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The Aurat March is an annual political demonstration organised in various cities of Pakistan. 

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Pakistani womxn organised Aurat March across various cities in Pakistan. The Aurat March is organized under the banner of “Hum Auratain” (we women), an umbrella term for a collective of feminist women, transgender individuals, nonbinary persons, and gender and sexual minorities who stand against the patriarchal structures that result in the sexual, economic, and structural exploitation of women.

It all started two years ago when a couple of feminist groups from Karachi decided to hold a march on International Women’s Day, 8th March. Nighat Dad, the founder of Digital Rights Foundation and one of the organisers of the march in Lahore wrote, “The agenda of the march was to demand resources and dignity for women, for the transgender community, for religious minorities, and those on the economic margins, but more importantly, to acknowledge that women’s emancipation is inherently linked with improvement of all mistreated groups and minorities”.

According to the ‘Hum Auratain’ collective manifesto, there was no NGO or corporate funding and no political party alliance. It demands economic justice including implementation of labour rights, the Sexual Harassment against Women in the Workplace Act 2010, recognition of women’s input to the ‘care economy’ as unpaid labour and provision of maternity leaves and day care centres to ensure women’s inclusion in the labour force. It also demands environmental justice.

Women’s right to climate justice and resilience must be recognised and ensured, it said, access to safe drinking water, safe and clean air, protection of animals and wildlife, including cessation to the culling of stray dogs, and ensuring and protecting women’s food sovereignty, and recognition of women’s participation in the production of food and cash crops.

Other points in the manifesto included accountability and restorative justice against violence, access to a fair justice system, the inclusion of women with disabilities, the inclusion of transgender community, reproductive justice, access to public spaces including transport services and clean public toilets, inclusion in educational institutions, etc.

Then there were the more sedate messages. Five coffins were placed at one end of the park, with chilling signs stuck to them. ‘Honour Killing’, Transgender Killings’, ‘Child Victims’, ‘Domestic Workers/Polio Workers murdered’, and ‘Domestic Violence’ – a reminder of why women are killed every day.

The rally, organised by a collective called ‘Hum Auratain’ was huge and held in different cities – Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Hyderabad.

 

Feature Image Credits: Zuneera Shah for Dawn

Paridhi Puri

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Not just monotonously draped women in Sarees and custom roles designed by Men, women craft their own niche on the Indian Celluloid perfectly and permeably.

Ever since the ‘release’ of Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love and Fire in 1996, stirred rows of controversies among the audience, the population was laid exposed to multiple cultures that were about to ferment in the decades to follow. The perception of women in Indian imagination sought to have a great thrust now, but what was more monumental were the two directors – Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta, who re-narrativised the ‘Bhartiya Nari and Sabhyata‘ in a post modern view.

The global egalitarian debate has pulled the female representatives at multiple fronts to collect together for achieving gender neutral objectives in – politics, business, sports and perhaps the most important the arts and entertainment industry; without any doubt the women in entertainment business exercise the highest influence and its Indian counterparts are no different, in recent times Indian celebrities have found a global following and new icons are emerging every year.

The Indian Film Industry occupies a central space in every household and it’s Pan India reception makes it even more desirable and challenging. The glamorous lead women over the years have instilled a feeling of aspiration among many young girls who dream to get a slice of ‘The Dream Pie’ and this in fact has turned true in many cases. From Durgabai Kamat to Rekha, Waheeda Rehman to Madhuri Dixit, Shabana Azmi to Priyanka Chopra many female leads have made the marks on the world memory, apart from lead actresses, playback singing seemed to be the only alternative for women for many years in this male dominated industry. But, in the last two decades the industry has witnessed many talented women who have impressed everyone with their skillful exuberance of potential as directors, screenwriters, music directors, cinematographers, etc.

My discussion on the professional female enterprise in Indian film industry has a tripartite perception – firstly, as an avid Cinemaphile general output; secondly in terms of the political depictions, thirdly as a demarcation between the West and the East.

Women making Films not your Food

1926 release ‘Bulbul Ae Paristaan’ saw a major moment in Indian Cinema when Fatima Begum became the first female writer, producer and director. Female Filmmakers like Kalpana Lajmi,  Sai Pranjpaye and Tanuja Chandra might be alien to many but their productions ‘Katha’, ‘Rudaali’ or ‘Dushman’ have captured an audience of its own. Similarly, Aparna Sen and Sumitra Bhave have successfully exploited Bengali and Marathi regional cinema with films like ’36 Chowringhee Lane.’

To reiterate the genius of Deepa Mehta and Mira Nair are beyond words, their movies have garnered critical acclaim not only in India but globally with topics that were really necessary.

Promising female directors like Meghna Gulzar of ‘Raazi’, Kiran Rao of ‘Dhobi Ghat’, Reema Kagti of ‘Talaash’, Nandita Das of ‘Manto’, Zoya Akhtar of ‘Gullyboy’, Farah Khan of ‘Main Hoon Na’, Gauri Shinde of ‘Dear Zindagi’, Shonali Bose of ‘The Sky is Pink’, Alankrita Shrivastav of ‘Lipstick Under my Burkha’ or Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari of ‘Bareily ki Barfi’ have been received well both by audience and critics and have severely diversified into script writing, editing, short films and online content.

Instigators of New Ideas

Female filmmakers have brought a range of topics like Surrogacy, sexuality, same sex relationships and horrors of patrirarchy and misogyny to attention. Depiction of lives of a lesbian relationship in ‘Fire’, a widow’s condition in ‘Water’, mental health in ‘Dear Zindagi’ or surrogacy in ‘Filhaal’, the women have hit the bell hard for others; parallely movies like  ‘Firaaq’ and ‘Salaam Bombay’ comment about the socio political condition of India in a sharp tone.

Not just Makers

Women are known for their adorning skills, their presentation has nuances of meticulousness which has been visible in recent times not just as directors or filmmakers but also in music production like Sneha Khanwalkar and Bombay Jayshree or the lyrics business like Anvita Dutt Guptan and Kausar Munir. Where Choreographers like Farah Khan, Vaibhavi Merchant and Geeta Kapur have grooved their way, designers like Niharika Khan, Anaita Shroff Adjania and Bhanu Athaiya have marked their own style.

Cinematographers like Priya Seth, Fowzia Fathima and Archana Borhade have captured stories that must hit film Critics like Subhash Jha hard when he comments as, “It comes as a surprise that the film is shot by female cinematographer Priya Seth. The images her camera captures are rugged, virile and predominantly masculine.”

The Critical Women

Nikhat Kazmi to Anupama Chopra and Namrata Joshi, women have been acclaimed critics for years, reviewing movies and it’s various aspects they have derived the opinions for the Indian Masses particularly and successfully.

It won’t be enough to say that these women are merely talked here for the sake of being one but particularly to affirm the success of these women in a misogynistic environment where their efforts have striven hard in order to see results. The male dominated land had to send out a message for the viewers who voraciously consume what is screened and pretended by their stars on and off the screens and in a state, where the patriarch and opressing society needs to acknowledge these women substantially.

Image Credits: ForbesIndia

 

Faizan Salik

[email protected]

 

 An examination of the notion entrenched in our patriarchal society to place the onus of safety on the victims instead of curbing crimes or changing the patriarchal mindset.

According to the most recent government data for the year 2017, more than 32,500 cases of rape were registered in India, which comes out to around 90 a day. A lot of cases might not have been reported. In a lot of these cases, not to mention the harassment that countless women have to face on a daily basis, the one factor that is common are the instances of victim blaming that are offered by the patriarchal society as justifications. The idea of victim blaming in crimes against women is deeply entrenched in the Indian society, with the clothes the victim was wearing or the time she was out on the street being a topic of conversation instead of the lack of gender sensitisation, morality, or the brutality of the perpetrators.

From the countless instances during this year’s cultural fests across Universities, traditional safe spaces cannot even be seen as space. Even in these safe spaces such as colleges, hostels, and even homes, it is seen that the blame is shifted on women instead of addressing the root issue. A student from Indraprashtha College For Women (IPCW) and a resident from IP Hostel who wishes to remain anonymous narrates an incident from a hostel General Body Meeting (GBM). She says, “Along with our curfews and restrictions, we face this pressure to change and compromise our lifestyle to stay safe. In the GBM, a girl complained that the male workers stare at girls when we don’t wear a bra. Our Principal told us that its a hostel and we should dress properly and not wear shorts and wear a bra. So instead of making our hostel a safe space for us and checking the male workers, the blame was shifted on us.”

The idea is also engrained into what should be the first safe space, our homes. Varshini, an M.A student from Chennai says “My mom slut-shames me when my bra shows through my top. If I don’t want to get raped, I have to wear three layers of clothes in the Chennai sun. Comfort or safety is the choice I have to make.” This onus on women is something that women have been made to follow through fear instilled by the condition of women’s safety in our country and what they have seen growing up.

Recently, the nature of police in India and their brutality has come to light, with those who are supposed to protect massively failing to do so. This is also something that women have had to face even before it came into light for most of us, as Sakshi Singh, a student in Pune recounts a disturbing tale “This happened last May, I was in the car with my maternal uncle and we were going home, around 11 o’clock. These two girls on a scooty were riding beside us and looked panicked. They asked us to pull the window down. Then they explained how they just left left a party and two drunk guys are following them on a bike. My uncle was very concerned, so he drove alongside them, but the bike continued to follow, and they were shouting. They were even threatening the girls. We reached a junction soon, where there were two police officers. We stopped the car and told them the entire thing. The police just looked at the girls and said, “aise kapde pehen ke itni raat tak ghumengi toh hoga hi na” (if you wear such clothes and roam around at night then this is bound to happen), I was very shocked and irritated. Uncle took their names and complained to higher authorities later.” 

Without gender sensitisation, effective laws, lack of support, and an incompetent police force, women are left with nowhere to turn to. Women are forced to compromise their lifestyles and identity for basic safety. It is high time that the culture of victim blaming is fought back against and more emphasis is put on curbing these crimes through gender sensitization and teaching the concept of consent to men from a young age along with the government actively working to curb these crimes instead of putting the onus on women and telling them how to dress or when to leave their homes and come back.

 

Feature Image Credits: FreePressJournal

Prabhanu Kumar Das

[email protected]

 

 

 

We have successfully completed two decades of the 21st century. These were indeed the decades of diverse on-screen representations of women. Read on for a quick recap.

Apart from the freshest-in-mind historic defeat of a long running political party and longer queues as a result of demonetisation and varied forms and issues of resistance, what these 20 years have also seen is a distinguished portrayal of women in Bollywood films. While most of these films continue to be driven by stereotypical characters and plots, off-centre sides of the feminine gender in particular have surfaced in their representations, much unfamiliar to the latter decades. One could possibly recap only some of the unconventional portrayals.

Earlier in the century, Preity Zinta’s character in Salam Namaste (2005) is shown to be in a live-in relationship, much to the surprise of Nargis or Nirupa Roy hungover audience. Boomers only. Her character was however based out of India, in Melbourne probably because a desi setting could have been too outrageous. Years later we see Kriti Sanon’s character in Luka Chuppi (2019) taking the live-in concept in the very desi Gwalior city. She is a headstrong reporting intern who later falls into a guilt trip. 

salam namaste aishwaryaa women and films

Men and women, both have been portrayed in stereotypical ways in the past. Men as strong headed, hyper masculine patriarchs, protagonists or babuji’s and women as moral anchors to them or damsels in distress. The audience’s fantasy with the ideal woman – sanskari ladki, was carried forward by films like Vivah and reinforced by the youth popular Cocktail (2012). Our eye-candy Saif Ali Khan chooses the super sanskaari Meera after gallivanting with free spirited Veronica. Things got worse when Veronica tries to woo him one last time in her modest salwar kameez. 

english vinglish aishwaryaa women and films

Films like English Vinglish (2012) talked about the Indian woman making space for herself in the modern world by ‘secretly’ learning English as a tool of empowerment. The director remarkably covered themes like emotional violence within a family, lack of acknowledgment to home-makers and ignorance towards women entrepreneurs through the legend Sridevi. 

Alia Bhatt in Dear Zindagi (2016) attempted to normalise that women need not always be the emotionally equipped ones in a society. It points out how they are made to feel inadequate for not being ‘ideal’ in a society that indulges in slut shaming. Movies like Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016) or Shudhh Desi Romance (2013) have successfully validated female desire within the patriarchal institutions of society. Movies like Jodhaa Akbar (2008), Bajirao Mastani (2015), Padmavat (2018) and Manikarnika (2019) did try to talk about historical women as well but it was mostly through a pro male gaze narrative.

lipstick under my burkha aishwaryaa women and films

With great scripts and narration, film makers have time and again normalised the nuance shades of women as an individual, be it Fashion (2008) or Queen (2014). They have brought topics like sexuality and female experience into the forum of public discussion. Be it Alia’s character in Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya (2017) or Vidya Balan’s Tumhari Sulu (2017), women are shown taking up professional spaces against the set standards while also outrightly questioning traditions of dowry etc. Under the umbrella of ‘women centric’ films, biopics of women characters like in Dangal (2016), Neerja (2016) or Mary Kom (2014) have additionally found space and recognition. However, these are only stories of renowned sportspersons, politicians or inspired by landmark court cases like in No One Killed Jessica (2011) that have the capacity to fill in profits pertaining to their thriller or inspirational narratives. The stories of ordinary women and their slice of life are yet to be shared. Nil Battey Sannata (2016) is one such story. The coming decade sees high hopes for this. 

dangal aishwaryaa women and films

It took the star of the millennium, the angry young man, now old but ever so charming Amitabh Bachchan in Pink (2016) to come forward and talk about consent and that no means no, irrespective. This extremely well enacted courtroom drama talked about virginity, importance of a ‘moral character’, victim blaming and women’s rights and dignity amidst the time of Nirbhaya and other rape cases, simultaneously pricking the vulnerability of the diehard patriarchal and judgemental society. A marvel in itself. 

pink aishwaryaa women and films

These two decades have also seen women take up charge off screen as well as scriptwriters, camerapersons, directors and producers. While the entire country is in a severe state of unrest, one could consider this recap as some ‘light at the end of the tunnel’. It leaves us yearning for good stories and better representations that not only delves deep into the intricacies of gender but also can transform the mindsets of the audience into a more sensitive and considerate one. Bollywood films continue to be the most popular means of entertainment and incessant strong portrayals can most definitely help the need. TV soap operas being the next in line could also try and cover more realistic issues of human lives other than evil naagins and reincarnations. I’m sure for example long distance relationships can be a Kasautii Zindagi Ki (Test of Life) as well.

 

Feature Image Credits: Cristina Bombolla 

Image 1 Credits: Bollywood Bio

Image 2 Credits: Pinterest

Image 3 Credits: YouTube

Image 4 Credits: Wacom Gallery

Image 5 Credits: Amul India

Aishwaryaa Kunwar

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This piece talks about the growing expectation to gain a “good guy” tag by men, by virtue of fulfilling the least they are required to do. It delves into the nuances of feminism, and how these men miss out on what the movement has been voicing out.

Women do household work in almost all the societies because they are expected to, that’s what has been normalised in our society. Obviously, now the situation is slightly better, with us reaching the fourth wave of feminism, people becoming more aware, more women stepping out, taking roles in workspaces, and better spaces to come out and talk about these issues. But on the ground level, women are still harassed in these same workspaces, threatened if they speak out and out, and are discriminated against on several platforms. Yet, if a man makes a cup of tea or does the cooking, popular culture celebrates him with such pomp and show. And this is just for one day; I’m not talking about househusbands here, just the members of “I’ll do the dishes once in a blue moon” men club. It’s good that sometimes, such men break conventions, but do we really need to celebrate them for doing the bare minimum? It should not be exceptional for them to do this, rather a basic responsibility which they should fulfil given that they have been exempted from it for so long.Again, these days I have personally interacted with so many male friends who think that by just respecting their mother, sister, or girlfriend, they deserve brownie points, and the badge of being a feminist. What they do not realise is that these are basic things which are expected from us as humans, and while it’s good that we adhere to these ideals, we cannot just get desperate to seek a “good guy” tag. Let the women do talking for their own issues, and we men can then be understanding allies to these feminists.

Often, in metropolitan cities, we get fooled by the illusion of tokenistic feminism, and hail the “bare minimum” feminists as thegold standard of change-makers and influencers. It is good that Shah Rukh Khan decided to put Deepika Padukone’s name in the credits before him for one of his movies, but it is just a symbolic move. In fact, any actor irrespective of gender should be featured in the cast credits according to their screen time or role in the film. Actresses do not need any sympathetic mentions. Better representation and equal pay for equal roles, the film producers should focus more on that.It makes me cringe from the deepest corner of my heart when I see slam artists or actresses being invited as guest speakers and influencers at feminist conclaves (although, the most that I have cringed is when Kirori Mal College had an event by Women’s Development Cell where all guest speakers were men!). Why stick with poster ladies always? Yes, clearly these influencers have positive influence but all I am saying is that we should honour other women too who are doing on-ground work and bettering the lives of Indian women. The glamourisation needs to stop. Along with an Aranya Johar and a Twinkle Khanna, it would be good to bring forward a Pramila Nesaragi (Lawyer and Women Rights Activist), Laxmi Agarwal (Founder of Chanv foundation, an NGO helping acid attack survivors), Shaheen Mistri (CEO of Teach For India) and the women protesting against the government’s recent controversial legal measures in Delhi, Assam, and all over. We don’t even know most of their names or significant work, but the least we can do is recognise them rather than just sharing an Instagram video of an actress or even an actor (read: Ayushmann Khurrana) spreading a manufactured message of feminism ahead of their film’s release.

Therefore, this Women’s Day, let us stop being content with the bare minimum and think and act more instead. Tokenistic measures would help us sleep in the night but deep down, we do know that the perfect reality is far from the imperfect truth that dominates our society right now. Let’s not celebrate only the “bare minimum” feminists (and let us not be one either).

Shaurya Singh Thapa

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Issues concerning women have been raised time and again. But still it’s mere man who dictates over ‘Devi’. It’s high time to realise the importance of a woman’s voice.

“I have been wronged”, she hollers. Everyone applauds her valour, says her voice is cared for. But none comes forward to stand with her, and now the wrong just becomes a blur.

We have come a long way since the beacon for equal rights, opportunities, and dignity for women was first kindled. It’s truly remarkable how feminism, the women’s suffragette movement, etc. have had such incredible impact on the male dominated construct of our society. The woman of today, empowered and enlightened, stands at a far better position than any time in history.With the turn of the century, as women were jostling with the unjust norms and discriminatory prejudices of the past, they also had to combat some ‘state of the art’ issues, concerning access to amenities and representation at the ‘table’. But so wondrous is the taste of liberty and appreciation of self, that women push on with greater vigor and zeal, determined never to turn back. Movements like #MeToo and Time’sUp, and the raising of issues like equal pay, sexism, reproductive rights etc. showcase a growing awareness for an egalitarian society. Because of the internet and social media, they garnered huge attention and tried to topple the patriarchy-ridden aspects of a woman’s existence.

Yet, they also showed that the voice of women is rarely ‘heard’. Often, when a woman speaks out about any kind of abuse or unequal treatment; she is silenced at first and if this does not work, she is ridiculed and publically shamed. Her distress is termed as mood swings, tantrums, and ‘Aurat ho, ye toh hota hi hai (You are a woman, this happens)’. No wonder hundreds of cases of rapes, violence, and sexual misconduct go unreported all over the world. Even when the angst expressed is taken note of, no serious action against it is taken. For instance, out of numerous cases of sexual harassment that disclosed because of the #MeToo movement, only a few perpetrators have been hauled to the court. There are many committees, NGO’s, government departments that work for women related issues. But as a man’s ‘roar’ often overpowers a woman’s ‘squeal’, they either have a man at the helm or it is the men who are the policymakers; which robs the destined objective of ‘welfare of women’ of having the much required opinion of the women themselves.

In an article by Cecilie Hestbaek for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, she quotes “…while women’s voices don’t need ‘strengthening’ as it is sometimes referred to—they need to be listenedto better.” Issues concerning women are being raised vociferously but what we need is hearing them out and directing concerted actions towards them.We, as women have struggled hard to discover our voices and now it is time to make them paid due heed to. Our insecurities, mistrust in our strengths, and fear of society weigh us down in this flight towards justice. Only with a passionate collective effort, inclusive of all from men, women, young girls to queer women, trans people, and by embracing and strengthening ourfeminine qualities, do we have a strong chance of building upon a future promised to us under the grace of the universe.The institutionalised patriarchy in the Indian society and the belief of women being the inferior gender enables male superiority and deteriorates the condition of women in the country, rendering their voices unheard and unbelievably subdued. It is high time that women and their opinions are given centre stage and their voices are given equal importance.

Image Credits: SabrangIndia 

Ipshika Ghosh

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Women have internalised unrealistic beauty standards which are so deep-rooted that they fail to grasp the misogynistic reasoning behind them.

Girls, on reaching the age of adolescence, begin to follow beauty routines religiously. Beauty standards, which have been ingrained within young girls from the beginning, and they are made to believe that beauty is the ultimate goal for women. Maintaining a beautiful face, a body with minimal marks, and fair skin are the definitions of pretty women, people from all over the world believe in, completely disregarding the idea that beauty is subjective.

Girls, on reaching the age of adolescence, begin to follow beauty routines religiously. Beauty standards, which have been ingrained within young girls from the beginning, and they are made to believe that beauty is the ultimate goal for women. Maintaining a beautiful face, a body with minimal marks, and fair skin are the definitions of pretty women, people from all over the world believe in, completely disregarding the idea that beauty is subjective.

Most women claim to have started shaving or waxing their body hair because some boys in middle school called them ugly for having hair on their arms. Removing body hair is a personal choice, but many women despise the idea of spending so much money on razors and waxing. Also, women have to endure physical pain involved in the process of hair removal if we consider razor burns and ripping out the hair follicle.Having smooth skin feels great, but not at the cost of shouldering such pain. Hairless skin is associated with beauty, and so many women despise the natural elements of their bodiessuch as body hair.

Recently, women from all over the world voiced their opinions on social media and boycotted body hair removal products as part of a campaign called ‘Januhairy’. Many of these women claimed that body hair is empowering for them and embracing body hair made them feel liberated.Frida Kahlo, a widely celebrated artist, has been considered the epitome of beauty for decades, and she was an inspiration for young women all over the world. She chose to free herself from the clutches of patriarchy and went on to make her infamous self-portraits. Over the past few decades, Frida Kahlo has been put forth as an example for giving women’s body image a boost. She carried her facial hair with pride without considering what others had to say about her body.Most women comply with the ‘need’ to remove body hair because of the forces of the patriarchal system that we live in.

These beauty standards have been carved in our minds permanently, and we follow these faux ‘needs’ baselessly. Ayushi Attri, a student of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, opines: “The hair roots penetrating through my skin is not a problem, rather the roots clutching our minds shadowed by these patriarchal norms is. The hair, in fact, is not a problem, but perceiving them as a problem is.”Many women have faced criticism from other women for choosing to embrace their body hair. The act of defiance initself is a big step that women of this era aretaking.Inadditiontothis,mediahas played a considerably negative role in sending out wrong messages for young girls. Body hair on men and women are perceived differently. Men with relatively less facial hair are considered feminine.Bollywood had a way with choosing actors with more hair, so as to portray them as masculine and strong. On the other hand, if a woman carries body hair with such finesse, terms like ‘manly’ and ‘ugly’ areused for her.

Most women comply with the tradition of a hairless body just because they fear getting judged by society. There are several gender roles surrounding shaving, and women have been conditioned into thinking that shaving or waxing is a necessity.Body hair must be embraced with everyone, be it a man or a woman. It should bring forth any emotions of embarrassment or shame; rather it must be symbolic of our confidence.

Image Credits: Design TAXI

Suhani Malhotra
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At an all-time high, the Indian market has a specific adulation for cosmetic products, and with an ever-increasing consumer base, a significant population loves to devour these maquillages which marinate in their own means.

The era of the 90’s witnessed a new wave in India, with the country celebrating its colours in epic proportions, the new
vigour was fuelled by the liberalisation policies which were brought by P. V. Narsimha Rao and Dr. Manmohan Singh; India expanded with bigger aspirations and many anticipated what they called as a ‘bright future’ for India. But, with this celebration of colours, the decade also witnessed a market that sought to reimagine India’s beauty standards with a reiteration of the pigmentocratic demarcations. The global cosmetic industry couldn’t have asked for a better pedestal to showcase its capitalistic endeavours, especially at a time when India’s women were busy clinching international beauty pageants, and giving India and its millions of women, all the more reason to be proud of.

In a single decade, India won seven beauty pageants, beginning from Sushmita Sen who brought home the most coveted title of ‘Miss Universe’ and Aishwarya Rai being crowned with the title of ‘Miss World’ in the year 1994, three years later Diana Hayden clinched the Miss World title again in 1997, and Yukta Mookhey
repeated the world rule in 1999. The year 2000 registered itself on the onus of India’s modern goddesses, as Lara
Dutta brought the Miss Universe title back home, and Priyanka Chopra did the same by clinching the Miss World title. Dia Mirza completed the triad by becoming the second Miss Asia Pacific from India, setting a unique record for any nation by winning up all the beauty pageants in a single year. Subsequently, these women stepped into the film industry and the world of advertising that sought to entrust these women for mediating the dreams of Indian women through the products they endorsed, that majorly involved the cosmetic and cosmeceutical objects.

 India finds its reverence for adoration and beauty since the ages of Ayurveda with Kajal, and Vermillion as its forerunners, the British Colonialism that exacerbated colorism has driven the societal perceptions to an extent that cosmetic industries exploited heavily. The formula for a successful and empowered lady was apparently sold in tubes and compacts that promised unprecedented prosperity, hair colour sought to reflect the confidence of women, and facial features were ought to be highlighted. Companies justified every new product
as an irrefutable need catering to the requirements of the women and soon men.

Over the years, the cosmetic industry has revamped tremendously, especially with the online market boom and diversification of products that has seeped into every bag holding. Major brands have shown interest in this field that is increasing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent and is all prepared to mark India among the top five global markets. This also saw the rise of new brands like Nikal, that planned to bridge the gap between efficient consumer requirements and the grand brand show. But, amidst this stiff competitive market, this industry tends to forget the colour prejudices that it injects in a multi-racial land, and materialistic representations that might not represent a Pan India scape or the child labor that is involved in mica extraction for beauty products especially in states like Odisha and Jharkhand where the extracted mica is sent to corporates for products like
eyeshadow, blush, and lipstick that add a reflective finish to them.

Many major brands still resort to the practice of animal testing for checking the safety and hypoallergenic properties that is often crude and immoral. The long-awaited Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) (Amendment) Bill, 2020 is just a small step in this affair that could ban promotions of fairness or anti-ageing products. and the advocacy by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Humane Society
International (HSI) with regard to animal rights is gaining recognition continually, yet the future of this industry can turn
chaotic in the cosmos of cosmetics.

Image Credits: Deccan Chronicle

Faizan Salik 

[email protected]

After years of lamented echoes for equal rights, certain women still haven’t received acknowledgement, let alone echelon in their fields of work, where they are included only to be left excluded.

Little did we know that the omission of a woman’s efforts would be carried on post her existent life.  This is extended to the point where she would be kept away from being posthumously recorded in the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data of farmer’s suicide. P. Sainath, a veteran Journalist and founder of PARI, People’s Archive of Rural India, at a National Conference of Indian Association for Women’s Studies (IAWS) took a jab at this agency by calling it, “a paradise for women,” where zero accounts of female farmer suicide is reported. He called Punjab and Haryana the “seventh heaven” where logistics seem to have flunk. These states have large numbers of female farmers but no documentation of their Harakiri. He goes on to voice a spine chilling question,”Where do they hide the corpse?” 

In decoding the primary reasons behind the aforementioned exclusion, it’s imperative to understand the methodology which is incorporated in computing the numbers. It’s fraudulent since it houses eight exclusions. Three of the largest amongst them are women, Dalits and Adivasis, with women being the single largest exclusion.

In economic jargon the terminology of ‘imputed cost is used to categorise or rather limit the labour provided by women since they are pushed in the bracket of ‘housewives.’ Although this concept acknowledges the work done by them, it fails to provide for a calculative mechanism to approximate the same. Consequently their contribution doesn’t make it to the calculation of national income. Sainath said, “Post 2014, the sins of omission have been joined by the sins of commission.”

According to the Oxfam Annual Equality Report, 12.5 billion hours of unpaid work is contributed by women and girls every day of each year across the world. This math equates to USD 10.8 trillion annually, which is five times India’s GDP and more than three times the size of global tech giants like Amazon, Apple and Microsoft.

The problematic aspect of the prohibition lies in answering that how are we to solve to the problem of farmer’s suicide as a whole when we are busy ostracising another group from the records? The problematic aspect charges more when women themselves are made to realise that their labour devotion is secondary or relatively unimportant or doesn’t qualify as being worthy enough to get paid. This is a classic example of Italian philosopher Gramsci’s hegemony model, where the subordinate class would concur, willingly to oppression of the upper class with a little negotiation. 

It’s a dissappoinment that the NRCB is the best possible record data to show the menace of farmer’s suicide. Its bereftness when it comes to registering women- speaks volumes about the societal prejudices affecting economy and society. The cause is not inked therefore, it reinforces the perpetuated state of exclusion which therefore demands a dire need to be changed. This starts by eradication of the association of unpaid work with what we classify as a homemaker’s job. Acknowledging the imputed cost and ending of hegemony would in turn put an ending to the discrimination that happens in the agrarian economy and elsewhere in the socioeconomic forum.

References taken from P Sainath’s speech at his valedictorian address at the XVI National Conference of IAWS published by India Today: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/women-are-the-single-largest-exclusion-in-india-s-farmer-suicides-data-p-sainath-1642141-2020-01-31

 

Image Credits: PARI Network

Umaima Khanam

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Language is being altered to bring change, create conversations among people, and include certain communities. The effectiveness of the same, however, doesn’t enjoy consensus.

For centuries, women have been on the receiving end of objectification, racism, and sexism. Waves of the feminist movement have attempted to minimise the gap between genders across the world. Amid these efforts, some activists and linguists realised the role of language in perpetuating the existence of harmful sociological patterns. A tool as basic as language, they believe, has the power to bring about change by breaking the normalcy in the lives of people.

The term ‘womxn’ is an alternative term for the English language word ‘women’ which have been used occasionally to explicitly include transgender women. Scholars of English have used terms like “wimmin” and womyn”, as an alternative to rejecting the folk etymology of ‘woman’ allegedly being ‘of man’. While the cause behind the usage of this word is noble, the very idea of altering the language to bring change has failed to invite consensus from people.

In October 2018, a programme of events at the Welcome Collection, a museum in London, ‘Daylighting’ used the term ‘womxn’ and triggered a national controversy in the United Kingdom. While some supported theidea, many others outrightly rejected it, with a belief that the word is ratherexclusive, and portrays transgenderwomen as being different. The intersectionality that the word seeks to achieve fails to achieve unanimity. A few days later, Welcome Collectionapologised publicly, owing to thebacklash received by it on Twitter and elsewhere.

There are multiple views regarding the same. A Twitter user, Sam Baxter, asked, “Who exactly is this meant to include? Trans women call themselves women, non-binary people don’t call themselves women at all. The only thing that comes to mind is that this could be to include both ‘woman’and ‘women’, which implies there are women who identify as plurals.”

Priyanshi Banerjee, a student of Lady Shri Ram College for Women said, “Languages and linguistics are not isolated from psychology and society, these are overlapping concepts. The introduction of ‘womxn’ as a term would be fruitful. Even if one person bats an eyelid over the term and googles about the word, one would come across the word- ‘woman’ and realise its etymology- ‘of man’, that would mean the realisation of deep- seated patriarchy which exists without realisation. That realisation is a victory.”

While there are harder conflicts regarding the inclusion of different genders, most people are on a consensus regarding the patriarchal nature of the word ‘woman’. Women, the most importantstakeholders of this issue, are not at one with each other, when it comes to doing away with it. Some of them believe that altering language isn’t fruitful, and the conversations that it might bring about are restricted to the privileged class, who are not victims of the same kind of oppression. The inclusion that this word aims to achieve, they think, is both tokenistic and unnecessary.

But there are others who believe that language, as a tool is effective to bring about change. Terms like “wimmin” and “womyn” were introduced to normalise the pronunciation of words employed by certain communities. They think that something as basic as language can create powerful conversations around the norms of patriarchy, and the exclusionary nature of certain words.

In the end, certain questions linger. Is language effective enough to bringchange? If it is, should it be used at all? Are we, in order to create conversations, willing to appropriate the lives of certain genders, who might or might not agree with the usage of such words?

Feature Image Credits: Rukshana Kapali, Transgender Activist

Kuber Bathla

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