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“Any society that fails to harness the energy and creativity of its women is a huge disadvantage in the modern world”- Tian Wei
Throughout the ages, women have been subjected to exploitation. Though the modern world puts up a pretty picture saying that women now are much privileged, the reality is they still get exposed to humiliation and crimes against women seem never-ending. Every day there are news of women being raped and molested throughout the country and it takes ages for a woman to seek justice. Women are considered to be at fault for their choice of clothing, the time when they return home, etcetera. Women are shamed for menstruating every month. 1 out of 5 girls in India have to drop out of school as they have no clue what to do in their first period. 71% of adolescent girls in India do not know what period is until they get it for the first time. A major part of India considers menstruation as dirty and impure. Menstruating women aren’t allowed in places of worship, they aren’t allowed to enter the kitchen and the list is never-ending. Young girls are subjected to internalised misogyny by their mothers and aunts. Although women are provided good education, there is constant pressure for marriage after a certain age. As soon as girls turn into an adult they are asked to do household chores to secure a good position in their “in-laws” house. Women are seen as the more emotional gender and entitled as “compromisers”.Compromising and staying silent is not synonymous with love and respect. Women can indeed bear tremendous pain, but that doesn’t give others the right to shame women for not tolerating pain. It is high time we start believing in womens’ pain and not terming them as mere “tantrums”. Of all the crimes in the world, domestic violence against women has the highest repeat rate. It is seen as the primary duty of a woman to take care of their families while the men hold a higher position. It is often said that women have to seek permission for each and everything which limits access to several things. The definition of “femininity” needs to change. Women who are muscular, less homely, ambitious, opinionated are not seen as the so-called “perfect woman”. Whenever comes to a woman’s personal choices their parents think more about society than about her. Instead of moulding her how society wants her to be, they should focus on changing their mindset. A woman is shamed if she wants to be a mother early, if she wants to be a mother late in life or not a mother at all. It’s the 21st century and they are still questioned if they don’t want to change the surname or work after marriage. The unrealistic beauty standards have a huge impact on women’s mental and physical health. Not being able to have a certain kind of figure makes women less confident and insecure while trying to fit in a certain body type some women starve themselves and some eat too much. Women are shamed for being open about their sexuality. We as a society need to accept that women can have sexual desires which they can practice and women can be asexual too. Marital rape is still legal in India. It levitates the idea that marriage makes a woman for her husband’s sexual property and she must fulfil his sexual needs. Consent is a big concern. Women are still deprived of higher positions in workplaces and the “wage gap” is also a huge problem. Women are paid less for the same work as their male counterparts.
In recent times there have been feminist movements all across the world addressing these issues. I hope people contribute to make the world a better place for women.