Lamneiphal Khongsai, BA 5th semester, Department of English
Feminism has always been and will always be my favourite topic to discuss. It is a dynamic movement and a driver of social change.
Growing up in a patriarchal society which is extremely orthodox at the same time, the feminist ideology has been very empowering and liberating for me. Just seeing the older generation and comparing it to the present one makes me grateful to lead a life, make decisions and work towards ‘my own dreams’ without needing to seek validation from the men of the house. The belief that a woman’s place is more than just the kitchen, that she is capable of doing great things in and out of the kitchen as any other man can, is gaining huge popularity and practice too. The society that once put its male counterparts in pedestals higher than the women is slowly coming down, or as I like to believe, we are now building pedestals for us women to sit and stand on and view the world as an ocean of opportunities just the way men always have. This, I call it the stepping stone of a more liberal society with faster progress as more minds will be able to contribute for the betterment of the society.
Since we have somewhat overcome the worst of it (if not all of it), are we using it for good? Or are we exploiting it for worse?
Feminism is rather a controversial topic. Back then when I was a kid I’d look up to people who would talk about the importance of women utilizing their rights, their voices and I’d aspire to be one of those women who spoke and stood in the same assemblies men did without hesitation or fear of their opinions being rejected and degraded. I’d boldly say that I was a feminist and I saw many profess that too. Overcoming the stereotype that always puts women in a vulnerable light and understanding that gender doesn’t decide your potential to do and achieve things, it was something to be proud of. But now it is a different story, things have taken an ugly turn.
Feminism has brought in many good changes, like absolute intolerance to sexual abuse, harassment, eve teasing but a good number of us have started exploiting it so badly and are juicing out every drop of the new female privilege for worse.
Back in 2015 Jasleen Kaur a pseudo-feminist took advantage of this special privilege that women in India had recently started garnering and shamed Sarvjeet Singh. She posted a picture of Mr. Singh on Facebook saying that he harassed her despite him being innocent. Jasleen being a woman in a newly feminist society, it was very easy to believe her and the concept of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ ceased to stop existing for Mr. Singh.
He was defamed, lost his job, shamed and bullied by thousands on the internet and in real life too. He was also called A ‘PERVERT’ and a “POTENTIAL RAPIST” on national television. It was only after four years that he was proven innocent. This brought to light the misuse of feminism on a much larger scale. I remember seeing this case plastered all over social media and some even going to the extent of shaming feminism. I even started questioning my idea of Feminism too. I started asking myself if I was a pseudo-feminist myself and if I was using it for my selfish motives too. In a way the awareness of fake-feminism and seeing the lives it ruined showed me the ugliness of such a beautiful and powerful movement has kept me grounded and mindful of the power that I possess as a woman and the influence I have as a feminist.
Feminism and fake-feminism are completely different beliefs. Just because fake-feminism exists doesn’t mean that feminism shouldn’t.
A former Bollywood actress, Pooja bedi also started the ‘Men too’ movement inspired by the ‘Me Too’ movement, to also bring to light that men too can be victims and that they can be falsely accused by women. They can be subjected to unjust treatment based on the fact that they are men, which is the epitome of hypocrisy.
Feminism should preach equality for both sexes but somehow because of the wrong practice of it, it is starting to feel like the roles have been reversed instead. As a result women are conceived to be superior to men now and only their voices ‘need’ to be heard, and whatever they say is true irrespective of how wrong they are.
The rise of fake-feminism has completely destroyed the ideology and the intentions behind feminism and the potential it holds for the future generations.
The only way to establish equality for both sexes is to practice true feminism and promote gender equality. Men are also taking a stand for equality and preaching publicly about the need for zero gender bias.
“I believe in gender equality. Being a femenist is for both women and men. I am a feminist.” - Matt McGorry
Being a feminist doesn’t mean that you are either always intolerant or submissive. You can be a feminist and still not view every action as exploitation of women. Feminism breaks the chain of biasness of the patriarchal society, it doesn’t continue it. A woman can still empower herself and uplift men at the same time. Empowering women does not mean disempowering men.
Degree of Thought is a weekly community column initiated by Tetso College in partnership with The Morung Express. Degree of Thought will delve into the social, cultural, political and educational issues around us. The views expressed here do not reflect the opinion of the institution. Tetso College is a NAAC Accredited UGC recognised Commerce and Arts College. The editors are Dr Hewasa Lorin, Dr Aniruddha Babar, Nisha Dahiya and Meren. For feedback or comments please email: dot@tetsocollege.org
