It has been more than 70 years that Indian gained independence from the exploitative British Rule. But are we really Independent? India is still shackled under the cruel chains of patriarchy. Patriarchy has manifested itself in ways that despite it being deeply ingrained in our society, we cannot see it. The oppressive institutions of patriarchy has normalized degrading and marginalizing behaviours and has normalized gender specific discrimination as well. We are well aware how women are always treated as secondary to men and are subjected to numerous mental and physical abuse and trauma. They are not only seen as inferior but their voices are supressed as well.
Despite the fact that India today stands a one of the major political and economic powers in the world, situation of women is far worse than it seems. It is nor only mental harassment that a women faces in her domestic and social circles, but many a times women are subjected to cruel physical violence as well. Domestic violence is still prevalent in modern India. Women are tortured on grounds of dowry, professional success and even bearing the brunt of a man’s failure in his life. It is assumed that women are bound to household work and if she tries to defy this and make her own living, chose her own career path or a lifestyle that doesn’t suit the traditional roles that a woman has to perform, she is demeaned and abused. Gender based violence is a major concern in the Indian society today. What is more concerning is that only less than half of the cases of such violence as reported and others go unnoticed. It is seen that when a woman gives birth to a child, she is expected to leave her career and focus on raising the child and even if she is balancing both, she is still seen as inferior to that of men. Her work is disregarded and it is only the man whose earning and hardwork is counted.
The notion that man abusing women is normal and it is the woman’s duty to adhere to whatever the man wants is something that further aggravates such a behaviour. The absence of strict laws pertaining to gender-based violence also promotes such violent behaviour patterns. Though it is not only women who are subjected to abuse, transgender people and men with different sexual orientation too are subjected to verbal and physical abuse just because they do not fall into the norms of a rigid heteronormative society. Newspapers today are filled with reports of gender-based violence in both urban and rural areas. While such crimes are explicit in rural areas, gender-based violence is more subtle and implicit in urban areas.
But this doesn’t mean abuse doesn’t exist. Abuse does exist and whether it is physical or mental and based on one’s gender, Indian still has a long way to go to gain complete independence from the shackles of patriarchy
“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”
Carl Jung
