Fundamentalism and Women
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Posted By Meenu Chopra
On Jan 11, 2010
Categories:
Gender Issues,
Urban India,
It is the innate nature of humanity to constantly strive for progress, both physical and intellectual.
In this relentless pursuit of progress, humans study and learn and explore and make advances in every conceivable field; in the arts and sciences and in matters of life itself.
Read More..
Posted By Meenu Chopra
On Jan 11, 2010
Categories:
Gender Issues,
Urban India,
Fundamentalism and Women
R V Krishnan
M D- Business Development Bureau ( India
President- Professionals Party of India
It is the innate nature of humanity to constantly strive for progress, both physical and intellectual.
In this relentless pursuit of progress, humans study and learn and explore and make advances in every conceivable field; in the arts and sciences and in matters of life itself.
Progress eventually begins to show in various ways and progressive societies begin to demonstrate progressive traits. Material progress is often loosely called “success” and visible symbols of success emerge and successful people can be seen enjoying a better “quality of life”. Today, visible symbols of success and progress can include cars, clubs, restaurants, hotels, sports, houses, clothes, holidays and above all a care free attitude. Collectively, these symbols of success are glamorized and imitated.
Traits of successful people are attractive to those who have not reached there yet and everyone wants to achieve that quality of life.
Curiously, thanks to globalization, such life styles in the east are associated with western influence and in the west they are associated with eastern influence!
Generally speaking when progressive and successful people gravitate together, “urban centers” are created. And in trying to participate in such progress and take advantage of the progressive environment, everyone else is drawn towards urban centers. That is how migration begins, moving towards urban centers.
In a country as large and diverse as India, sadly, poor governance leaves a large majority of people out of the progressive and successful life style loops. This large majority merely watches from the sidelines and covets. Various avenues of media, specially the cinema, portrays “successful” lifestyle even more glamorously.
Successful men and women are portrayed in opulence and in stylish clothes, eating and drinking in high places and living the “high life”. Genders are shown to mix freely; there is a generous dose of titillation and even sex. Women seem so “forward” and “daring” and liberal, they seem to be having such fun. Some regional cinema is even believed to depict grotesque vulgarity, especially where women are concerned.
Not understanding that it is “artistic license” that leads the cinema to project an exaggerated view of society, the vulnerable masses believe it to be real life.
This drives mere coveting to resentment. Why can’t we have such fun? How come such women are not attracted to me? Just because I do not have the money and the education and the other symbols of progress? OK, I will teach them a lesson.
Strong resentment leads them to “if I can’t have fun, let me ensure no one else has it” syndrome. All kinds of excuses are dreamt up to express resentment. Such excuses include “it is not our culture” as though molesting women is our culture. “It is against our religion”; “if women dress provocatively, they deserve what they get”.
Those who express their resentment violently couch their illegal conduct in relative respectability by calling themselves by an interesting euphemism - “moral police”!
Of course, there are laws covering prevention of violence and protection of people. But laws are only as good as the people implementing them. The common policeman is as much a product of the social mechanism as anyone else. So when he is accosted by “moral policemen”, he is suddenly in a predicament. He does not know whether to support the lady who is perfectly within her rights, as enshrined in our Constitution itself, and is patronizing a perfectly legitimate establishment or pursuing a perfectly legitimate pastime or dressed in perfectly legitimate manner or indulging in perfectly legitimate anything; or to back the “moral policemen”.
Through his flawed social conditioning, the policeman lets his duty to the Constitution go up in the air, and instead opts to support the miscreants in the same subconscious desire to “teach them a lesson”.
The idea of the young falling in love and expressing that love is too sophisticated a concept and hence quite unknown to the moral police. For them love is sex! And in a sex starved country, beastly instincts prevail universally.
There was an article published sometime ago which highlighted the irony of the India of Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of non violence. It said how in the land of the Mahatma, violence is widespread.
This unfortunately is true and the unenlightened do not think twice before resorting to violence. Being witness to domestic violence from a young age and desensitized to violence thanks to the heavy doze of blood and torture from every visual media, physical force is second nature.
The solution obviously lies in raising the “progress” bar and removing the progress disparities universally and substantially. Historically, its starting point is economic progress. India needs policies that bridge the yawning gap between the haves and the have-nots. This cannot be achieved by bringing down the haves, which is what has been done by successive governments. It has to be achieved by raising the have-nots to become haves.
Education is the other dire need. Only education can create an inclusive society where women have equal opportunities and are socially and culturally equal. Reservation for women is a lot of hog wash and a crutch of this kind will simply exacerbate the gender problem, not resolve it.
Sadly those in governance are incapable of understanding this idea. And those who do understand are either incapable of doing anything about it, or are outnumbered or are not interested in doing anything about it.
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Posted By Meenu Chopra
On Jan 11, 2010
Categories:
Gender Issues,
Urban India,
It is the innate nature of humanity to constantly strive for progress, both physical and intellectual. In this relentless pursuit of progress, humans study and learn and explore and make advances in every conceivable field; in the arts and sciences and in matters of life itself.
Read More..
|
|
Posted By Meenu Chopra
On Jan 11, 2010
Categories:
Gender Issues,
Urban India,
Fundamentalism and Women
R V Krishnan
M D- Business Development Bureau (
President- Professionals Party of
In this relentless pursuit of progress, humans study and learn and explore and make advances in every conceivable field; in the arts and sciences and in matters of life itself.
Progress eventually begins to show in various ways and progressive societies begin to demonstrate progressive traits. Material progress is often loosely called “success” and visible symbols of success emerge and successful people can be seen enjoying a better “quality of life”. Today, visible symbols of success and progress can include cars, clubs, restaurants, hotels, sports, houses, clothes, holidays and above all a care free attitude. Collectively, these symbols of success are glamorized and imitated.
Traits of successful people are attractive to those who have not reached there yet and everyone wants to achieve that quality of life.
Curiously, thanks to globalization, such life styles in the east are associated with western influence and in the west they are associated with eastern influence!
Generally speaking when progressive and successful people gravitate together, “urban centers” are created. And in trying to participate in such progress and take advantage of the progressive environment, everyone else is drawn towards urban centers. That is how migration begins, moving towards urban centers.
In a country as large and diverse as India, sadly, poor governance leaves a large majority of people out of the progressive and successful life style loops. This large majority merely watches from the sidelines and covets. Various avenues of media, specially the cinema, portrays “successful” lifestyle even more glamorously.
Successful men and women are portrayed in opulence and in stylish clothes, eating and drinking in high places and living the “high life”. Genders are shown to mix freely; there is a generous dose of titillation and even sex. Women seem so “forward” and “daring” and liberal, they seem to be having such fun. Some regional cinema is even believed to depict grotesque vulgarity, especially where women are concerned.
Not understanding that it is “artistic license” that leads the cinema to project an exaggerated view of society, the vulnerable masses believe it to be real life.
This drives mere coveting to resentment. Why can’t we have such fun? How come such women are not attracted to me? Just because I do not have the money and the education and the other symbols of progress? OK, I will teach them a lesson.
Strong resentment leads them to “if I can’t have fun, let me ensure no one else has it” syndrome. All kinds of excuses are dreamt up to express resentment. Such excuses include “it is not our culture” as though molesting women is our culture. “It is against our religion”; “if women dress provocatively, they deserve what they get”.
Those who express their resentment violently couch their illegal conduct in relative respectability by calling themselves by an interesting euphemism - “moral police”!
Of course, there are laws covering prevention of violence and protection of people. But laws are only as good as the people implementing them. The common policeman is as much a product of the social mechanism as anyone else. So when he is accosted by “moral policemen”, he is suddenly in a predicament. He does not know whether to support the lady who is perfectly within her rights, as enshrined in our Constitution itself, and is patronizing a perfectly legitimate establishment or pursuing a perfectly legitimate pastime or dressed in perfectly legitimate manner or indulging in perfectly legitimate anything; or to back the “moral policemen”.
Through his flawed social conditioning, the policeman lets his duty to the Constitution go up in the air, and instead opts to support the miscreants in the same subconscious desire to “teach them a lesson”.
The idea of the young falling in love and expressing that love is too sophisticated a concept and hence quite unknown to the moral police. For them love is sex! And in a sex starved country, beastly instincts prevail universally.
There was an article published sometime ago which highlighted the irony of the India of Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of non violence. It said how in the land of the Mahatma, violence is widespread.
This unfortunately is true and the unenlightened do not think twice before resorting to violence. Being witness to domestic violence from a young age and desensitized to violence thanks to the heavy doze of blood and torture from every visual media, physical force is second nature.
The solution obviously lies in raising the “progress” bar and removing the progress disparities universally and substantially. Historically, its starting point is economic progress. India needs policies that bridge the yawning gap between the haves and the have-nots. This cannot be achieved by bringing down the haves, which is what has been done by successive governments. It has to be achieved by raising the have-nots to become haves.
Education is the other dire need. Only education can create an inclusive society where women have equal opportunities and are socially and culturally equal. Reservation for women is a lot of hog wash and a crutch of this kind will simply exacerbate the gender problem, not resolve it.
Sadly those in governance are incapable of understanding this idea. And those who do understand are either incapable of doing anything about it, or are outnumbered or are not interested in doing anything about it.
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