Saudamini Chalise

Decade dawned with its sui generis signature of being the emissary of subtle changes and evanesced, ushering innovations, technologies, globalisation, and so on but along with it what really has changed in the Nepali spectrum regarding the agendas of women? International Women's Day (IWD) recently bid adieu to be remembered yet again in consecutive coming years. The agenda of women's rights and issues were gallantly discussed in seminars and podcasts as well. This year the theme for the IWD was “Gender equality today for sustainable tomorrow”.

The paraphernalia of the women’s day programmes often goes unnoticed by the women living in the same vicinity and remains exclusive only to those attending it. On the surface level of our society, it does seem that much has drastically metamorphosed but has it? Or the changes we perceive are only a mere mirage of what might have been achieved! Before delving deeper into the strata of “feminism”, it's essential to fully fathom the sentiments behind its theory. Why was it that it became imperative to allocate a day dedicated towards “women’’ of the world?

Tinted lenses
Even though the Homo sapiens had managed to achieve, formulate, discover and banish the crass and barbaric essence innate in them but failed to perceive the other gender fairly and recognise them on a par with themselves. The “women” were thought to be less in every manner throughout the centuries and are still being judged with tinted lenses. It is pathetically ironic that the female form is levelled and tainted as a vessel of impurity, evilness with flaws being subservient. “Women” have been belittled by almost every religion in the world. There is no space, no home or no tiny crevasses for the majority of women which don’t pose a threat to them. Since the day of its propagations on February 28, 1908, the ‘Women’s Day, began to be observed annually after the United Nations recognised it around 1975.

What is feminism and the necessity of having such a day allocated towards “women” of the world? Its reply would be simple and self-descriptive, the gist having of ‘women's day observed globally or at least in the most parts of the world is reasserting the requirement and fundamental necessity of hosting such a particular day dedicated to the fundamental rights of women. In layman's terms when the topic of “human rights” arises now and again it, unfortunately, manages to remain exclusive to the agendas of the ‘males’ of the world.

Nepal has notched up in the index of nations categorised on the basis of its developments, it has managed to position itself under the category of “developing country”. But what are the changes that can be perceived and felt at the social level in the context of Nepal rather than only focusing on the capital of the country? And what kind of changes at the grassroots level has managed to make a real difference in the lives of ‘women’? To address this, the basic understanding of ‘feminism ‘has to be thoroughly fathomed. So, what exactly is ‘feminism’? Or rather how is ‘feminism’ perceived by the most common people? The answer would be vaguely.

Feminists ardently advocate the cardinal rights of the ‘female gender’ irrespective of class, creed, religion, or nationality. And just like the primordial theory of ‘human rights, ‘feminism’ only speaks of basic rights, equality, justice, and empowerment for its kinds throughout the world. But why is it so that the advocacy of women's agendas had managed to remain taboo for most of the women in the world? Why is it so that while addressing the issues, rights, and agendas by the women for the women, it is considered as retaliation and uprising against the status quo?

Let us delve deeper into the layers of problems and issues faced by almost all of the women inhabiting around this globe. Those problems can be summarised as inequality, injustices, enslavement, acts of violence perpetrated against them. It is the essence of being human to revolt against the shackles of injustices, inequalities and but why is it considered an act of diffusion of social fragments if the voice is raised by women? For centuries and beyond, women have been categorically chaperoned to talk in a certain way, to dress in a certain way, to co-exist in a certain way, to behave in a certain way. What is the role of a woman? Can a woman really make a difference in her own life? And abiding by it? What are women? A mere second fiddle to the doctrines babbled out by men?

Encasement
This is the very scene that we have been witnessing throughout the history of mankind, while the majority of the women in the society have been indoctrinated to survive according to the boundaries quoted by the men of the society. And if among the sheep one or two lionesses do manage to rebel their way out of the encasement manufactured by the men, they will be labelled and lambasted as the anti-social elements potent enough to disrupt the social fragments of the society. The very society has been created by the men according to their criteria. For the woman, even her own body is not hers, she has no jurisdiction over it, and she is only audible as long as her words do not prick the keepers of the society.

Innumerable voices might have been silenced and innumerable might have kept their mouth shut not just to disrupt the apple-cart laid down by the barons of the society. In order for society to transform, changes have to creep into every courtyard and into nooks and crannies of the hoi polloi. And foremost of them all, a woman has to be considered a human first only then the programmes like “women's day” and ideologies such as “feminism” can usher a new beginning for tomorrow otherwise it shall remain to be a mere lips service beautifully orchestrated for the global stake-holders.

(A fiction writer, Chalise holds a Master’s degree in travel and tourism. saudamani100@gmail.com)