The Limitations of Implementation of Feminism in Indian Society.

As I walk home from the metro station, I am extra cautious today, its past 10pm and the lighting on the streets is poor. Every man walking by seems like a prospective kidnapper and I flinch every time a speeding vehicle passes by. I fought for this freedom for the relaxation of curfew time at home but glancing towards the dark streets I wonder if I am even equipped or mature enough to handle this independence in a country like India where every girl out at night might be in the news the following day.

“Even after ten years of the Nirbhaya case, little has changed for women in India. According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 4,28,278 cases of crimes against women were registered in 2021, up by 56,775 since 2020”. This is a direct result of one of the biggest problems with the modern feminist movement, its failure to bring men with us.

One of the biggest challenges that implementation of feminism India is facing is because of its lack of intersectionality. The most common topics for public discussion concerning women are clothes, beauty, career, chores & patriarchal rituals. In a country that basically worships its Bollywood stars, this public misinformation and silence is a huge setback to the feminist movement. The influence to look a certain way and the casting of younger actresses however age inappropriate and absurd it might be just to appeal to the masses and get the box office numbers does not support our cause. They largely function as red herrings to distract us from talking about grassroots issues that can create a more transformative real-time impact.

If the truth be told, education, which is the revolutionary factor in bringing about any change is not considered important in a girl’s life in tier 2, tier 3 cities or villages. A shift in the past trends has definitely been noted but the curve flattens after sometime. The major reasons behind this is more and more families slip under the poverty line with increase in cost of livelihood, spending money on a girl’s education is deemed insignificant. Taking into perspective the religious diversity in our country, literacy for girls is against religious beliefs in some communities and no one wants to wrap their head around the issue in the fear of starting riots.

Lack of livelihood opportunities, not having access to basics like schools, toilets, the threat of caste or gender-based violence at the workplace or while traveling are issues that constantly create barriers for women from oppressed sections of our society, especially in the rural areas. These problems do not see the light of the day because we lack representation for them at panchayats, local bodies, and other places of power.The dominant male economic ideology (capitalistic, Competitive and exploitative) does not value the small-scale basic household and local economy, often unpaid work of women. The large-scale economic decisions are made without consideration of the influences in the women’s economy. The conversion of large tracts of agricultural land for commercial production, the diminishing viability of traditional livelihood skills, lack of education and skills for alternative means of income all reduce such victims to a situation of no other option but to enter into the sex trade.In the Indian family culture which idolizes sons and dreads the birth of a daughter, to be born female comes perilously close to being born less than human. For a girl discrimination begins even before birth.Gender roles are conceived, taught and enacted in a complex set of relationships with in the family and society at large. Needless to say the media reinforces the same stereotyped gender roles. She grows up with a notion of temporary membership in her natal home to be disposed off with assets and dowry.

Online feminism in India is an elite club that gloats over the echoes of its success inside its own chamber. Within the online circuit, it may create ripples, however, it fails to make an impact in the real world. The online feminism, therefore, is limited in voicing the concerns of upper-caste, middle class, educated, aspirational women. It ignores historically entrenched systems of gender oppression, a natural part of our patriarchal customs and caste-based oppression. Women in India never came together in the most basic sense, and nothing much has changed even now. This is not to say that we didn’t make any strides, but to underline the fact that we have lacked collective representation for women at all levels over decades.

In conclusion, feminism in India can never be successful unless it talks about the issues of women (marginalized, transgender & more) from all strata and not just the bourgeois and crème de la crème of the society.