Get Inspired, Be Empowered › Forums › Gender Justice › When attempting to create a more harmonious society, gender is a more important factor than class or income. › Reply To: When attempting to create a more harmonious society, gender is a more important factor than class or income.
I strongly disagree. Gender inequality can never estrange itself from the influence of class and other societal factors. Societal problems are a convoluted mesh of class, caste, sexuality, gender etc. To only look at gender will take us nowhere. It is practical to look at how these various factors intersect to cause a particular issue.
Child marriage for instance, cannot be eradicated through gender-centric approaches but requires a more comprehensive intervention. The pandemic has seen an increase in the number of child marriages. The reason cited is that these circumstances only permit a humble wedding ceremony, thereby cutting expenditure by a large sum. Families from economically strained sections perceive this as an opportunity to get their daughters married off, irrespective of their legal eligibility.
A majority of wedding customs in India milk the bride’s family of money. Though highly impractical, when looked at in isolation this is certainly a gendered issue. Yet, in the case of child marriages, class plays as much a role as gender inequality. The problem can be resolved only through a coupling of gender and class based intervention. This extends to a majority of social evils such a female infanticide, dowry, trafficking and so on.
Society is an intricate fabric where strands such as gender, class, caste, race, sexuality, physical ability etc. are knitted together. It would be impossible to achieve harmony without taking all these into consideration.