The modern era of feminism or gender supremacism calls for various perspectives to it. What exactly
is meant by Gender Equality? To some it’s the women era, but to other would its is still about a man
being the torch bearer of the family or the male hegemony since the early times. I would say
“Gender equality” is quite a very perceptive term and in my perception it is so more than these
clichéd ideas. That’s why I chose to name this article as Redefining gender equality.What is gender? Gender refers to the socially defined roles of a person. More than social it has to be ethical.
The right ethical balance between these two can help transform our patriarchal society. The onus of one’s so called “predefined social responsibility” always overshadows this perfect balance. However,it should not be always about struggling and struggling on woman’s part and juggling between motherhood and career. If a woman chooses her career then its definitely empowering but if she chooses motherhood over her career then its even more empowering because what a woman can do, man cannot do. Same goes with men, the way a father can impact his child’s life, a mother cannot. The way a woman can bind her family together is entirely different from how a man protects his family from all the odds. It is always said there is a woman behind every successful man, and it is also said every woman needs man who would always respect her and love her. Both have their own expectations from each other. So this shows both have their own significance in family, society and each other’s life which gives clarion call for striking a right balance between their roles by developing a mutual understanding and consent.Lord Shiva’s “ARDHNARISHWAR” avatar is perfect example to how this balance is maintained, (ARDH-NARI-ISHWAR ; ARDH – Half , NARI –Woman, Ishwar-God ) Ardhnarishwara is a composite form of Lord Shiva where he is depicted as half male and half female, split down in middle . The right half is usually the male and the other half is female.
It represents the blend of masculine and feminine energies of the universe and tells the world that they are inseparable. The union of these two can only make this universe possible. It symbolises the unity of opposites. The reason I am mentioning lord Shiva here is that Hindu mythology has a major impact on India’s culture and people tend do perceive a lot of things as per those predefined notions.
Now, the problem arises when this balance is perturbed. Before your hate bubble bursts, let me make it very clear i do not mean to say it against the woman stepping out of their homes to do something different. When I say “balance is perturbed” that means disturbed balance in the minds of people. Reason not being the patriarchy in the society rather “acceptance ability” of the society. When we talk about acceptance it is quite clear that the fact that woman going out of her way to prove herself is hard to digest for our male chauvinistic society. So this is what that has to be brought to people’s concern. Our society needs to understand that the need of the hour is to strike and understand the balance between the two, however there should be no limitations to an individuals will to explore.Be it a woman or a man , both are incomplete without each other. The entire universe revolves around these two. It is high time that we start thinking the other way round and change ourorthodox perspectives to the ones which are more liberal and modern.