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Working Women in India: Can They Work Without Fear?
The reference to Monica Mogre case files is indeed directed to the serial aired on a popular TV channel, which clearly depicts the adversities that are faced by working women in "modern" India. To know a working woman is believable, routine and necessary for many but for others, it is something so out of the ordinary that resistance comes naturally. This resistance is meant to be interpreted on a larger scale as it arises due to shift in the paradigm of the society wherein all of a sudden, women hold the potential to act as a formidable threat to the very authority that the society and its preachers have practiced for long. The resistance shapes up as ostracization or complete eradication of such "nuisances" who dared. Laws of Manu, written by the first ‘King’ of Indian Tradition, have stated that a woman needs to be controlled because she can weaken a man therefore to rid the society of any such "weaknesses", controlling a woman becomes a necessity! This so called Law holds that a woman's rightful place is behind her husband (not with him) and her moral duty comprises of looking after the house, the kitchen, producing kids, ensuring the comfort of the family and sacrificing all that she thinks can make her happy. All this …just to control the "weakness"! The anxiety faced by millions of women working in India is clearly evident and mirrored by the statistics where an astonishing 53% of working women in India fear for their safety owing to the miscreants of the society who think that is their birth right to get rid of such women who do not "respect and abide" by the "laws" of the society. Delhi shows an amazing figure of 65% of women who tread fearfully to their work places. The number reaches to 35% in Hyderabad, 28% in Chennai and 26% in Mumbai. As so in the serial “The Monica Mogre case files", plenty of these women are attacked by practitioners of the "Law" of the society. As per the common perception, these practitioners do not comprise of only illiterate people but a major chunk comprises of well educated people- people who work in the administrative forces of the country, lawyers, servicemen, businessmen and teachers included. The miscreants do not make their presence known only by way of violent attacks such as murders and throwing of acid; but go a bit more "legalized" by filing suits for immoral behavior for something as small as wearing a skirt in office or the issuance of fatwa to Sania Mirza for wearing a skirt to play a match!!! Such petty excuses are used just to make a point that they are right and what they say and practice must be adhered to. On a slightly brighter side however; one would have to say that at least such a section of our population vocalizes their discomfort and disgust to see a woman working, but the more dangerous is the sect that is analogous to the " biting dogs seldom bark"! For example, during a train journey I heard an elder gentleman converse with somebody over the phone (No! I was not eavesdropping; he was so loud that I couldn't help hearing!). The gentleman said that 'Girls need to work only for one or two years and then they should get married. Why work when you shall be married? And anyway, the working environment spoils girls as they then face difficulty in adjusting to a new environment aka their in-laws and we do not want that our girl should embarrass us by being unadjusting.' But the cake goes to this Uncle I met who was really well off. I must mention that he is the MD of a leading MNC. I had gone over for dinner to his place along with a mutual friend, where he showed us his daughter's pictures. Turned out that she was as old as I was at that time, which was 18. I was shocked to learn, that she was already married and was studying in UK. The Uncle tells me that ' Bete, girls do not need to study or work; they should just get married and go to their in-laws at the earliest. After that if the husband permits so, she is free to do what she wants. You must wonder how such people qualify to being the more dangerous ones. Well, on one hand you project that you are a perfect blend of modernism and send your daughters to the best of schools, get them the best education, best dresses, get them into sports and tell your 'princesses' that they can do anything in the world. But, on the other hand, you tell your daughters, ‘you will gain nothing by studying so much, so get married and you never know when shall you get a match as good as this one!’ Isn't it hypocritical and shameful that first you promise her the world and then say ' I am sorry beta, somebody already bought it.’? The attack here is not momentary which finishes in two days, two weeks or two months; the attack is prolonged and stretched out as it is the girl's mind that you twist and turn around over a long period; the end result of which is that she just resigns to her fate and submits to the "Laws" of the society. This entire mélange of thought processes of the people, brings up a reality check, that in the movement of women voicing their concern and breaking silence to live free, there shall always be the doubt: is it really possible in a country like India for women to work without fear?
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