage of the words just undermine the gender...
It's scary.. the underlying bias... and the silent acceptance of it all....
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