Congratulations on making it to 2021! You have survived the greatest pandemic of our times. Well, yet we cannot overcome the disease called Misogyny. Misogyny stems from the fact that there are diverse strata in the human race (M, F, LGBTQ+) and one strata wants to lead the entire population. But we have survived billions of years on Earth, surely any such inequalities would have balanced out? Apparently not.
Violence against women is still the most rampant crime around which takes years to solve.
We still have found no solution to prevent men from raping women but we definitely have compiled guidelines on how a woman should behave so no as not to arouse a man.
But let’s talk about our subtle misogynistic mindset in everyday life. Recently we started a debate on whether housewives should be paid for their service towards their family which shows we do not understand the value of anything except when it is projected in financial terms.
The debate is based out of an inane need to qualify household chores as comparable to men working at an organisation and earning an income. If women want well-settled grooms for marriage then the brides should also be financially measured. But the truth is that the service that a woman provides to her family and everyone around can never be quantified in a million years.
Another backlash witnessed by social media recently was about Virat Kohli’s paternity leave. What people fail to understand is the “fans” who came out strongly against such a leave policy have ingrained misogynist roots. In reality, paternity leave is more about the mother than the father. But we expect a woman to do everything on her own, from bearing the pains of pregnancy to giving birth and raising the child.
Very famous personalities came forward and proudly recounted how they were playing for the nation while their wives were in labour. Ouch! Do you see how misogynist they sound? It is admirable and inspiring that Virat took a well-deserved paternity leave despite our countrymen. After all, he is not in the armed forces protecting the country. But I would like to hope there will be a day when armed forces get to take paternity leaves.
Let us talk very briefly about the ongoing farmer’s protest and the international coverage it has received from some women celebrities. What was the first thing we did? Slut-shame every single woman who tweeted for the movement. Why? Because we do not know a better response. If it is a woman, she must be disgraced and shamed for her sexuality. Women activists are sexually harassed by people at prominent positions to “clip off their wings”. A famous pornography star was called all sorts of names by the same men who need to take her help to find pleasure.
There are everyday instances of such ingrained misogyny. There is no end to this tunnel. We may or may not pass on important values like honesty, empathy and compassion. But we surely will propagate misogyny to every new generation.