WOMAN THEN AND NOW

Disclaimer Through this post I am neither trying to hurt the religious sentiments of any one nor am I insulting any God or religion. So anyone who doesn’t like my post please ignore this and don’t feel offended

I have been watching Ramayan serial on NDTV Imagine off and on from its beginning.

It is a very good effort by the producers to teach the young generation our rich mythological culture and make them realize the importance of family, family values, obedience and motivate them to read our sacred religious testament RAMAYAN. (my son also watches it almost regularly and he has come to know about this inspirational heritage of our culture and the value it teaches.

What I am commenting is on the status of women which is portrayed in Ramayan (in the serial as well as the sacred book)

Yesterday’s episode showed Luv Kush telling the whole of Ayodhya that they are Rams sons. But Ram to be a Just and principled King asks them to call Sita and to prove that they are indeed Ram’s son and she has to prove her Satitava. ( I suppose people from Indian origin will be aware of these religious facts and if not then please read it)

Once again I have nothing against the religious sentiments or our religion but what brought the anger in me to surface was the way Sita was made to prove her innocence ,her loyalty towards her husband and her purity again in again.
The Agnipraiksha ( One of its own kind, I have never heard of woman proving her chasteness any where else by passing through fire) which she had given after she was rescued from the clutches of Ravana , was that not enough , that now once again she was asked to prove to the whole world her purity?.
(Pray tell me how one can prove that one is loyal to her/his spouse? And how could she prove at that time (thousands of years ago) that Luv Kush are Ram’s sons (I suppose we didn’t have DNA Test at that time)

Why was Sita forced to face such an embarrassing situation?

This makes me wonder that position of woman in our society has not changed. It is still the same. During that era of our civilization, i.e. the Satyug period, women were subjected to such humiliation and even now we stand at the same platform. Women are degraded by the hands of their husbands, inlaws, children, unknown people, and religion and at times by the woman themselves.

(Today again in TOI there is mention of an 11 year old being raped by her father and the mother doesn’t have the guts to complaint against her husband)
and another case of a woman gang raped by 5 police man!!! where is the safety for woman?

Coming back to story of Ramayan

Think about the plight of Mandodari, wife of Ravan who was forced to live with the fact that her husband has kidnapped another woman and wants to marry her despite of him having sons of marriageable age.

Even now wives are facing the humiliation of living with and sheltering husbands who commit rape. Where is the change???

There are innumerable incidences in our history or religion where women were victimized, insulted and made to bow down to unreasonable dictates of husbands or men in general

I am unable to comprehend whether there has been emancipation of women or not over a period of time? If yes, then why the ban on Jeans in the girls colleges as it attracts boys and forces them to eve tease!!!!!, as if a fully covered women will not be eve teased by men?)

I am aware of the revolution in the fields of education, equality, employment, financial independence but at one time or other women are subjected to discrimination by the hands of men.

May be I am sounding confused (actually I am) because of jumbled up emotions and thoughts in my mind but the fact remains that my blood boils when I see members of my sex in such helpless situations.

i am no feminist but a normal woman who feels suffocated when i read about the injustice metted out the woman.