‘Shakti’ – Feminism

In a ‘Shakti Poojak’ society, where all forms of power and all the manifestations of energy are identified as a female being. Our biggest struggle today is female emancipation, such irony. Feminism, as a thought has been a part of the Indian sub consciousness since time immemorial.Research, all around the world has reiterated the fact that females are a stronger gender. We tend to live more, have better immune systems and are lesser prone to cardiovascular illnesses. So much so, the female premature baby has better chances of survival than a male baby in the exact same circumstances. I feel there is an innate connection of these empirical observations that have come to the fore today to the fact that strength, dynamic energy of creation, maintenance and destruction was referred to as ‘Shakti’, since the Vedic era.

Sadly, The ‘Shakti’ of all these girls was systematically diminished over a period of time. Decades of objectification, exploitation, and subjugation are to be blamed.

So much so today we are convinced as a majority, of them being powerless. For centuries together they have been given delicate toys to play with, have been introduced to softer games, trained to believe they are meant for jobs that require lesser strength. On the other side the instinctive power of boys is harnessed through games of power, toys like cars and guns. The female strength has been strategically domesticated. The state of nature and the foundations of the Indian culture, both don’t stand with the society’s view of subjugation of women. It was done by very shrewd men. Scared of being overpowered and ruled by a superior gender.

FEMINISM IS SOMETHING THAT HAS A VARIETY OF DEFINITIONS, TYPES, MEANINGS, AND INTERPRETATIONS. The term and the movement is already multifaceted, and so when we consider Indian feminism, there are a number of other questions that come into play, says ISHANEE SHARMA, Managing Partner, Ishanee Sharma Law offices

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Now the pertinent question is that how does one, in today’s time, work on eroding the foundations of the idea that the female sex and women as a gender are inherently weaker or prone to subjugation? This idea has been given multiple facile and misogynistic justifications, which collude with the dominant discourses of science, history, politics, etc. Perhaps our intervention should be in examining these discourses and finding the slippages that mainstream culture has deliberately carried out. Looking back at history with a feminist perspective, we find role models in a number of women who have time and time again defied the patriarchal mores affecting their lives and the lives of the women around them. Why don’t we look back upon these strong women and strong models of womanhood more frequently and more widely? It might have something to do with the double bind of patriarchy and a colonial past. We need to unearth these concerns as we go along and unearth the lives of these women.

In doing this, we also need to consider some questions about Indian feminism itself. Feminism is something that has a variety of definitions, types, meanings, and interpretations. The term and the movement is already multifaceted, and so when we consider Indian feminism, there are a number of other questions that come into play. Is the relationship between Indian feminism and western models of feminism simply a derivative one, or is it more dynamic than it has been understood to be? What can we look towards when we try to find the foundation of Indian feminisms.

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