Feverish Feminism

I recently watched the widely acclaimed movie Lipstick Under My Burqa. It took me three instalments of viewing - not any reflection on the movie, rather on my own poor attention span and the paucity of time, which seems to have become a luxury-commodity lately. 

The movie brought back to my mind the conversations I have had on the subject with my girl-friends, my guy-friends and…my gay-friends. It made me think of how the idea of feminism has developed in my own adult years. I remember reading about the ‘bra-burning’ years as much as I watch the ‘bra-flaunting’ ones. I have been, for the large part, a spectator and have tried to develop my own understanding of it based on personal take-aways from experiences, readings and learnings as well as carefully observing, and listening to, others’ opinion in this regard. And, no, movies don’t really help you in this regard - they completely twist the concept: they mould the woman in a male stereotype in order to prove their feminism, or they portray woman is being completely subservient to a ‘more powerful gender’, or, they try to reiterate feminine freedom through an ‘item song’! 

But, really, why do we shy away from the real feminist - the woman who is happy being one; the woman who flaunts are sexuality in the most subtle of ways instead of in the face; the woman who sees the biological capacity to bear and rear a child as a privilege she’d wear like a badge of honour? Why did it make headlines when an Australian MP breastfeeds her baby while moving a motion in the Parliament, but not so when a daily wage worker takes a break from carrying loads at a construction site to sit on a pile of unclean sand just to breastfeed her malnourished baby - a sight we see all the time in our third world country? (We applaud one and pity the other!) Do the debates on whether women need the privilege of leave from work during the time they are menstruating really take into account those women who have no access to a clean toilet for the entire working day? Are our esteemed lady Parliamentarians really discussing their cause or that of the relatively more privileged ones? Why does a working woman smirk at the choice made by another woman to play the role of a stay-at-home-mom, who’s contribution to the GDP of a country, if it were to be calculated, could probably be greater?

I must admit that it has been difficult to sift through all the information that has been bombarded in my direction and negate the prejudices that people carry and demonstrate with respect to the idea of feminism. At the end, the process of evolving an understanding of feminism is a personal journey, but the destination is one for the larger good of society and not just of one gender. My appreciation of feminism has marinated over the years with all of these and today I feel far more comfortable with my idea of feminism, as I have explored and understood it. 

Feminism is about equality and the freedom to make personal choices. In this, I have found that, unfortunately, women end up being the enemies to their own gender and its causes of feminism. Perpetrating traditions that undermine the status of women, and supporting, even passively, any idea that subjugates their position in a society are just a few kinks in the threads of gender equality and balance. And it extends way, way beyond what happens between the sheets!

I think that Anarkali of Aarah addressed the issue of feminism better. The movie, interestingly, showcased feminist male characters as well, accepting that these are the important characters in the unfolding of feminism as an idea. I found this aspect completely lacking in Lipstick Under My Burqa.

Sexuality and its expression, therefore, becomes only one aspect of feminism. One might further argue that the concept of sexuality is larger than the size of the sheets, encompassing more relevant issues of the intellectual, financial, emotional, mental, physical and personal empowerment of women. Unless feminism is viewed, accepted and practised as involving the important aspects of the rights and freedom to educate oneself, to choose a profession of one’s liking, to be clothed according to individual taste, to follow a lifestyle reflective of one’s personality - all this without being judged, labelled or subjugated - it remains but a mere hackneyed phrase.