Dr. Asangba Tzüdir In the recently concluded event ‘Cultures of Peace’ a particular session on the theme “Working in a Man’s World – Tête- à- tête with Women professionals” brought together some women professionals who spoke on their profession, gender roles, challenges in work places and women’s role in different professional fields. At the backdrop of the theme, the moderator dwelt on the ‘prominence’ of women in her workplace where she teaches and where majority of them are women, and also shared about girl students ‘scoring’ over and above the boys in board exams today which is a testament that women have taken the ‘stage.’ But on the flip, highlighting on the issues of (mis)representation, she picked on unions and student bodies where women are given only the secretarial posts. As a footnote on the ‘Secretarial’ posts being woman’s, one may draw an insight from Jean-Paul Sartre who said, “your freedom begins with the ability to say NO to things that are given.” Traditionally, on the division of labor, both the sexes had strict gendered roles but with the coming of modernity, today, things have changed to an extent where women brings rich intellectual resources along with professional expertise in almost every field of activity, and have taken up multiple roles of being a ‘professional bread earner’ so also a mother. That, the narrative changes from “working in a man’s world” to “working in a woman’s world,” but somewhere both the ‘construed’ “man’s world” and “woman’s world” need to come together and find a merging point and recreate a “new world” because the ‘social condition’ of women in the rural areas especially in the villages continues to be “bracketed” and therefore in need of empowerment. Drawing from historical narratives, throughout the course of human history women has been ‘tagged’ as the ‘inferior’ and ‘weaker sex’ or the ‘undesirable sex’ and being categorized as the “Second Sex.” The idea of women is constructed in male centric discourses both oral and written, which privileges male as essential, adequate and complete while women are considered inessential, inadequate and incomplete. Upholding ‘man’ as the ultimate being, the man Aristotle took a stand on women as the “defect of man” or women as the “defective male.” Thereby man is the ultimate being, the complete model, while woman is the ‘other’ of being. Religion has subjugated and oppressed women; culture and oral traditions did more damage to the women as a ‘being’; media particularly the film industry keeps portraying women as an ‘object of pleasure’ for the ‘entertainment’ of man besides making her vulnerable. Discourses have been built on violence and oppression on women. The ancient Indian “Sati” or “Suttee” practice and widow suicide is a classic case. Beyond the act of burning herself to death due to the death of her husband, there is another layer of female oppression that this practice further subjugates women. Burning herself is seen as a form of liberation from desire for sex which otherwise might lead to committing ‘sin’. The understanding is that in being ‘clean’ and ‘sinless’ she can attain Moksa. Such hegemonic discourses against women have paved the way for unjustified control, domination, subjugation, injustices, misrepresentation and denial in political participation. Closer home, the phallocentric or male centric discourses legitimated by oral traditions that have institutionalized patriarchy continues to deny women in political participation. The ‘weaker sex’ tag has also played its part in making women as victims of sexual and domestic violence. On a different plane of thought, women definitely have borne the brunt of being in a patriarchal society but today men especially the younger generation are also suffering from the hangover of patriarchy which ‘condemns’ the growth of new narratives that otherwise, would contribute towards the growth of a shared humanity. A huge rural-urban divide is seen in the status, position and situational condition of women today. Nonetheless, besides the need for women empowerment especially those in the villages, the word “respect” for women should be put into practice in actuality so that a ‘new world for all’ can be recreated. A space that most women find it uncomfortable or offensive to be associated with is the kitchen. But, in tracing the root base for building equality, the kitchen is the institution where social, political, cultural and moral tenets should be build in order to dismantle the traditional modes of ‘thinking.’
(Dr. Asangba Tzudir is a Freelance Editing and Research Consultant. He contributes a weekly guest editorial to The Morung Express. Comments can be mailed to asangtz@gmail.com)
