Feminism and India

We get celebrities to give their take on a current issue each week and lend their perspective to a much-discussed topic. this week we talk about

‘Long way to go for equality’

If feminism is about equal rights for women, about an end to gender discrimination, then, yes, I am a feminist. In India we have a long way to go to achieve that equality. But that’s not the image of feminism we youngsters are exposed to. Today, a girl is judged by a certain section of vocal feminists, if she chooses to prioritise family over career, as if that’s inferior or uncool. We have gone from one kind of discrimination to another! I want the freedom to choose the way I want to live and I don’t want to judged by anyone – whether that’s by men or women. Anyone who speaks his or her mind is controversial today. And God forbid if it’s a woman. I respect the women who are fighting out there for equal rights. But I also respect women who do small things — like educating their domestic help, so she can live a little bit more independently. Is this person a feminist We’ll never know. It’s not controversial you see! —As told to

Aarti Bhanushali

‘Anything about feminism controversial’ Indian Indian feminism hasn’t done anything aggressive. We have fought against dowry or for women’s education but nothing that should affect men in a negative way. But, the little changes that we have managed to achieve have shocked men so much that they find it aggressive. In fact, society as a whole has gotten so used to a certain pattern of patriarchy that even little changes appear radical. So Hence, anything about feminism ends up becoming controversial. I think people do understand what feminism is, but they just don’t want it. — As told to Sunder Raj

‘Feminism generates curiosity’ India is a classic example of a nation in transition in more than just the ‘developing nation’ tag. Along with an ‘emerging economy’ the educated urban community is caught floundering in transit from tradition to modernity, conformity to rebellion, gender bias to gender equality, etc and so it’s only natural that a topic like ‘who is a feminist’ generates such curiosity. — As told to Cris

‘We still have a long way to go’ India’s understanding of feminism goes back to movements like abolishment of sati and child marriage as well as empowering acts such as the education of the girl child, equal legal rights for women, voting rights. In the present era, I feel the popular misconceptions about feminism are mostly driven by the power of journalism. We have to understand that all individuals have a right to express. Freedom to speak depicts what we as a nation represent — unified yet diversified body; it is the charm of the country — we all have different take on different things. The instances of Kangana and Lisa merely show how differently unique the two actresses are, they were raised differently and have had different experiences in life. So have different opinions. You can be a career-oriented person who also wants to go back and take care of your beloved family. It is a personal choice. Being bold and bashing men is not feminism. Being respected as a woman and having equal rights to do what you desire is feminism. — As told to Dipti

‘Feminism is subjective’ Textbook feminists would like to contain the definition of feminism within what they believe about women’s emancipation. I feel feminism is a subjective understanding of who you are as woman and where you stand in the world around you. What Lisa Haydon, Kangana Ranaut or anyone else might perceive feminism to be, might not be an accepted norm for many others. The important thing is to recognise it as it is. If I’m happy as a woman and doing things for my husband, it doesn’t make me any less of a feminist. It’s about being happy about who you are as woman with dignity in a world that is skewed with stereotypes. —As told to Namita Gupta

‘They sound ignorant’ Do these ladies who are saying they aren’t feminists, really need anyone to write an article and point out how ignorant they sound I think having said what they have said out loud is punishment enough. It’s clear from what these ladies said that none of those women had a problem with feminism. They had a problem with what they thought it meant. —As told to Kaavya Pillai