Probably one of the most difficult topics to write on; not because of the social paradigms but because of the inner conflict and bias that surrounds me.
Being a woman, it is expected out of me to not only be a feminist but to also not take anything less than the first spot amidst this gender superiority debate. However, my take on this is a little different.
Evolution gives us the base of this distinction, and how men and women, evolved in their roles throughout their physical, mental and sexual development. When we understand this conflict from the evolution paradigm, the results are pretty simple and interesting. According to evolution, both men and women were developed to perform different tasks based on their mental and biological developments. While men were better navigators and hunters, women were better at gathering food, building homes and protecting the tribes too! to explain this better, the ideas on which these explanations have been formulated are pretty simple; while men had better cognitive processing of 3D figures and were often restless and energetic, they were better suited for hunting and fighting. Women, on the other hand, were more focused, aware and had better visual perception than men, and hence, were responsible for gathering food and building homes.
Evolution still provides just a basic idea to our question. The real understanding happens when we weigh these gender roles in the social spectrum and how across ages the roles have defined an identity beyond gender and genitals.
Different societies have a different perception of women and have evolved with times. For example, the Greek civilisation, earliest to have democracy as its political system did not allow women to vote, work or take decisions of the household and were expected to simply take care of the house, provide sexual pleasures to the men of the house and dutifully abide by anything expected out of them. A very clear indication of these practices can be observed from various Greek mythologies.
Few hundred years later, the British society, said to have colonised as many as sixteen countries from all around the world had as their supreme commander the Queen, a stark reversal from what happened to them in Greece centuries ago. Furthermore, China and Japan were quite liberal with their womenfolk from the start, where women were considered to be the sole bread earners and were in the army of the rulers as well!
When I talk about these developments, India was no less behind. Rani Laxmibai the queen of Jhansi was one such person to have broken the barriers of Gender to fight for a free India, along with several other female sepoys.
The above explanation simply sets the base for the understanding that while evolution and society have defined the gender role in quite a plastered fashion, it will be wrong to say that this mould cannot be broken entirely and that it is to be followed by the word. While women have taken to the battlefield, there are several instances of men running the house. For example, the tribes of north India witness men running homes and women providing sustenance and heading the family. While this may sound weird to majority Indians, this is how these tribes function and this practice, in no way, emasculates the man.
The debate over the superiority of the genders is endless, owing to the history of treatment, ego and intellect of both the genders, However, this debate is not only pointless but also lacks logic. It is no doubt true that women all around the world have been deprived of several rights, robbed of dignity and subjected to various indignities, and history definitely owes us an apology.
However, comparing men and women is like comparing air and water; we cannot survive without either of them.
Men and women are two sides of the same coin; compliments to each other. What one cannot do is taken care of by the other, and what either of them cannot do alone can done together. It all goes back to evolution and the difference in our respective psychologies; which by the way is essential since it brings balance to the world. Our reality today might say that women and equality are far reached causes, however observing this with a subtle mind and logic comes to this conclusion!
I strongly believe that one should be a feminist, only because it is about being equals! The modern definition, however, has seen quite an adulteration where women in the name of rights and equality have time and again played victim, or have made it an excuse. And it is because of such people (both men and women) that women in general, often the less privileged ones, suffer. The math is simple; when demanding quality let there be equality, and equality is never achieved by undermining the other person.
Men and Women are EQUAL not just by birth, law or human rights, but by the virtue of nature and existence. While one is the Shakti, the other is the form. The idea is to see them as two complimenting forces making one unified strength where equity is achieved. A balanced state where more important than dignity, freedom and power is the existence and the identity of either gender, beyond their genders roles imposed by the societies we live in.
I may come out to be passive to few, regressive to many and wrong to a lot of people, however, I do believe that emotions and logic often never go together, and this is currently the state of many in the world. A battle which can be won when fought together, is now being fought against each other. The results? Everyone loses!
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