India inaugurated their first woman president this week.
An historic occasion worthy of headline news? Of course. But a day that will mark a change in the lives of women in India…doubtful.
Headline skimming on the Internet makes it seem like Pratibha Patil’s swearing in as president is a social triumph for India and her women.
Gone will be the days of female foeticide, sexual harassment, and dowry. Well, that’s what supporters of the new president are quoted as saying.
When you take into account that India runs on a parliamentary system, (i.e. the president is the mascot, prime minister is the captain) it brings to light concerns voiced by women leaders here that while many women do hold diverse and high ranking positions in government, they are often there as show pieces who fill quotas but lack real voice in policy and decision making.
Women playing in power but lacking in power plays is not a new concern from women’s rights groups and is one that exists worldwide. It is, however, interesting to see the debate play out in India -- a country that simultaneously reveres the feminine grace of a woman wearing a bright-colored sari while riding sidesaddle on the back of a motorcycle, her hair flowing in the wind, and yet dreads the birth of a baby girl.
To include the voice of an Indian woman on the topic, I pasted below an excerpt from an editorial in The Times of India:
CYNICAL CONTRARIAN: Women on top? Poof!
26 Jul 2007
Diya Sengupta
“…Truth be told, one was downright disgusted, and insulted, when a woman as president of India was equated with the overall empowerment of women in the country…On another note, it wouldn't be far-fetched to compare a woman president with the common women of India. Women in our land have been worshipped as Durga (goddess of war), Saraswati (goddess of knowledge) and what not…
To an outsider it would seem that the women of India enjoy high status and respect, equaled only by the reverence we reserve for our gods. And they do, but only in name. On one hand, we Indians chant various incantations praising women and on the other, we feel no qualms in suppressing them in more ways than can be counted. The same ghar ki Lakshmi' is beaten to pulp if she fails to bring a hefty dowry or bear a boy child.
And that is just one example of the many atrocities inflicted upon women. Women in India, like the president, have a ceremonial high post in society. Go ahead, fete Pratibha on her victory. Just don't call it women's empowerment. It is a symbolic sham and means very little.”
Full editorial text here.
Got Beef?
The bustling beef market is there for none to see
It’s amusing, at least from my foreign perspective, that in a country home to a quarter of the world’s cows, it’s hard to find a good steak. I’m sure that statement alone has you letter writers already thinking up pithy retorts. But here I am, a non-vegetarian gal in New Delhi, looking to increase my iron intake with something besides saag paneer (spinach and cheese).
Maybe it’s not so hard to get a steak around here, but I think I’ll stick with the mutton.
Some other recently published stories for your reading and procrastinating pleasure:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0614/p13s02-wosc.html
http://asap.ap.org/stories/1515251.s