“Feminist” nowadays has become an attacking word for someone who talks about female issues. People in India have started associating it with taking sympathy and advantage over men.However,what really is feminism? Is India really progressive for having not needing feminism at all?The answer is a complete no, obviously. Even today,India ranks 127th out of the total 160 on Gender Inequality Index and 108th out of 149 on Global Gender Gap Index.With crimes such Domestic Violence,Rape,Acid Throwing,Female Infanticide ,Honour Killings and Trafficking being prevalent in various parts of the country,women are subjected to various social stigmas that a lot of crimes go unreported.
With various issues surrounding women,not much has been done to promote gender equality and safety for women in the society as a whole.Thus,it is quite evident that although there are slight progression but the bigger picture remains the same.Women has been calling for stricter laws against rape,harassment and molestation with Rape being the fourth most common crime against women in India.However,death penalty has not been made for rape against women of all ages.Every year,every month ,every day there is a similar slogan of “Hang the rapist!”but nothing happens.With only 14% of women in the Parliament even though making up almost half the population of the country.Feminism in India should not be seen as a sympathetic,diplomatic ideology rather than an egalitarian perspective.
While ,the queer movement has gained momentum along side the feminist movement, the patriarchal picture of Indian society still exists .Thus,there is a need for reconciliation among ourselves to see that why feminism has been existing in India? What are the reasons that the women empowerment has only been in the privileged and the interior core is not changing even after almost completion of two decades of 21st century?Are those speculating the feminist ideology contributing to the causes for against which this movement exists in the first place?
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