Still, Women Will Rise

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.

-Maya Angelou (From "Still, I Rise")

In the traditional Hindu society, marriage is considered a bond that extends through lifetimes. Couples take such vows during their marriage. But when a wife passes away in her youth, the husband is free to break this bond. Without completing the traditional mourning rituals for the wife, the husband hurries to bring another wife. This same rule, however, becomes a lifelong constraint for women. If she laughs or jokes openly with other men, she is accused of being morally corrupt.

In this society, it is unimaginable for a widow to remarry unless she runs away or elopes. Women are forced to adhere to these outdated customs made by men for their convenience. Marriage is a social institution, while love and sexuality are natural things. Before marriage became an institution, love and sexuality existed. They will continue to exist even without marriage. Therefore, in traditional Hindu society, the widow, being deprived of her natural rights, is caught in a web of mental complexities. Any incident where a widow marries or engages in a secret relationship is considered an exception. Even when such an exception occurs, if the widow is caught, she is forced to leave her home and live in exile. In this way, women’s liberation from marriage has been slowly restricted in the eternal Hindu society.

This, however, is a tradition in the Khas-Aryan society. Since ancient times, it has been a tradition of the ruling caste, which then extended to the so-called upper-caste Newars, some indigenous people and Khas Dalits, and eventually to the entire Nepali society. Essentially, this became a metaphorical 'cage' for women.

In the Tharu community of Far Western Nepal, if a husband dies young, the wife is allowed to bring a husband of her choice into her home. Similarly, in communities like theNewar,  Rai and Limbu, women are not considered widows upon their husband's death. Clearly, culture should be women-friendly, but that alone does not bring about women's liberation.

Women's identity

For the past two decades, three Nepali audio-visual works and one Hindi film I watched stand out as worth mentioning in terms of the issue of women's emancipation. These are the Nepali film 'Numaphung' by Nabeen Subba, Henrik Ibsen's play Putali Ko Ghar (A Doll's House) in a Nepali conversion by Sunil Pokhrel, the Nepali version of Bhishma Sahni's play 'Madhavi', and Mahesh Bhatt's Hindi film 'Arth'.

In Numaphung, after her husband's death, Numa, against her will, is forced by her family to remarry, tempted by the promise of gold. After suffering abuse from her second husband, she ultimately runs away with a lover. In Putaliko Ghar, Nora, unable to bear her husband's tyranny, leaves her home, children, and husband. Similarly, the story of Madhavi, directed by Tanka Chaulagain, unfolds. To liberate Galab, she sacrifices herself by having relationships with three kings and the sage Bishwamitra to produce heirs for them. Her devotion to Galab was out of love, but once she is freed, the selfish Galab is unwilling to accept her. In this situation, Madhavi, forsaking the allure of becoming a future queen, seeks her independence. After leaving her father Yayati's ashram, the swayamvar he organised, and even Galab, what will Madhavi’s future hold? If fate favours her, she may find another loving husband; otherwise, she could become prey to a tiger in the jungle. If the husband later betrays her, what will happen? As long as youth and beauty remain, she may live as a city courtesan. But once youth fades, she will have to live by begging or in some other miserable way.

The fate of Numa and Nora is similar. If Numa’s third husband turns out to be bad, she will once again be forced to go to another man. While still young, a man may believe her and fall for her, but what happens once youth fades?

Without economic rights, the freedom that comes with mere liberation of the body is hollow and incomplete. The cases of Madhavi, Numa, and other women seeking liberation from the oppression of their husbands reflect this very truth. Though they may be freed from male control, they do not become self-reliant. Bodily freedom without economic rights becomes inherently handicapped. Without economic independence, that freedom turns into another form of bondage.

Meanwhile, the Hindi film Arth directed by Mahesh Bhatt challenges traditional Eastern relationships between men and women. Puja Malhotra, a simple housewife, deeply loves her husband, but he betrays her by choosing to marry a model named Kavita. When Puja discovers that the house she is living in was bought with Kavita’s money, she leaves home and her husband and fights against the cruelty of the society. Despite facing many obstacles, she stands her ground, maintains her dignity, and, with the help of a compassionate friend, secures a job. Eventually, she rejects her husband’s attempt to reconcile and chooses to live independently, realising that an unparalleled relationship cannot hold the weight of real love.

Economic independence

The biggest form of oppression imposed by a male-dominated society on women has been the denial of their economic rights. This economic deprivation must be rectified by women themselves in order to make up for the historical injustice they have faced. In our society, the most effective way to provide women with economic independence is through equal inheritance rights, where daughters have the same claim to ancestral property as sons.

According to Nepal's Citizenship Act, women need to fulfil four conditions to grant their children citizenship under their name: the child must be born in Nepal, the mother must be residing in Nepal, the father's identity must be unknown, and the mother must formally declare the father's identity is not known. 

A man, on the other hand, can easily get citizenship for his child just by presenting his own citizenship certificate. This legal inequality leads to broader systemic inequalities.

Women's liberation requires cultural, legal, and economic rights. Legal rights ensure equal participation in every structure, opening doors for economic freedom. Cultural rights provide the foundation for true liberation, and economic rights sustain it. Without economic rights, women's liberation is only a temporary illusion. At some point, even if a woman is liberated from male dominance, she will find herself dependent on another male partner.

Puja Malhotra in 'Arth' is able to reject her former husband's false declarations of love because she is economically independent. However, the future of Madhavi and Nora is uncertain due to lack of economic independence. On the other hand, Numa in 'Numafung' is culturally free to choose another husband, but she also lacks economic freedom, and her fate is no different.

(Shrestha writes on different issues with a sociological viewpoint.)