The portrayal of women in Human Civilization

Women are the magnificent creation of God, a multifaceted personality with the power of benevolence, adjusts stability, integrity and tolerance. They have a great part to play in the progress of a country. For the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. “In women is hidden the revolutionary energy which can establish paradise on this earth”.

In the words of RabindraNath Tagore, “woman is the builder and moulders of a nations’ destiny. Though delicate and soft as lily, she has a heart, far stronger and bolder than that of man. She is the supreme inspiration for man’s onward march”. The status of Indian women has been of many ups and downs from the ancient time to present day.

With the dawn of freedom and particularly during India’s national struggle the position of women took a new turn for the better. Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. Rajendra Prasad began to think deeply about the urgent need of women’s emancipation. They realized so long as women of the country were not uplifted and granted status with men an all walks of life political, economic, domestic, educational India could neither progress nor make any significant advance in any field. Gandhiji gave clarion call for women’s participation in the freedom movement. Sarojini Naidu, Mira Ben, Sucheta, Kirplani, Vijay Lakshmi, Aruna Asaf Ali were some of the leading freedom fighters.

Indeed, society runs on two wheels, both the wheels must be equally strong to run smoothly. But when the question comes, whether legal empowerment of women is necessary or not? The answer from my side is a negative one.
Legal empowerment to women is nothing but legal begging for a certain percentage of participation in a country or a society. It would mean asking your oppressor for permission to perform your own duties in the society. It is not a guarantee rather it is a prison which will not allow the women to perform beyond the given percentage.

How long are we going to divide our country in the name of legal empowerment such as caste based, religion based, gender based, income based, language based, tribe based? Today people may ask for legal empowerment to women, tomorrow they may ask for legal empowerment to a particular language speaking group or to certain regional people.
All it shows is the defeated mentality of the population which is nurtured by certain section of the society for their own benefits.

Going back to Africa there was this forest parliament that decided to hold an animal’s assembly. The core issue in the assembly was whether the ‘deer’ should get legal empowerment or not? Can you imagine the deer saying to the tigers and lions that,” look do not cross this border because I want to protect myself and my food”. Let us also know that these deers have learnt to survive before the evolution of human and they will be surviving in the next 20,000 years as well. By giving this legal empowerment to the deers it would mean cutting out the natural phenomena and in the same way by giving this legal empowerment to women it would mean suppressing or inhibiting the natural process that she would carry out to gain the opportunity which is in front of her.

Let us take an example of Rani Lakshmi Bhai, the queen of Jhansi, Kittur Rani Chenaamma, the first women independence activist, Meera Ben, Gandhi’s English daughter and why not Madam Barbara Hogan who served four years in prison, the most powerful leader of African National Congress(ANC) and today she is the Health Minister of Africa. Did they ask for legal empowerment to participate in the freedom struggle? Did Indhira Gandhi or Benazir Bhutto require legal empowerment to become the Prime Ministers of their respective countries?
The idea of legal empowerment is being brought up by the male society because they are afraid of the power and advances of the women in the society like ME!!!

Really women are less selfish; more dedicated to duty and have immense potence than men by nature. In order to make optimum use of our vast women power, we must liberate Indian women of many social taboos. However, mere legislation cannot emancipate the lot of our women; this needs a radical change in our mental make up and our social structure. It can be said that with a sense of pride and confidence that the future of women is quite bright and that our prosperity will be safe in other hands. Napoleon was right when he said that by educating the women we educate and uplift the whole nation.