Sunday Feature By Madhurima Dasgupta

Womanhood….
How do we define and operationalize??

Being a ‘woman’ always involves ‘doing gender’ where she is socially constructed to perform her ‘expressive’ gender roles by being docile, subserviant, emotional, by providing domestic servitude to her father and husband (mostly)!

Being a product of society, she also has to conform to the socially constructed standards of beautification by undergoing different forms of beautification techniques along with body modification which actually commodifies her body!!!

The body she is born with soon becomes a victim in case of any physical abuse due to the hetero-normative power of the male patriarch!!

She is also coerced to abide by the norm of ‘compulsory heterosexuality’ by confining her sexual orientation within the conventional sexuality!

As a married working woman, she is bound to become a victim of secual harassment, unequal wage gap and glass ceiling where she is not permitted for promotion to higher rungs in her office due to family constraints!!

She is bound to encounter and carry out ‘double burden of work’ as being a married working wo man, the society regards it a prima facie to prioritize both her family and work where she is expected to handle the household chores after working equally like male counterparts in the workplace!!

However, few questions still remain unanswered on this auspicious day..

Is any man sensible n this world to understand the essence of womanhood?? Will anyone (irrespective of gender) allow a woman to live life on her own by her own will??
Is there any man who still gives a second thought before assaulting, practicing dowry, burning their better halves or commodifying women?? Will there be actually a society where gender equality will exist in terms of education, freedom, dresscode n work?????
Such variants of gender inequality will persist no matter how much feminism strives to create an egalitarian society!! So instead of celebration, lets all try our best and put in our efforts to BE THE CHANGE!!! Though I’m not personally against celebration, yet i believe Womans day can be truely celebrated only when women can take decisions without any form of symbolic domination from any man nor any woman who many a times happens to adhere patriarchal norms!!!

P. S- Lets try to be gender neutral (applicable to both men and women) and be the reason of change oneself!! Then only one can change the perspective of societies!!!