Saturday, September 27, 2008

the daughter

"Ma, its daughters' day tomorrow."

Phat came the reply, Good, cook for us tomorrow. (to all those oblivious to my adversity to cooking please read the entry "cooked!")

Hmph! yehi izzat hai na meri is ghar mein!!

I know melodramatic, pero it has a truth which none of us is ready to face. Women in our country are still discrminated against and not just rural india. In urban educated middle class and upper class India there is a clear line between a "man's spehere" and a "woman's sphere" and the list has no end. Look around, who sets the table for dinner, who cooks,isn't it considered strange that a man cooks in the house,ghar par mummy/wife nahin hai toh bahar se mangao but the "man of the house" will seldom cook. And what do you see in the ads? Whether it's an atta or zandu balm or a financial service ad the woman of the house is always be-bindi-ed and sindur-ed and dressed in a simple suit or sari and is generally found in the kitchen or staying at home and taking care of the children while the husband is away at work and returning home so tired that his wife has to rush to his rescue with whatever product is. Now, you might say this is a reflection of the society we live in. But, c'mon we all know this isn't true! Where is the working woman who works twice as much--the traditional home sphere and the "modern" professional sphere-- as the working man and is certainly more deserving of the cholestrol reducing atta and pain reducing balms!

Admen are generally guys who are educated and supposedly modern and liberal in their views. Isn't what they project a shame to indian women and the society on the whole? So much for women's rights! The media is supposed to help dispel stereotypes not encourage them!

Don't we see working moms who suffer from more physical and emotional stress? Where are they depicted in the media? Why are we still caged in archaic 19th century patterns of thought? And why, why aren't the women's rights groups taking this issue? Fine, urban working women are a minority but they do exist and their number is going to grow and not decrease and as a result more number of women will get trapped in this image. And even urban women who don't work have a mind of their own their lives aren't only about their husbands and children! It is time the ordinary urban woman protests against depicting her in this ridiculous stereotype.

2 comments:

Conundrum1989 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Conundrum1989 said...

The unseen discrimination can't be pictured to realistic terms and even if it will be, then some bombastic news media will go lengths trying to show the empathy.But I certainly agree that the equivalence doesn't exists even today in whatever terms..be it money,education,freedom,responsibilities,mindsets ETCETRA!
Blame it on the male chauvinits or the history of India(though girls were given the stature of devis..female godess who aren't even given ordinary reverence by many shit-heads when it comes to responsibilty sharing)..

October 28, 2008 1:15 PM