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Sabyasachi Mukherjee: An Idea of The Sabhya Naari

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As another bride walks down the mandap, adorning a Sabyasachi Bridal Wear, somewhere out there, the founder Sabyasachi Mukherjee, makes another sexist comment. With a history of subsequent problematic comments, we now know his definition of a Sabhya naari. 

Popularly known as the man who revolutionised Indian bridal couture, Sabyasachi’s distinctive style is a blend of Indian traditional dressing on the modern-day woman. With several accolades to his name, “Sabyasachi-bride” is the new societal superiority norm. With that amount of influence over the global and Indian wedding market, he’s bound to have a heavy audience following and social media presence. 

The official Instagram handle of Sabyasachi showcases his creation on models (read: superficial women) and some of his personal thoughts, occasionally. Quite recently, he garnered major flak due to his statement on overdressed women, caked with makeup and the deep void in them. Implying a highly problematic notion that, ‘overdressed’ women use dressing up as a coping mechanism to cure their ‘wounds’. A woman requires no reason, per se, to dress up. Even though he provided an apology, the Instagram army wasn’t ready to accept his explanation. Well, how does it even matter if a woman is overdressed, underdressed or naked? 

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Nandini Sukhija, a student of Mumbai University, says “I find it bizarre for a designer to judge women who like to dress up. Whether or not to accessorise is a personal choice and not a reflection of one’s struggles. I was never in favour of idealising the standards of beauty like designers often practice. His sexist remarks only further deter me from even considering designers like him when it comes to making purchases.”

On International Women’s Day, a post celebrating “self-confidence” was uploaded with courtesy to a plus-size model in his lehenga, glowing in her dark skin with a plunging neckline; so much for “inclusivity” and brand promotion. Sabyasachi is infamous for his models portraying the fair, lean and thin women- the conventional definition of the Indian beauty. Using a woman who doesn’t fit into the sphere of the “ideal woman” is always celebrated, but not in the context of promoting self-confidence; it just implies that someone who doesn’t look like what society expects them to, is burdened, resulting in having a staggeringly low-confidence. 

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Devashree Vaidya, a student of Psychology, states, “I think of him as a man who reeks of disguised misogyny, coupled with an intense amount of saviour complex. I believe he’s a person who believes it’s his duty to enlighten people about their own feelings and desires.” 

His blatant sexism exists beyond the social media world. At the Harvard India Conference in 2018, the designer said, “I think, if you tell me that you do not know how to wear a saree, I would say shame on you. It’s a part of your culture, you need to stand up for it.” Savarna cis-men have long been dictating cultural norms and traditions on women. Even though he had issued an apology for saying “shame” in his statement, but as they say, Freudian slip never lies. A time when women’s clothing and choices are still dictated by unasked opinions; no bonus points for guessing which era we live in.

Sabyasachi deals exclusively with women’s clothing and as a designer of his stature, he must keep up with fourth-wave feminism. His series of sexist comments is a deeply conditioned mindset regarding what an ideal, docile Indian woman aka Sabhya Naari should reflect. Time and again he has provided apologies for his mishaps, but how much is too much? How long will we tolerate and continue growing up his sales whilst writing articles against him? 

Feature Image Credits: NDTV

Image Credits: Sabhyasachi’s Instagram

 

Anandi Sen

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DUB Speak

The Problem of Being a Draupadi

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The story of Draupadi ended years ago, or did it? Here is an insight into the inner turmoil faced by her. The story of Draupadi, to Draupadis.

One of the contemporary, and not very appealing facts is that we can still relate to Draupadi, a woman who was ‘ahead of her times’ centuries ago is still considered the same, and mind you, it is 2019, you can do the math.

There is not just a single Draupadi, but several Draupadis, right where you are sitting, if you hover your eyes around the room.

An introductory lecture on Draupadi is a hard nut to crack but one can furnish in a nut-shell. Draupadi, the daughter of King Drupad, born out of fire, the courtroom is an account everyone knows.

In Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s “The Palace of Illusions”, turn pages to the marriage of Draupadi which draws light on the created illusion of swayamvar. What if one tells you that Banerjee waves a creation which lets you know that the swayamvar was not a swayamvar but a marriage of convenience? The forbidden fruit of right to choice is what most of us don’t savour.

The marriage of Draupadi to all the Pandavas is another source of wrinkles on one’s forehead. Kunti – a woman, mother of Draupadi’s husbands, making a turbulent decision which alters her life henceforth. In epics, daily soaps, secret domestic tales it is very common?

The infamous vastraharan (de-clothing) of Draupadi is a question on inner conscience. Dragged to a court while menstruating, barred of her clothes- such was the plight of Draupadi. All done for a cause that doesn’t even qualify to be a cause- the game of dice, the inflaming addiction, the addiction of power. And a quick update- these so-called causes source upon many Draupadis, the worst part- future seems to be as monotonous as the past and the present.

While one may defend- “well someone’s (you know the name) superior powers did save her from the plight. But here is an eye-opener- the ‘someone’ was absent from the picture, Draupadi’s self- strength led to the incessant, never-ending cloth. Many Draupadis fight, fight for themselves, yet lie in the shackles of silence.

Here is a situation – a woman deprived of her fundamental rights, outraged in a room full of ‘honourable entities’, with no help from all the four sides of the walls, stands alone – isn’t this a contemporary fact? This episode exists, repeats and continues.

Draupadi was always a pawn in a game of chess- born for the cause of revenge, married for the sake of political alliance and finally reduced into a stake at the game of dice.

Irawati Karve through her work- “Yuganta” gives us an insight into the inner psychology of Draupadi through incidents. After the game of dice, when Dhritrashtra intervened as the indecency had gone too far and feared terrible consequences, grants Draupadi three wishes wherein she saves the Pandavas of the impending doom. “… but Draupadi has re-established peace. Like a boat, she has saved the Pandavas when they were about to drown in a sea of disgrace. The taunt that they had been saved by a woman infuriated Bhima.”

How many times has the society stitched the lips of women, tied their hands and reduced them to speechlessness? Draupadi’s power affected egos, Draupadis still exist, their power affects ego.

Draupadi was unapologetically herself. Karve tells us more about Draupadi when her brother visits her in the forest (during the period of exile) she says, “I have neither husbands, nor a brother, nor a father. If I had, do you think they would have stood for my being insulted like this?”

In the 21st Century sitting in our living rooms, it is a shame that we can relate to the problems of Draupadi, it is time to address these problems and not relate to these.

Feature Image Credits: Focuz Studios

Priyanshi Banerjee

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Femme Fatale: Why do “Meninists” Feel Personally Attacked?

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In an episode of Bojack Horseman, I saw some smart satire when a news panel discussion on sexual harassment was going on, while the participants in the discussion were four to five old white males. Now, I have seen this satire turn into reality!

If you do not know yet, Kirori Mal College (KMC) was having a panel discussion on “Inspiring Stories Around
Us” and two-thirds of the panelists were men! Ironically, the discussion was being organised by KMC’s Women’s Development Cell (WDC)(yes, let that sink in).
The event faced backlash from many circles in the University of Delhi (DU) but the people who are speaking in its defence meekly say, “Hey, we promote equality. So why should gender even matter? Male or female, everyone is nice.”
Why should gender even matter? Well, gender has mattered immensely for centuries – from the time of early “man” to the 21st century of “man-made” goods – so we definitely cannot turn a blind-eye to the concept.
A ridiculous creation in this century with a rise in feminist movements, has been the word “meninist”. For these so-called meninists, “feminism” is synonymous with
a derogatory remark. “Aye haye, yeh toh feminist hai (Oh no, she is a feminist)” is something that I have been hearing for
a long time, and it is a bleak realisation that I have stayed silent with such sentences being thrown around.

I also feel guilty for saying things like “Femi-
Nazi” or “don’t be such a pussy”. When I was
corrected by people, it is not like I accepted them the way a disciple listens
to Jesus. I made a face and gave my arguments – “Hey, I just say this casually but I believe in equality. I’m not sexist.” Yet, the very fact that I found calling someone
a Nazi “casual” shows you where the problem lies.

Similarly, people are quick to jump on
the bandwagon with arguments like “But I
respect my mother/sister/girlfriend/wife” when their casual sexism is called out. But that is your basic obligation as a good human being. You will not get a trophy for that! Why does a woman even have to be related to you or another man for you, to respect her? What people need to understand is that despite all this ideological respecting, they might still falter. It is perfectly all right, as long as you wish to grow by listening, and trying to understand what the other person is saying.

Another ridiculous argument that I have heard proud and “woke” meninists to be making is biological in nature. “These women want itna (so much) equality, then why do they need paid maternity leave?” Yes, sure, women are consciously craving to get  menstrual cycles and nine months
of pregnancy pain, right? This argument again prompts some people to look at women as sensitive creatures and we start sympathising or pedestalising, when what we clearly need to do is empathise. In this age, when we can point out problematic arguments with counter-arguments, we can only hope that everyone listens to all opinions, and they accept their mistakes if they say something baseless. Alas! this seems Utopian, since right now, people like the meninists only seem to feel attacked at the drop of a hat (as if they are the target of attack for anything that concerns women).
It is not hard to be a feminist. It is fine if you do not want to share Instagram stories, if you do not wish to join feminist marches, some elitist feminist organisations, or a WDC with an all-male panel. You can, at the least, try learning. You can be a feminist, most importantly, by just not accepting all the problematic stereotypes and jokes that have
been passed on through generations. It is not as if without the sexist jokes, without calling a cowardly person a “pussy”, or calling a feminist a “Nazi”, your world would be shattered.
Trust me, it will not. It is fine to not be a youth activist or influencer. But if you can consciously try to correct “meninist” notions from the past, so that future generations can learn better, I think that is quite enough, for now.

Shaurya Singh Thapa

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The Unheard, Unheeded: India’s Sons

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The Indian Judiciary System sure has substantial laws for the protection of women, but where does one go when these laws are not used as shields, but as weapons? 

Humanity proclaims that justice is the right of every individual, regardless of their gender, caste, social status. But what steps have we taken to ensure that? Let’s address this phenomenon that needs acknowledging but is also just as much overlooked by talking about issues faced by Men- The forgotten gender.     

India’s Sons, a documentary that brings forward the anecdotes of false rape case survivors. It’s a film that traces journey, ordeals and escapes of innocent men who were falsely accused of rape charges. This documentary aims to start a dialogue over misuse of rape laws and reveal the unsaid truth behind India’s title of Rape Capital. 

A statistical report compiled after a survey showed that out of the total rape charges filed, 53% of them were false accusations. There was a case in which, the girl, willingly eloped with her boyfriend and when she came back, the family had filed rape charges against the boy. In 2012, out of the total rape cases which were filed in Delhi, the acquittal rate (acquittal- not guilty of a crime) was 46% but after the horrifying case of Nirbhaya, when the rape laws were amended, the acquittal rate went up to 70%. Just imagine, out of 100 cases of rape accusations against men, 70 of them were in fact false. We as youngsters feel so frustrated when we are wrongfully or mistakenly accused of something we didn’t do during typical conflicts and teenage drama. Visualise the trauma one goes through when he is falsely accused of such heinous crime. One loses all respect in society, his job, his social status. Sometimes their own family disowns them. These men see no way out but to kill themselves. And sometimes they even spend decades in jail. 

Rape is a heinous crime, but if someone is falsely accused of it, it’s an equally inhuman manifestation. If this issue is still not that sensitive to you and you believe that this suffering of innocent men is a price paid for the protection of women (if you’re a Pseudo-Feminist) then let’s familiarise you with the further harsh truth. When an innocent man is accused of such crimes, the humiliation and punishment is not only faced by him but also by his 18-year-old sister and his 60-year-old mother. 

Apart from this, Section 498(a) of the Indian Penal Code, a law made with very noble motives to prevent violence and cruelty faced by married women. 35 years down the lane, Today, section 498(a) is being known as the law that’s been most misused in the history of jurisprudence. Barely 18% of the number of people accused under this law are actually found guilty. I am certain there would be a necessity for evidence of this statistic because we’re talking about men. When we talk about women, we don’t really need to give evidence.

There was once a man who had a 2-year-old son from a 6-year-old marriage. He had a DNA test conducted on his son due to certain suspicions. The next day he was arrested under the act of dowry reported by his wife when she found out about the test. Certainly, the results showed he was not the father of his child. So the child belonged to somebody else and his wife put him behind bars. There have been cases where people were accused of being incriminated in sexual harassment at the workplace because the woman didn’t get a good appraisal so she filed charges against her superior. Writers of various crime serials that are shown on television these days were asked, “Why don’t you televise cases in which the accused men were later proven innocent?” To which they answered, “When we show such episodes, the TRP doesn’t go that high. People don’t see it as an issue and don’t consider it as painful and worthy.”

While it’s a good sign that we have all these laws for the protection of India’s Daughters, why to disregard India’s sons, who might not be dead but are just existing and waiting to be buried because of crimes they did not commit.

Why should you care?

“If the cry of a wolf is made too often as a prank, assistance may not be available when an actual wolf appears” – Supreme Court of India.

Source: Martyrs of Marriage by Deepika Narayan.

Feature Image Credits: Milaap 

Avni Dhawan 

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The Eco-Feminist Village of Piplantri

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In Rajasthan, a state often characterised by low sex ratio and an arid climate, the villagers of Piplantri in Rajsamand have resorted to planting 111 trees with the birth of every girl child to battle female foeticide and climate issues.

In Piplantri, whenever a girl child was born, the family pushed a hard, jagged grain into her mouth to cause infection and ensure her death. Shyam Lal Paliwal never understood this practice.He had always loved his daughter. So when Sarpanch Shyam Lal Paliwal’s 16-year old daughter Kiran died in 2006, he planted a burflower tree in her remembrance and vowed that no one would mourn the birth of a baby-girl in Piplantri anymore. Instead, it would be celebrated with the planting of trees.

Before 2005, Piplantri had been a drought-prone area. Shyam Lal recalls that once in 2005, the drought had been so bad that the government were forced to send water trains to the village. But it all ended with Kiran’s tree and Shyam Lal’s vision.

Alongside planting 111 trees, whenever a girl child is born in Piplantri, donations are collected so that INR 31,000 can be saved and put aside, so that with investment, there is a sum to match a potential dowry, allowing the families to become financially independent and in turn, be able to send their daughters to school, not marry them before they turn 18, and care for the planted trees as well. Along with this, getting inspiration from his wife, Shyam Lal also helped establish an aloe vera business in the village. After training, women can make and market aloe vera gel, juice and pickle, and some earn up to INR 6,000 a month.  The Sarpanch has also started a rainwater harvesting plant in the village.

Aloe Vera gel made by the women of Piplantri village. image Credits: Lifegate
Aloe Vera gel made by the women of Piplantri village.
image Credits: Lifegate

The government of Rajasthan, which has been shamed with a concerning sex ratio for years, decided to introduce a yojana (scheme) inspired by Paliwal’s work. Under the policy, the family receives INR 2,500 on her birth and the same amount on her first birthday. This is doubled to INR 5,000 if she finishes class five and class eight. When girls complete their senior secondary education i.e. class 12th, they get INR 35,000, making an overall total of  INR 50,000.

Piplantri has become an inspiration to various villages in rural India and holds itself up to be an important symbol of not only women empowerment, but also sustainable development in India.

Feature Image Credits: Procaffenation

Shreya Juyal

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Campus Central

Women March for Change

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Women across India marched together to claim their constitutional rights as the citizens of a
democratic republic.

On  4th April 2019, women across all ages, religions and social classes came together to voice their collective dissent against the current government and their propagation of a politics of violence and hatred. The march began at Mandi House and was carried on till Jantar Mantar. The march was a part of a larger movement in India titled ‘Women March for Change’.

The movement represents the outrage that women and other marginalized communities have been facing since the last five years and their attempts to cement their position as equal stakeholders of democracy and the political process.The march was followed by a program which included speeches and performances of various groups and collectives across Delhi-NCR. There were student feminist groups, tribal right activists, gender rights activists, dalit feminists groups, female farmer groups to name a few. This revolutionary march witnessed diversity of voices and was a big milestone for the Indian feminist movement and the Indian social justice movement. The call for solidarity stated, “For the last five years, women of India have watched with growing anger as our struggles for equality have been dented and our hard-won freedoms undermined. We have watched misogyny, hate and lies being spread across the land. Today, on the eve of 2019 Lok Sabha elections, we say no more.”

Prominent student groups present in the march were members of  Pinjra Tod, Women Development Cells of Lady Shri Ram College, Indraprastha College and Miranda House. When asked about their personal motivations for attending the march, students spoke about a range of issues referring to the political climate of the day. “There is a constant invisibalization of women’s struggles, politicians include us in their policies, Rahul Gandhi says the Womens’ Reservation Bill will be passed, but it only a tokenistic gesture. It’s high time for us to claim public spaces,” said Deeksha, a second-year student from Delhi College of Arts and Commerce. Some also spoke of their personal struggles and sought to join the fight against the patriarchal structure, “We don’t have any freedom, even today my father tells me what not to wear, where to not go and so on. We need to get over this mindset,” said a student from Lady Shri Ram College.

Students also expressed concerns about the representation of women in politics, both in policy decisions and at important positions in the country. A student pointed out that even with three female cabinet ministers, important press conferences and announcements are always done by the male members of the cabinet citing the example of Shri. Arun Jaitley addressing the crowd after Balakot strike. “It’s disheartening to see women in politics only being referred to as somebody’s amma (mother), beti (daughter) or behen (sister). In my constituency, a female candidate was contesting for the assembly seat but the posters had pictures of her husband,” another complained.

A major concern for all the students was the condition of minorities under the current government. Most felt that although it was predominantly a women’s march, it stood for equality. It sought to dismantle a system that has been controlled by a specific section of the population whose policies and ideas made it dangerous for minorities to live in the country. Jaya Sharma, who works for a non- profit fighting for the rights of adivasi women said, “It’s extremely scary for all of us, I’m an upper caste, upper class Hindu woman and even for me the implications are scary. We cannot even begin to imagine the extent of fear that minorities feel. If there is anything we can do to stop them from coming to power again, we should do it.”

Although it was a big milestone for the feminist movement, it was very rare to see this scale of intersectionality in representation. A lot of students agreed to the fact that because of the social class they belonged to and the universities they attended, their feminism was not necessarily inclusive enough. “That is why it’s important to come to spaces like these where you get to see the larger picture. The correct way to participate  is to be conscious of the things you are saying, conscious of music you are listening to, to be aware on a day to day basis, to reflect on your mistakes and apologize. I think it’s a process,” said Sharon from Jesus and Mary College when asked about how she ensures inclusivity in her feminism. Amala from O.P Jindal Global University added, “I try to constantly read other voices from communities who don’t necessarily occupy a big place in society and therefore try to take myself out of the echo- chamber and try to encourage other people to do that as well. Obviously our university spaces are very elite and privileged, but we have to ensure that we’re exposed to other voices as well.”

The march and in extension, the movement is being carried out with the hope of carving out a distinct and powerful voice in the political scenario. “I would like to be heard. This is more of a pre-election forum for women to voice their struggles and to make it known to people that they are a force in the country “ said a student when asked what she hoped would be the outcome of the march. ‘Save our Constitution’, was what the biggest banner in the march said and it was reflective of the palpable fear that all the participants held. The actions of the current government has attacked the core values of our constitution that it had affected every single community that lived in the country.

Feature Image Credits: Pragati Thapa for DU Beat.

Pragati Thapa

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The Politics of the Gillette Ad

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The Gillette commercial has divided opinion and provoked boycotts of the firm by some men. Is it really that offensive or just a sign of toxic masculinity which men keep on denying?

Toxic masculinity. You’re already so tired of reading and re-reading this phrase in every feminist piece of writing, right? Well, that’s good. People should make themselves aware of one of the main causes behind women getting killed, raped and mutilated every year.

The Gillette ad, which has been in the news recently talks about toxic masculinity. The advertisement features news clips of the #MeToo movement, as well as images showing sexism in films, in boardrooms, and of violence between boys and asking men in the end, “Is this the best a man can get?” The way men reacted to it talks lengths about the very prevalence of toxic masculinity in the society. Who knew that a shaving ad which is asking men to hold each other accountable could provoke such a negative backlash?

What are men exactly complaining about? They believe that the advertisement emasculates men. Others are screaming, asking to leave men alone and not jump in the “Men are trash” bandwagon. There are a few who are stating that it’s a marketing strategy by the company to monetise the #MeToo movement and basically, cater to an audience which is self-aware and demand that corporations take a stand on social issues.

Do you see the problem here? Why do I have a feeling that the men that are offended over this ad are the very men responsible for the things that they are being called out for? How can being asked to not sexually harass women on the streets threaten you and your manhood so much as to boycott the company whose products define your manliness? Is it too feminine for you to not be violent? Well, boys will be boys, right?

Of course, there are men who’re doing their best to make this world a better place. Even the advertisement is not denying this. Nobody expects men to let go of their presuppositions and their deeply embedded, social conditioning which time and again, makes them think that they possess more power and privilege over others, overnight. It takes time, but small steps are necessary in this direction. Educating yourself and listening to the women in your life is one such step.

It was time that somebody talked about it, publicly. Yes, this was an advertisement by Gillette to sell its products but it did start a conversation around positive masculinity. The world is paying attention, and so are you. Isn’t that the reason why you’re reading this article? Well, now you’re thinking about it and maybe giving a thought or two about your own skewered, toxic masculinity and Gillette’s shaving blade too. Mission accomplished.

Feature Image credits- Paste Magazine

Disha Saxena
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The Girl with a PhD: Dr. Kamala Sohonie

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In a country where women are still told which professions are suitable for their gender, Sohonie is an inspiration who literally helped open the doors of research in science to women. If somebody ever says “women are not cut out for science”, use excerpts from Sohonie’s story to inspire you forward.

 

“Kamala Sohonie was a quiet, unassuming person. A woman of few words.”- Vasumati Dhuru, an Indian author.

 

This woman of few words, born in 1911, had decided as a young child that she would become a renowned chemist just like her uncle because she resembled him in appearance. The hurdles, struggles, and misogyny did not exist for the young kid’s resolution. That did not deter her from going on to earn the title of the “first female PhD-holder of India”. Her contemporaries were budding to satiate their love for curiosity, but Dr. Sohonie had to pay the penalty of rebuke and ostracisation for her curiosity, despite the unwavering support of her highly-educated family.

 

Graduating first in her BSc course class from Bombay University, she challenged the first Asian Nobel Laureate in Physics- Dr. C.V. Raman- when he refused her admission for Master’s at the Indian Institute of Science based on her gender. She publicly stated later on, “I can never forget the way he treated me just because I was a woman. This was a great insult to me.” Yet when it came to enduring his unnecessary conditions for allowing her an education at the Indian Institute of Science, she did it all for the love of science. Professor Raman began to admit female students after Kamala’s work captivated his scientific mind. She surpassed the stereotype and opened the door, quite literally, for female curiosity.

 

She won a scholarship for Cambridge, then a fellowship at the laboratory of Fredrick G. Hopkins. Less than 16 months after working under the Nobel Laureate, she submitted a thesis on the role of cytochrome-C in the respiration of plant tissue. Her doctorate was one of the landmarks for the entire science community because it was merely forty pages in length, when theses of over ten thousand words were a common convention.

 

Returning to India in 1939, she became a professor and the HOD of biochemistry at Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi. She joined the Royal Institute of Science in Bombay as a professor in 1947, but it took her four years to head the department because of gender biases and politics. This Rashtrapati Award winner who worked on ‘Neera’ collapsed and died, 86, at the Indian Council of Medical Research shortly after her honouring ceremony, in a setting she strived in her life to be a part of.

 

Image Credits: Feminism in India

 

Anushree Joshi

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Frida Kahlo: The Unafraid, Defiant Woman

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Frida Kahlo, the Mexican artist, lives in the mind and soul of every woman who knows about her. Her self- portraits, political activism and feminist way of living have left a mark on people around the world, granting her the status of being a rebel in a world controlled by patriarchy.

In the year 1924, the 17-year-old Frida Kahlo posed for the family photograph wearing a traditional gentleman’s 3- piece suit.  Bold, if you ask me. This is Frida Kahlo for you. When I think of her, I think of her vivid self- portraits and artwork, her unibrow and the moustache she kept and the radical feminism she represented. She’s had a life one can only imagine. Nothing, absolutely nothing could stop her from the path she had chosen for herself.

Women have been, since time immemorial, looking for role models and idols, especially the women of colour. Frida Kahlo is just the woman, a woman whose revolutionary politics and painful personal life is a compelling and inspiring story in itself. Today, the Mexican artist’s work sells more than any other female artist in the world.

Frida spent most of her childhood bed-ridden. Frida had polio when she was six. At the age of 18, she met with a bus accident that marred her for life. She was skewered by a metal handrail that entered through her hip and exited through her vagina. After the accident, she decided to leave her medical career and pursue her childhood passion of becoming an artist. “Feet, what do I need them for, if I have wings to fly?” Frida Kahlo wrote in her diary. She was born on 6 July 1907 three years before the Mexican Revolution. Her mother was a Mexican Catholic and father, a European atheist who taught her the nuances of photography.  In 1927, she joined the Mexican Communist Party where she met her future husband and artist Diego Rivera. When Frida was 22 she got married to the 42-year-old Diego.

Her marriage with Diego was tumultuous and rocky. It was an unconventional union where Frida and Diego shared their love for art and politics. It survived Diego’s reckless infidelities, Frida’s miscarriages and her inability to have children, her poor health and even her bisexual affairs. Diego cheated on Frida with her sister, Cristina. Later, Frida had a passionate affair with Marxist revolutionary, Leon Trotsky. The two of them were unfit for monogamy, to say the least.  The couple got divorced in 1940 but they remarried again within a year. It is believed that she slept with her husband’s mistress after she found about the extramarital affair.

Frida loved her country more than anything else. She was deeply influenced by the Mexican culture and often used it in her artwork with the use of bright colours and dramatic symbols and signs. She especially loved the cultural aesthetics of the Tehuantepec, a matriarchal society in the Tehuantepec Isthmus, a tropical rainforest in southern Mexico. Their clothing, in particular, caught her eye—the reboza’s (traditional Mexican shawl) colour, the huipil’s (blouse) elegance, the grandeur of traditional Tehuana dresses.

The days when she couldn’t walk, she would stare at herself in the hand mirror and paint. Her self- portraits depicted the physical pain she endured her entire adult life as well as the psychological wounds. ”I will paint myself,” Frida Kahlo once said, “because I am so often alone because I am the subject I know best.”

Frida was unapologetic about who she was. She loved to wear makeup, dance, and flirt. She fiercely embraced her life, full of challenges and obstacles. She was true and honest to herself and used to reject the label of being a ‘surrealist’ painter. She took up space which rightfully belonged to her. Through her paintings, she openly talked about subjects which the public viewed to be a taboo like abortion, domestic violence, and divorce. Frida’s art refreshes you and her style of painting communicates with you, often in heartbreaking ways. She died in 1954, but her legacy, her truthfulness, and unabashed love for life continue to live decades later. Her paintings, journal entries, medical equipment and personal items are on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London with the exhibition titled Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up.

 

Feature Image Credits: 1843 Magazine

Disha Saxena
[email protected]

 

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DUB Speak

Editorial: “Un-learning” in a Women’s College

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Being in a women’s college was once a decision made on the basis of cut-offs and convenience, however, it ended up being a transforming life experience.
One of the greatest gifts I stumbled upon in life, was the opportunity to study in a women’s only institution. At the risk of being stereotyped as an angry misandrist, I would say that merely experiencing a space that is free from men is important. Women’s colleges, especially in the University of Delhi (DU), are starkly different from their coeducational counterparts. Women’s only colleges are fundamentally non-political and more academically driven spaces, with fewer opportunities to channel youthful angst. However, the mere existence of women’s colleges gives us the opportunity to step away from what can almost always be the inescapable presence of men. This is not to say that we are running from them, it is to emphasise that the heteronormative spaces that accommodate both the genders can often be stifling because of the overpowering presence of men.
Without the active presence of men, all roles including the roles of a goon, the angry ambitious student politician, the bully, the guide, the mentor are all taken up by women. Women in co-educational set-ups are usually allocated dainty little spaces with cookie cutter edges, all the while carrying the Sisyphean burden of being wise, compassionate, and forgiving. The luxury of failing, losing one’s calm, being selfish, is exclusively reserved for men. The emotional toll of merely existing as a woman is no secret. Being the bigger person in a conflict, staying out of conflict or controversy, or being the peacemaker, is draining to those of us who are not peacemakers at heart.
This does not imply that the patriarchy does not seep into women’s colleges. Indecent curfew timings, the kind that assumes women are delicate flowers in need of protection, are controlling and unquestioned. Women’s colleges and the problem of how to accommodate transgender students within their ambit is a question that remains unanswered. The varsity is now operating on two extremes, on one end are girls colleges: apolitical and academic, the ones that win it laurels. On the other end of the spectrum, are co-educational colleges: angsty and troublesome, inciting chaos. It is almost as though the varsity is a parental figure and girls colleges are demure daughters, while co-educational colleges are trouble-stirring sons.
I do not imply that men are toxic, and do not claim to be victimised by their mere presence either. But the set-up of a women’s only college is not normal, it is not representative of the real structure of society. Therefore, the gender roles that are well-established in society, to the point that we do not even question them, do not accompany us inside the walls of these institutions. Instead, realisation about the extent and impact of the patriarchy,
can sometimes be felt by moving into segregated spaces, since the alternative offers us no respite from the status quo.
Being in a space exclusively reserved for women has been revolutionary because it has helped me grasp the extent to which the patriarchy influences us, it has helped me understand and un-learn problematic behaviour that Is internalised. Gloria Steinem said, “The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.” A women’s college has helped me un-learn that only men lift heavy desks across corridors. From physically scaling walls to tie up election banners to manually guarding barricades on the celebrity performance during the college fest, I’ve seen women do it all. It isn’t merely limited to the physically challenging aspect of it. Emotionally, it has been a liberating experience that has allowed me to enjoy female friendship and finally understand, that it is irreplaceable and most relevant in order to understand and experience the beauty of
being a woman.
To know and bask in the presence of women who are smarter, kinder, more resilient, and compassionate than me has been an opportunity of a
lifetime. “Unlearning” what the patriarchy has conditioned me to believe would be a lifelong journey, but I am glad I got a head-start in my
alma mater, surrounded by women who inspired me for a lifetime.
Feature Image Credits: Kartik Kakar for DU Beat
Kinjal Pandey
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