In India, freedom for women depicts a complex image of significant progress and challenges altogether. Although the Indian Constitution guarantees equality, rights, and justice for women, so many campaigns are going on to promote education for girls like “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” and so on. But are these facilities enough?
Women have political participation. They are educated and self-dependent. But there are still so many questions that pop up in my mind. Are we really free? Some women are “overfree” and some of them are still suppressed by one or another reason. For some women, freedom is a living reality whereas for a vast majority it is still a distant dream. A small portion of privileged women in urban areas enjoy freedom because they are educated, socially liberated, and economically independent.
It sounds great when we use all these terms for a woman, but they are still struggling. However, their struggle is not for basic rights — it is for acceptance of their freedom by society, acceptance of their likes and choices. But it is different from the struggle a majority is facing. On one hand, there are women who are CEOs, politicians, artists, and leaders in every field, competing on a global stage. Their success shows us examples of women empowerment.
On the other hand, there are women whose lives are a daily struggle for basic dignity. They face malnutrition, forced labor, violence, and a lack of control over their own bodies and lives.
Why They Are Suppressed?
There is no single cause which can describe the suppression of women. There is a correlation between tradition and so-called social narrow-minded thinking. In patriarchal societies, traditions are used to justify this narrow thinking. From generation to generation, they transfer some practices, rituals, and beliefs in which man is depicted as superior. With time, all these terms became so natural that no one can question them.
Gender-Specific Roles and Traditional Thinking
The traditional division of labour between male and female is also a reason for suppression. Orthodox society still thinks that women are made for household chores whereas men are made for earning outside. Although it looks like there is no issue in this, yet it creates hindrance in the path of women’s progress. Their own family stops them, saying it is for their family honor. However, the main motive is control — to maintain male authority and prevent women from gaining economic freedom, which can be challenging for existing social customs.
Traditional marriage practices, such as the dowry system and the expectation of a male heir, facilitate the idea that a woman is a temporary member of her paternal family and is a vehicle for continuing the husband’s lineage.
Unwillingness to Bring Change
When legal reforms are introduced to empower women, patriarchal thinking resists them. For example, despite laws against dowry, it continues to be practiced because society still values it.
Partial Progress of Women
In urban areas, even when women have education and jobs, narrow-minded thinking still has control over them. They may have a career, but they are still expected to bear the entire burden of household chores and childcare, creating a double burden of profession and family. This shows that even when a woman achieves freedom in one sphere, the male-dominated society finds new ways to suppress her in others.
Conclusion
Tradition is a vehicle for suppression, but social narrow-minded thinking is the driver. Changing deep-rooted customs is not enough. If we want freedom in the real sense, we need to change the narrow-minded thinking of society.
Blog by:
Ms. Shobha Jangir
Department of Social Science
Biyani Group of Colleges