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Showing posts from August, 2018

FEMINISM IS FREEDOM

Feminism  is about giving women choice. It’s about freedom. It’s about liberation. It’s about equality. Say it loudly and proudly: #feminism is about women’s liberation from patriarchy. But men created patriarchy and benefit from it; otherwise, they would fight with us to end it.  I say Feminism is not about hating men. It is not about losing your femininity. It’s about equality. Which is something that we still don't have and need it. Feminism is more than a voice of protest or questioning. it is moral self-reflection, a conquering of inner fears and a realisation of self-worth. It doesn't abandon values or relationships, but goes on to create new ones. But, there are many traditions and customs that have been a huge part of India and its people for hundreds of years. Religious laws and expectations, or “personal laws” enumerated by each specific religion, often conflict with the Indian Constitution, eliminating rights and powers women legally should have. Religions, like

YOUTH, MEDIA AND POLITICS

In order to respond to the needs of youth, and to guarantee that their basic human rights are recognized and enforced, youth’s active and meaningful participation in their societies and in democratic practices and processes is of crucial importance.Meaningful youth participation and leadership require that young people and young people-led organizations have opportunities, capacities, and benefit from an enabling environment and relevant evidence-ba sed programmes and policies at all levels.Opportunities for youth to engage in governance and participate in political and decision-making processes depend largely on the political, socio-economic, and cultural contexts. And we are really fortunate that we are living in a nation which has youth in the largest number. We are also fortunate in the way that we are able to express ourselves irrespective of anything and have got the wonderful opportunity to deliver our information to the masses.Realizing youth's right to

WOMEN, RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY

Men have been dominant as recipients, interpreters and transmitters of divine messages, while women have largely remained passive receivers of teachings and ardent practitioners of religious rituals. There is an African saying: “Until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter.” Because Indian mythology was written exclusively by men, their point of view will always favour the male protagonists. Hindu texts present diverse and conflicting views on the position of women, ranging from feminine leadership as the highest goddess, to limiting her role to an obedient daughter, housewife and mother. In Smritis, such as the Manusmriti, the position of women in Hinduism is mixed and contradictory. Manusmriti asserts that "as a girl, she should obey and seek protection of her father, as a young woman her husband, and as a widow her son". In fact, Daughters-in-law are no fully accepted into their husband's families until they have produced a son

WHY DON'T WE QUESTION THE OCCURENCE OF RAPE ?

Rape is one of the crimes and social problems that is somewhat regarded as a community’s least priority although the victims suffer from grave physical, mental, and emotional consequences. There is a new urgency for society to voice their protest against this social hypocrisy. Also, one must realize that rape has nothing to do with a woman’s actions and is solely the perpetrator’s choice. It must be instilled in all nations that any woman who has to face the effects of this brutal act has every right to receive the compassion, support and justice from the society in which she lives. In the highly developed countries, community response is generally positive and encouraging for the victim. But India being a conservative country, many Indians look down upon girls who are outgoing and prefer to wear western clothes. People often blame the girl for sending out wrong signals to men, thus making her vulnerable to rape. In cases where a woman is raped, she is always in fear of

WOMEN AND MEDIA

As said by Swami Vivekananda, there is no chance of the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on one wing. But then also women have been fighting for the right to be equal members of society for centuries. In the past women were treated as second class citizens and didn’t have the same rights as men did. Women later lead a movement to change these ways. Although some drastic changes did come about from these movements, equality wasn’t fully attained. In this day and age, equality between men and women still hasn’t been achieved and the media is to blame for that. For decades, the media has dominated society’s views and perspectives of others. Due to recent media, it has been difficult to regulate how women are being influenced and treated by other people in society. The media influences society tremendously and subconsciously steers the way we treat and think of others. Advertisements, television shows, movi

SOMETIMES IT'S HARD BEING A GIRL

I’m a girl so I’m always the emotional, the sensitive, the vulnerable, the weak one(general perception of the so called "society"). Being a girl is hard. It’s hard because from the day a girl is born she is forced to realize that she is born into a society that values men more than women; from the disappointment she looks on her father’s face, for not having a son because to him, only sons, not daughters, are able to handle important matters in the f amily. It’s hard from the first Physical Education class when the girls' gender and physical strength are tied to one word: weak; from the time she struggles to get her voice heard and her opinions valued. Being a female she is assumed to be less smart and less capable. She is taught that beauty is essential to her identity and giving birth is her purpose of existing, and thus, if she is not beautiful, yet single and childless, there must be something inherently wrong with her that needs to be fixed. And if s

INDIA STILL FIGHTING WITH GENDER STEREOTYPES

# Girls_are_princesses_and_boys_are_soldiers . # Girls_should_have_long_hairs_boys_should_have_short_hairs and many more. I mean why these stereotypes are encouraged by the society. Stereotypes are harmful and they stifle individual expression and creativity, as well as hinder personal and professional growth. These stereotypes can narrow a child’s ideas about what they can be when they grow up, rather than choosing a career that fits their individual skills and ambitions. Tradi tionally, the female stereotype role is to marry and have children. I believe that being a woman does not mean that we are a weaker section. Men and women might be created biologically different, but they are equal and special in their own way. And one has no right to discriminate or limit their talent only till home and bearing children. They are not just a child bearing machine. She is also to put her family's welfare before her own; be loving, compassionate, caring, nurturing, and sympa

WHEN WILL INDIA GET RID OF FEMALE TABOOS ?

A list of dos and don’ts is subconsciously fed into a woman’s life over the years. Consequently, there is a lot of guilt and shame involved while, after or before doing anything ‘unaccepted.’ Absolutely no area of a woman’s life has been spared in this sense. Restricting other areas for now, I would like to expand on the much tabooed female sexuality and desire.Sexuality in India, since long, has been considered as something to be discussed in hushed voices and discovered behind closed doors.Growing up in such a hostile environment, children learn to hide their curiosity from their parents.However, there is a difference between how adolescent boys express their sexuality and how adolescent girls do. Due to the granted societal permission for boys as being overtly sexual beings (“Boys will be boys!”), social acceptance of sexual encounters or discoveries like- masturbation, viewing pornography, losing virginity is more for boys than for girls.Boys comfortably discuss the

WOMEN NEED NOT CHANGE THEIR SURNAME AFTER MARRIAGE

I often wonder how easily women are expected to blend in with their matrimonial family, how they are expected to leave behind their maiden surname effortlessly while they take in a new identity – the identity of being someone’s wife, the identity of being the proud Mrs. X, Mrs. Y or Mrs. Z. Marriage for a woman entails a vast change in her life – from change in the place of residence to change in the family members to change in surname, while for a man it means simply a chang e in his relationship status. I sometimes wonder as to why would I change my surname in future ,just because I would be married? It’s my father who got me educated and it’s because of my parents that I am standing on my own feet today. So why’ll I not keep my father’s surname in my service records? Supporting the trend of changing surnames, people come to saying that even Priyanka Gandhi changed her surname and became Priyanka Vadra after her marriage. She did this in spite of the great legacy of t