”Inventing traditions, /t is assumed here, is essentially a process of Normalization and ritualization, characterized by reference to the past, if only by imposing repetition”
– E.1. Hobsbawm.
Women have been facing discrimination in this world since time immemorial. Its origin can be traced back to prehistory, to the time when humans first conceived the notion of property. And when with the invention of the tradition of marriage came the tradition of inheritance, it became importunate for the male members to find means to secure their property. The primitive mind of man could not find any other means but to confine and control the only being who could provide them with progeny – Women. Thus started the cycle of discrimination based on gender.
Women empowerment, as a movement, is a very recent addition to the ongoing feminist movement. It came with the fourth wave of feminism, which began in the 2000’s and is currently still in progress. The animus is to see women have agency in society and the paramountcy of it is so monumental, that, one can say without reluctance, has the power to change the nature and conditions of human existence.
Women have been enduring inequality and torture in all possible forms – Physical, Psychological, Social, Political and Economic. Patriarchal society has kept women so pressed that it had stopped women from progressing as human beings. Domestic violence, workplace harassment, female
infanticide, rape, reclusion from education, wage inequality, assigning of gender roles, economic dependence, and prostitution are just some of the injustice being committed on women that the mind can make a list of at this moment.
In order to break free from this cycle of violence and to provide women with agency, the first step is to actively, through our daily lives, spread this consciousness that gender is a social construct. Men and Women are only biologically different, socially they are equal. Eradicating the passed on, assigned gender roles is the first step to free a women from the psycho-social barriers which they are forced to grow-up within.
Second, is to provide proper nutrition, sanitation and health care – mental and physical. Third is education, without equal opportunities when it comes to education, it is impossible to access equal opportunities in career. We live in a ‘cause and effect’ world, hence when the above are achieved the rest shall sail smoothly. When men and women will have equal agency in this society, every trace of discrimination against women will start to decrease and eventually cease to exist. Better governance and an unbiased legal system will help but solely relying on them is not going bring change fast enough, after all, individuals are the building blocks of society.
To conclude this essay lets recall two famous quotes without stressing the writers respective genders respectfully –
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” — Eleanor Roosevelt.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – M.K. Gandhi.
