Feministaah

It does not matter to anyone in power that out of 8000 odd candidates who stood for the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, only 724 were women and not were elected. In 2014, only 63 women were elected to Parliament, a mere 11.6 per cent (even Pakistan and Bangladesh have a better record). Till the pending Women’s Reservation Bill of 2008 is passed, that promises 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha, the number of women elected representatives will remain dismal, even as in most other areas traditionally dominated by men—like science, finance, industry and defence, women are making impressive progress. There is 33 per cent reservation for women in Panchayats, but it is no secret that many of the women who stand for elections are mere proxies for their male relatives, who wield the real clout.  It is perfectly acceptable to our patriarchal society, that the doors to power are open only to women who are related to influential men, or, have a strong ‘godfather.’ ...

There was a time, when Aunty was a word that expressed affection and respect towards women. All kids call their friends’ parents Aunty and Uncle, instead of the formal Mrs and Mr, or casual first names, like Westerners do. The woman addressed as Aunty didn’t mind, even though she could be in her twenties. Now, Aunty (much more than Uncle) is an insulting word spat out at older women, who are, in the eyes of the one using it, old, unattractive, fuddy-duddy and not worthy of notice.  Or, it is used with a leer to refer to an older lust object, even more contemptuously than cougar (an older woman dating younger men). An old man with a young woman, is, of course, to be admired. It goes without saying that ageism effects women more than it does men. A piece by Faima Bakar in  metro.co.uk  says, “While the sexist term ‘spinster’ has been used to describe older unmarried women, today we found out there’s another equally misogynistic word to replace it. Enter the thornback....

A wonderfully heartwarming tweet by New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda  Ardern  from back in 2014, when she was a Labour MP, has resurfaced, since she is facing unprecedented popularity after her compassionate response to the mosque massacre in Christchurch, that killed fifty people earlier this year. It said, “ Like lots of other people at Wellington airport last night, I got stuck. Flight was finally canned at 10pm along with any hope of a flight the next day. Everyone waiting at the gate looked pretty gutted, but a few in particular. I was lucky enough to grab a rental car, so I doubled back through the airport to try and find the upset looking group from my flight. Turns out that one was due at a wedding, the other a 21st, and the third just wanted to see her family. So we devised a road trip together and agreed to meet after a bit of rest. Within a few minutes of leaving the airport I got a text from someone I knew through work in Auckland. It was his daughter I had ...