Patriarchy: An Arsenal to Misogyny in India

Recently some videos were doing rounds on social media, some random males doing house chores, and captioning the videos with the hashtag #SmashingPatriarchy. Like, cleaning utensils in your own home is smashing patriarchy? Making this a sign of smashing patriarchy by performing some life skill activities is itself a symbolic representation of patriarchy. Patriarchy means male dominance over our society where female voices are suppressed. These things reflect the embedded mindsets. We live in a female oppressive structure. Ladies and gentlemen we need to understand that helping sister, mother, wives and other women is not a part of smashing patriarchy nor it’s a favor to anyone. To understand the process of how patriarchy is inbuilt in our system we need to stand up now for the scourge of abuse against women.

Patriarchy is not only disadvantageous to women but also, for men equally. Men are often considered to be the sole breadwinner and a vital part of responsibilities come onto their shoulders alone. It’s not OK for men in Indian society to sit at home.

Why are you crying? Be A Man! How can you be so weak? Be A Man! Comments like these are so common. They are expected to have high salaries and luxury vehicles. Cultivated over years through constant learning, biases get deeply embedded within a person’s beliefs. Sometimes it becomes the part of our value system to the depth that opposing any of it becomes the act of disrespect.

Patriarchy is not disadvantageous to men but sometimes provides some perks too. Like if you have closely monitored the case of Rhea Chakraborty and Jia Khan you’ll get a real-time picture.  Society treats women differently and vilifying them is so easy. Males are allowed to mistake, second chances, and subjected to privilege while women are subjugated and oppressed. We live in times where justice is impossible especially for women even if she commits suicide after a written letter. We need to differentiate between ‘bias’ and  ‘value system’.

One needs not to go into details that what patriarchy does to the generations but here let’s ponder over the idea which actually helps in cracking patriarchy. Maybe that will help everyone as a society to understand why patriarchy remains in our roots even when we are living in the 21st-century. The bad part of patriarchy is that it violates human rights and equality among various genders. It has divided men and women on basis of jobs they perform and the choices they make in their lives. It is very much against the spirit of equality among beings.

There are women all across suffering for basic rights. It’s our moral obligation as a society to provide them with these basic necessities so that they can be strong, independent, and healthy leaders. Some basic steps to do so are :

• A rape free society. Not feeling an entitlement to women is actually incapacitate patriarchy. Most of the rape cases occur because of this entitlement males have, when they think of having authority over the body of another individual. This needs to be thrown away as soon as possible. For how long will women’s safety continue to be a cagey ideal?
• Marriage is a career stopper for the majority of Indian women and this cultural bitterness towards women working is a not-so-subtle.
• Making any woman feel safe even at midnight is cracking the roots of patriarchy.
• Not telling the females to when and how to getmarried, or to give any kind of direction is getting rid of the patriarchy.
• Enabling your wife and mother’s work full time without any guilt is dismantling the patriarchy.
• The curious case of dowry – Cases of dowry deaths are still prevalent in the Indian tradition even after so many years. The male ego which seems to be high always has no shame expecting and giving dowry. The male and female counterparts alike expect and accept dowry as a gift in the shows name of tradition and culture. In India, even the families from the Muslim community where dowry is barred religiously are happily involved in this form of exchange. If the parents of the daughter failed to give the expected dowry  either they are troubled after marriage or live in doom always. Some people consider it to be a sign of prestige, power, and gladly boast of giving high dowry, shows yet another dark side of society.

Taapsee Pannu starred Thappad showcased how patriarchy is inherent in a system that a man hitting a woman is not considered to be a taboo in the society and how her entire family convinces the girl to ignore that aspect of the man she has loved for years. When we are talking about getting rid of this evil in our society one must remember that it is not only the male who are responsible but women too, are equally responsible for the same. It is totally crucial to highlight the absurdity and unbelievable stupidity that humankind is capable of.  Mostly it is a woman who is bashing another woman and making her feel down at whatever she does. In Indian households, it’s mothers, aunts, and grandmothers who tell a daughter to behave in a certain way because that is how the society will accept her. Why are we not coming out of this primitive era where a girl can feel the way she wants, walk the way she wants or live the way she wants to live? Why we have do’s and don’ts for girls only in the predominant step of our society that is family? Why are these being told to behave in a certain manner or to feel in a certain way?

With the modern misconceptions taking place and the so-called revolution coming all over the world has made this situation much worse. The culmination of pseudo feminism and misogynist perception has made the situation pitiable than before.   Now women are not only expected to take sole responsibilities of the household but also become an all-rounder. They’re expected to work on both fronts perfectly.

Women across the country are subjected to hardship on the grounds of honor and impersonate commitment to traditional values. So if you really want to get ahead in life and deprive this quality we need to start from within. Let’s take a moment to appreciate all women who are pulling more than her fair shares and also remember smashing the patriarchy that oppresses, subjugates, and mistreats women everywhere. It should be a catalyst in demanding equal dignity and respect for men and women.