Less
than one-third of the researchers are women in the world. In India, the
percentage of women researchers is a meagre 13. There are hardly any women in
the higher echelons of research institutions. In the four major government
institutions that fund research – Department of Science and Technology,
Department of Biotechnology, Department of Earth Science, and CSIR – only twice
has a woman become a secretary. AIIMS and Indian Council of Medical Research
(ICMR) have had only one woman director each so far.
A
few studies done on this problem identify two chief reasons: (1) the appointing
committees are male-dominated and biased; (2) household responsibilities which,
in India, are conventionally laid on women’s shoulders almost entirely.
Well-known
novelist Anita Desai made some very interesting observations about Indian
attitude towards women [‘A Secret Connivance’ in The Times Literary
Supplement in 1990]. It’s worth reading it in her own words:
One
form of imprisonment in India is that created specifically for women. Like
other countries where women are traditionally suppressed, India deified its
women…. In India, which tends in everything to plurality and excess, there are
100,000 cults built around the Mother Goddess in one form or another – that fecund
figure from whom all good things flow – milk, food, warmth, comfort. Her ample
bosom and loins, her enticing curves and buxom proportions make her not merely
the ideal mother but the ideal woman – consort, lover, plaything. She is the
richest source of art in India – sculpture, painting, dance and poetry. Around
her exists a huge body of mythology. She is called by several names – Sita,
Draupadi, Durga, Parvati, Laxmi, and so on. In each myth, she plays the role of
the loyal wife, unswerving in her devotion to her lord. She is meek, docile,
trusting, faithful and forgiving. Even when spirited and brave, she adheres to
the archetype: willing to go through fire and water, dishonour and disgrace for
his sake. As Sita says when she offers
to accompany her man into exile for fourteen years: ‘Surely your fortune is
also mine… We will be together. The water will be nectar, the thistles milk,
the rawhides many-coloured blankets. I cannot be cast away like water left in a
cup. Dear Rama, I am the humble dust at your feet, perfectly happy.’
That
“humble dust” at her man’s feet is the ideal Indian woman. If she pretends to
be anything else, it is her very identity that she stands to lose.
But
much water has flowed down the Ganga after Ms Desai made the above observation. India
opened up her hitherto “Hindu rate of growth” to the wider possibilities of
globalisation and liberalisation as well as the greed of privatisation. Wealth
became the predominant passion of the nation. Women had a role to play in that
high drama of wealth-creation. Indian men condescended to let the “humble dust”
at their feet transmute itself into a partner in wealth-creation. So Indian
women became increasingly visible in many workplaces. But she was seldom
allowed to cross the glass ceiling.
India
has a long way to go if it is to achieve gender equality. It is easier to
create discourses in which women are goddesses than to treat women on a par with
men.
PS. ‘This post is part of #CauseAChatter
with Blogchatter’ #gendertalks
Oh! I've often wondered how a country that worships the goddess can be so disparaging towards its women. Now I see!! I hope A Secret Connivance is available online - I'd really like to read the entire piece. Off to search!
ReplyDelete- shinjinim.com
It must be available at TLS site. But I quoted from a hard copy that I have. If you're interested, it's available as one of the many essays in 'The Book of Indian Essays' edited by A K Mehrotra. My review of that book: https://matheikal.blogspot.com/2021/05/45-indian-essays.html
DeleteYes, women at large are depicted saints of servitude , be it mother mary , maa sita or maa draupatji. The fall of ex Chairperson of ICICI is an apt example of of this attitude. She may end to pay up for her husband's deeds , may be a few years in jail. The society still has a story to connect from the mythology - savitri's sacrifice for satyavan.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Man has controlled the entire narrative. Look at the first woman in Bible. Eve is portrayed as the cause of human fall from divine grace.
DeleteGloomy scenario in India. The change has to start from home ultimately. We have to treat our sons and daughters as equal. Seeing the current situation in our society ( specially in North India) I think we are far from achieving this . In the meantime keep performing Teej and other woman centric ( read patriarchal) poojas
ReplyDeleteThe change has to begin at home, I agree. How we bring up our children is of immense importance. But the children will move into the society sooner than later and what do they see there? Leaders like Ajay Bisht [Yogi Adityanath] who make statements such as "Women not capable of being left free or independent". Leaders who support violence against certain sections including women. It's difficult to retain the values one learnt as a child in such a political system.
DeleteNew generation who have been taught gender quality at home and in schools will bring a change to the political scenario. Change will come someday. Old leaders will be replaced and the younger generation with the changed mindset will replace the political leaders. Baby steps in the right direction will get us there. Lets start with our home.
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