Nerve Endings Firing Away

It is strange that we still seem to be grappling with this question. In recent times two unrelated stories pertaining to gender equality surfaced in the Indian media and has been endlessly debated (as always) in the Indian blogosphere.

The first one was the role of women in the army that generated two equally radical viewpoints – one by Shravan and the other by Annie. I identified more with Annie’s post than with Shravan which clearly reeked of male superiority. But then I revisited her post after Greatbong’s fisking [she has a post clarifying her stance]that pointed out some inherent female chauvinism issues which I also agreed with although had a few differing opinions. I couldn’t get down to actually voicing them because by then the comment box had diverted to other pressing matters such as defining journalism.

The second issue was the alleged ‘desecration’ of the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala. In brief, Kannada actress Jaimala admitted that she had once touched the idol of Lord Ayappa after entering the sanctum sanctorum. The temple doesn’t allow women in the age group 10-50 from praying at Sabarimala. This confession has the religious right up in arms and even calls for the temple’s ‘purification’. The bone of contention is that women between those aforementioned ages undergo menstruation that supposedly makes them impure.

We ridicule the Christian Right (which a bumper sticker told me today was neither) who oppose evolution and instead harp on our hypocritical views that perfectly naturally occuring bodily functions is impure. Lord Ayyappa may be considered a bachelor and was born of Hari & Hara (don’t ask me how; beats me too) but I definitely think that he wouldn’t approve the way his devotees indulge in discrimination. Now through the comment boxes of many bloggers, especially Rediff’s Saisuresh we encounter many ridiculous arguments of preversing the status quo ranging from – it is our tradition to there are other temples that women can visit.

Frankly it isn’t a choice-oriented tradition since it doesn’t give women a voice in determining their exculsion. There are other traditions like untouchability and sati which were outlawed although we could have still offered the argument of excluding government funds to discourage such practices, as Neha suggests. Similar thoughts and arguments were expressed during the Civil Rights movement. But somewhere deep down, such practices infringe on basic human rights that is granted to every individual at least in a practicing democracy. If gender discrimination is barred by the constitution, then the state is expected to enforce such laws irrespective of the religious nature of the discrimination. Religion cannot be an excuse for discrimination and arguments that it has been done for ages cannot suffice. I know that the Uniform Civil Code which would make enforcing such cases easier is stalled due to political reasons but I am stating a preferred and morally correct position that may or may not be implementable. But often such seeds of such ideas need to be planted hoping that they may chose to germinate sometime in the future.

But honestly, this isn’t always a male-dominated problem as it often appears to be. If a certain section of a population wants to be free, they should be first free in their mind. They should be enlightened enough to believe that a certain practice is discriminatory and demand equal justice. As I have always maintained, religion can only be changed from within and external influences often make the task difficult. I have seen many women who impose this weird exclusionary tradition on themselves. They may have heard that a woman who is menstruating is impure and cannot enter a temple. Closeted perceptions of adulthood and effect of puberty on an individuals are not discussed often in an Indian household and such topics are considered taboo. This causes women to question such religious practices. I believe in individual choice but cannot do much when a woman refuses to enter a temple even when no one stops her. I speak this from a personal experience when a friend openly admitted that she cannot come visit a temple because she was having her periods (well, not openly). The fact that none of us would mind even if she did and the priests would have no idea didn’t change her mind. I could only shake my head in disbelief that an otherwise smart and educated woman could bow down to such ridiculous religious practices.

The problem I believe, is in the way we perceive women. They have been made to think that they are second-class individuals and any pro-feminist thoughts are ridiculed at being too militant. It is simply a matter of loss of control whether it is the question of allowing women to fight wars or to enter temples. This loss of control is sometimes disguised in form of a protectionist attitude that women are inherently not capable of doing a certain task but such arguments always face a problem of induction. Changing perceptions that have formed over hundreds of years and handed down from generations is not easy and we may not see the change in our lifetimes but we as believers of individual choice and personal freedom can always let our thoughts float free in cyberspace hoping that it might stick somewhere sometime.

There is plenty to be said much more to be shared but space, time, and attention have their limits. Feel free to bash my thoughts or lend your support either in the comments or better still, on your blogs.