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This Independence Day, India is celebrating 72 years of freedom. While the country celebrates its liberation from the British rule, it may seem that freedom in its correct sense, is still a dream too far to achieve, especially for the women of India. It's 2018 and women are still having to demand their freedom, to fight for it, to struggle to free the minds of several in India of biases against us. We continue to be judged, to be made dependent, to be looked down upon, to be shamed.
Therefore, this Independence Day, we, at LatestLY, decided to ask our women contributors to tell us what freedom means to them and what freedom do they seek. Here's what they have to say:
Freedom to choose and decide: Freedom to me is women being able to make a choice without having to think of man-made consequences. Case in point - I've come across various surveys over the past few months about women having to quit their careers for giving time to their family, especially when they were having children. The decision of having a child or not shouldn't be a stress for the woman - personally or professionally. That her body can reproduce shouldn't go against her when it comes to her career. If a woman decides to have a child without having to lose out on her career, she should be able to do that freely. This would be freedom from bosses who think a woman shouldn't get an increment while she is pregnant or a woman cannot be given a job because she is pregnant.
True freedom means a little less internalised misogyny from my fellow women. Instead of bringing each other down, let's work towards building each other up; instead of judging another woman's choices by the yardsticks we set for ourselves, let's become a little more accepting of each other; and before we expect gender equality from the society, we should first treat each other as equals. Let's understand, empower and uplift each other.
Freedom to imagine: As a woman, my parents did give me the freedom to imagine and to achieve I could dream anything under the sun but as I grew older - the concerned aunts and uncles began to intrude. As a girl and now woman in India, our potential is first tied to our gender and then age. We have to finish our education by 21, and higher education by 24. As soon as we get our first job, the talks start of finding the 'right boy'. The girl 'should get married by 26, and be pregnant nine months later. Her dreams are sacrificed at the altar of achieving the quintessential happy Indian family of 'Hum do, Hamare do'.
The Indian woman is not a person. She is a vagina because the family's izzat rests there. Her womb is of utmost importance because she is the carrier of the vanshaj. She is also tasked with the duty of carrying forward the traditions of the family she has married into. If she does not, she is not the correct sort of 'bahu'.
What she is not given is the freedom to be herself, freedom to imagine the endless possibilities under the sky and follow through on them.
Freedom to me means the ability to take decisions without falling to any conceived notions or getting branded. A woman may be empowered today but she is still not given the confidence that she can take her own decisions, in many fields. If there is one freedom that we still lack in today's time is to truly embrace her individual freedom without being scared of her safety at every stage.
Freedom to me means being able to think independently, doing things which I want to do, stepping out of the house at any time and in whichever clothes I want to wear. I don't want to be judged, or my character assassinated by people who don't even know me. If I have an opinion, I should have the freedom to share my views without my voice being suppressed. If a woman leaves office citing period cramps, it means she is unwell, and it is not an excuse, if she is on her maternity leave, it means she is not on her vacation. Freedom will be when people around us understand that just because we bleed and have a womb, it doesn't make us less intelligent and a less valuable resource.
While India is celebrating its 72nd year of independence, our country needs to develop in leaps and bounds when it comes to portraying a woman in the society. People out there still objectify women on the basis of their looks and how they dress. As a woman, freedom to me means when we can step out without worrying about our safety or being looked down upon by moral police. In many Indian households, girls and women are expected to follow certain norms like it's an obligation. And sometimes more than the men, women need to be each other's pillars of strength instead of putting each other down. Standing up for each other instead of being bogged down by societal pressure, that is how we will be able to achieve freedom in truest sense.
Freedom for me is living the way you want to and spending your hard-earned money the way you wish to, without giving it any second thought. Like you earn enough and spend on things that make you happy and not get questioned for it in any way. Freedom for me is freedom of the mind and soul. If you have these two things, you have everything in the world.
Freedom to me is freedom to make mistakes. One has to go through this trial and error method to chase the distant dreams. If you are going on without giving in to the social pressure or opinions of others, then you are already experiencing the best kind of freedom. I wouldn't imagine myself trading this habit, I've lately imbibed in me for anything.
Freedom is about making choices without bothering about ‘Log Kya Kahenge’. For me, freedom is about enjoying professional successes wholeheartedly without anyone brutally reminding me of not achieving a milestone in my personal life aka “25 pe shaadi, 30 pe bacha and 35 pe dusra bacha.” A woman’s career is often seen as a hobby, something that personally bothers me quite deeply. There’s nothing wrong in being over-ambitious, headstrong, financially independent and a go-getter. And I need the freedom to be all of that without being judged by our esteemed society.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 15, 2018 08:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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