Assorted Roles of Modern Women

Title of the Research Paper: Assorted Roles of Modern Women: A Post -Modern Stance : 

Title of the Research Paper: Assorted Roles of Modern Women: A Post -Modern Stance Presented by Dr Payal Khurana Assistant Professor (Senior Scale) ITM University Gurgaon Poornima Gaur Assistant Professor ITM University Gurgaon

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"Woman" is my slave name; feminism will give me freedom to seek some other identity altogether. - Ann Snitow, "A Gender Diary," Conflicts in Feminism The above quote reaffirms the plight of women. A woman is God’s best creation, yet she is subjugated, tortured and faces miseries at every step of life. In Indian society, people offer obeisance to Goddesses in different forms: - for wealth, Maa Laxmi is worshipped; - for intellect and knowledge, Maa Saraswati is worshipped; - for protection from devils, Maa Kaali is worshipped - for removing mental tensions, Maa Amba is worshipped. Yet women are dishonored; and they suffer and undergo emotional, physical and psychological torture. They have been shackled in the chains of society, caste, family and prominently in gender discrimination.

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The aphorism, Nari tu Narayani , which means that a woman is all powerful, is only written in scriptures but in reality holds no ground. Female foeticide is a menace nowadays, especially in North India, because of preference for a male child. Isn’t it ironical that on one hand we are worshipping women and on the other we are brutally killing them, depriving them from the right to bloom and grow? A girl child is deprived of human rights even before birth and it’s high time that female foeticide should be stopped. Sex detection techniques should only be used to detect pre-natal defects but it is an irony that a girl child is hated and frowned upon.

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The journey of a woman’s life is very complex. She plays assorted roles in life By playing the role of a Mother she signifies divinity , She is the one who can remain hungry herself and her priority is always taking care of her children first and sacrificing her dreams and desires and pursuing family’s desires and welfare. She performs the dutiful role of a Daughter , a symbol of innocence , who brings life and adds color to life. She is also a Sister , a symbol of care , who bestows kindness upon her siblings. She is also a Friend , a confidante, a symbol of warmth who shares and cares for her friends. She is a Beloved too, who is a symbol of Passion , who teaches the true meaning of love to a man in life. Last but not the least, she is a Wife, a symbol of dedication , who dedicatedly does household chores day and night to run a man’s house and give him the gift of a fulfilling life.

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Women play a critical role in the development of a nation’s growth. The year 2001 was declared as the year of Women empowerment. The Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002) envisaged empowerment of women The Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) was formulated to ensure requisite access of women to information, resources and services, and advance gender equality goals. The Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012) proposes to undertake special measures for gender empowerment and equity. The question that arises is that in spite of making all these efforts, why aren’t we successful in bringing a progressive change in women’s development? The simple reason for this is that there are discrepancies in the system. Most of the work done is only in papers, and the real help is out of reach for many.

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Women are striving for empowerment and are making strenuous efforts to improve their condition. Their plight is highlighted in newspapers, magazines, literature, books, yet they are far from reaching the ladder of success. Some women have made a mark in society and have proved their mettle The best examples are Smt Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India; Smt Pratibha Patil, the first women President of India, Kiran Bedi, Kalpana Chawla, Sania Mirza, P.T.Usha, Saina Nahwal, Smt Sonia Gandhi, Smt Sushma Swaraj , Mayawati ji, Mamata Banerjee and the list continues. But they are a handful and are the emancipated beings, who have lighted for the territory. The path to ‘women empowerment’ is full of thorns. It’s an easy term to articulate but difficult to implement. It can’t be enforced without creating understanding and awareness among masses.

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Education plays an important role in empowering the women socially and financially. Delhi Government had started the initiative of imparting education to girls. They started a project called ‘Delhi Ladli Scheme’ on 1st January, 2008. The next year, i.e., 2009, continues to push ahead the cause of the girl child. the government came out with another scheme called FADA, or the Father and Daughter Alliance. FADA was also pushed by the Department of Family Welfare and city-based NGO Deepalaya.

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Women belonging to rural areas, and other backward classes, require the most help. They are deprived of a enjoying their childhood and their basic right to education is also snatched from them. It is a well established fact that if you educate a boy, you are teaching only one person, but if you educate a girl, you are educating the whole family and in turn the whole nation. The plight of urban women is better than them in terms of education but there are some common problems which a woman has to face. There are burning issues of molestation, sexual harassment, rape, domestic violence, dowry deaths, malnutrition which our society is still dealing with at large. The urban educated women are nowadays doing more work than men. They are working both outside and in their homes.

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In a survey conducted, “it was observed that Working outside home women do believe that they have more experience (91.6%), enlarged social networks (48.3%) and stronger personality (32.2%) and an increased self esteem(85.3%) besides their decision-making power (62.2%). The researchers however observed that objective state of affairs do not bear this out and women's decision-making is concentrated to making small purchases. In buying and selling assets they have no say.”1 1. http://www.empowerpoor.org/downloads/women%20empowerment.pdf Women Empowerment in India- Milestones & Challenges . Dr. Rakesh Chandra, Professor of Philosophy, Director, Institute of Women's Studies University of Lucknow, Lucknow

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Nutrition and good health are other major concerns, which hamper the development of women. Women belonging to rural areas and lower strata of life are found to be malnutrition. It is still a practice in many tribes that a woman has to eat only what is left by her husband. Feminists in India are fighting for gender equality, which means fighting for the rights to break away from the shackles of patriarchal society. In Jammu and Kashmir State, people from other states can’t buy property and land unless and until they have the permanent resident status. This status was endowed to all unmarried women, with the condition that if they get married to a person who is not a permanent citizen of the State, could strip women of their citizenship rights.

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The legal battle started in 1978 when Amarjeet Kaur of Chogal village in Kupwara district sought to acquire her share of property. Amarjeet and her sister were married in Punjab to non-J&K residents, and their brother claimed that they were no longer residents and therefore could not get possession of the property. Amarjeet went on to win the case and inspired many more similarly affected women. The October 2002 judgement - by a full bench of the High Court - is the result of the concerted effort of 12 petitioners. It was a historic verdict given after 25 years of argument that women marrying outsiders did not stand to lose their right to resident status, work, education and inheritance. (Bhagat, 2002) It was a major step taken towards women empowerment for the welfare of women belonging to that state. This has made them strong both economically and socially.

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India today is facing a big problem of prostitution and human-trafficking. The condition of women living in red light areas is pathetic. Lack of education and child marriage lie at the root of this vulnerability of women whose husbands leave them. Marital separation and early pregnancy are not the only factors, quite often, the husband acts as a pimp, getting clients for his wife and daughters. There are still a lot of efforts required to uplift women. Much has been done and a lot more still remains to be achieved and with determination and strong efforts we will achieve our destination. The day will definitely come when women will be fully liberated and will overcome the miseries of life and will be the emancipated lot in the real sense of the word. Swami Vivekananda has rightly remarked, “Arise, Awake and Stop not, till the Goal is Achieved.” We have to follow it sincerely and will definitely reach the pinnacles of success.

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REFERENCES Bhasin, Kamala and Khan, Nighat Said. "Some Questions on Feminism and Its Relevance in South Asia", Kali for Women , New Delhi, 1986. Chaudhuri, Maitrayee. (ed.). "Feminism in India: Issues in Contemporary Indian Feminism", Kali for Women , New Delhi, 2004. Jain, Pratibh and Sharma, Sangeeta (ed.). "Women in Freedom Struggle: Invisible Images" in Women Images , Rawat Publication, Jaipur, 1995. Singh, Maina Chawla. "Feminism in India", Asian Journal of Women’s Studies . Seoul, 30 June 2004. Vol. 10, Iss. 2; 48