Society is a community where people live in, and it has its own norms. It has a structure which is mostly heirarchical. One such category in the division of power is gender.
X-chromosome and Y-chromosome decides if the foetus will be a boy or girl. XX means girl and XY means boy. But society has given a new meaning to the gender.
For many years women are consider below men, and their role in the house has been just inside kitchen. There is also a perception that they are weak to do any work like men, very emotional, and not strong.
Feminism movement is a social movement which began to bring about reformation with regard to the issue of inequality between men and women. Women’s liberation, reproductive rights, fight against domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, sexual harassment, and sexual violence are some of the issues that movement focusses on.
In India there are many women who are known for their accomplishment from Ahilyabai Holkar, Rani Lakshmi Bai, to Rani Chennamma who broke the norm and etched heir name in history. Even though there were women like this in history, society didn’t acknowledge them. Women excelled in various fields but they have been not recognized enough by the society.
Now-a-days the concept of feminism has got different meaning. Many people are using the term feminism without understanding the meaning of it. Men and women should be given equal standard in all terms, but when women get their rights in one way they are also losing it in another other way. Women have right to vote, right for education, reserved seats in Parliament, and have equal rights for property. Laws are made to help women. But in some cases these are not effective, as an example, the punishment for rape in Dubai is beheading, in some other countries its castration. If the punishment for rape is stringent the cases may reduce.
Society norm about purity in women has made many suffer in silence. #Me too movement has brought forth many sexual harassment allegations of which some were true but some were false allegations.
Women are raising their status on their own. As women we need to break the norm and move forward. We need to step up in comparison to men and not step on them with false allegations. Not every man is guilty and not all women are victims. There is a story on both the sides. Never accuse someone based on their gender, race, religion or anything but just with the backup of the facts.
Photo source: Wikimedia Commons.