Women in the 21^st Century

Women are an integral part of human society. But for a woman, there couldn’t have been any man. She is the mother of mankind. Despite holding such an important and unquestionable position, role of women has been defined by men over millennia. Our Vedas tell us that women held an important place in ancient culture. No ritual was ever complete without the presence of a woman by her man’s side. All our gods are worshipped alongside their heavenly consorts. There is no dichotomy there. No one questions this. The staunchest of male chauvinist reverentially bows his head to Goddess Lakshmi, or Durga. It is not considered a sign of weakness to bow to female deities.

Women at home and society in general, are a different cup of tea. They are treated as second class citizens. How did this ‘battle of sexes’ begin? How did the men win the winning hand? I think that economics had a role to play in the scheme of things. When man took on the role of a bread earner, and woman took the natural role of a nurturer, these roles suited their intended role by the Creator. Man was physically strong, while the woman was inherently strong. Over a period of time the man started believing that his role was superior to that of the woman as without him there would be no food at the table. Woman’s role was taken as for granted. The physically feeble woman was led to believe this lie for centuries.

Someone as respected as Socrates said that the only reason he put up with his wife, Xanthippe, was that she bore him sons. He said it was like putting up with the noise of geese because they produce eggs and chicks. What an analogy from the most revered philosopher of all ages! Closer home Manu said in 200 B.C.: "by a young girl, by a young woman, or even by an aged one, nothing must be done independently, even in her own house". "In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sons; a woman must never be independent."

It is only when things went way beyond the level of tolerance that the women raised their voices. The first such voice was heard loud and clear in the early 19^th century, when the term ‘women suffragists’ became a household word in the west. We were a British colony at that time, but women across Europe and United States rose as an entity demanding suffrage, or the right to vote. It is to the credit of these courageous women that today women’s right to vote is a ‘given’ in most of the free world, though there are still some countries, mainly in the Middle East that still deny women their universal right to vote.

The suffragists had two points of views. One view was that women’s natural place was at home and the voting rights will enable them to help formulate laws that affect life at home. The other view was that men and women should be equal in every way and there was no such thing as a ‘natural’ role for a woman. The ‘suffrage’ movement can be seen as the first wave of the ‘feminist’ movement that caught widespread imagination in 1960s -1980s. This second wave dealt with the inequalities of laws, as well as perceived cultural inequalities. Although the term ‘feminist’ was coined in 1880, its usage as a movement gained ground in 1960s onwards.

‘Feminists’ were those men and women who wrote, spoke and acted on behalf of women and their rights to social, economical, and political equality. Famous writer Rebecca West defined feminism the best with her now famous comments, “I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat, or a prostitute.” Unfortunately this wave got more publicity and notoriety for now infamous, and according to some ‘fictitious’ bra burning episodes, and got identified with that. In this phase, women tried to equate themselves with men by proving that they were as good as men, if not better.

Women’s Rights Movement gained mass support in the latter half of the twentieth century when the essential problems like discrimination, inequality and limited opportunities continued to confront women in all spheres of life. The phrase ‘Women’s Liberation’ appeared in print media in 1966. Late sixties also marked a period in human history when more and more women joined institutes of higher education. From then on, women have not looked back.

Today at the dawn of the 21^st century the women across the world are placed at a position of advantage. They are literally on the move. They are paying heed to their inner voice. They are no longer interested in hollow jargon and jingoism. They are finding their individual and collective voice. They are aligned with their conscience, moving ahead with purposeful strides.

21^st century is the century for change. The Planet Earth is ready for ‘The Shift of the Ages’. In this New Age, love and compassion will rule the roost, and the woman with her natural attributes of compassion will sow the seeds of global transformation. These changes have already begun, and soon they will gain an unprecedented momentum. The time is ripe for women of all races, castes, class, and nationalities to come together to be the harbinger of this change. Mother Earth is crying for attention, soon like the mythological ‘Shakti’ it will show its true might and annihilate all the evil forces along the way. Only women can be empathetic to the ‘Mother’s plight in her hour of need. When I say ‘women’, I mean the ‘feminine’ in men and women alike. Indian scriptures have always spoken about ‘Ardhnareeshwar’, the Masculine- Feminine deity. The time has come to invoke that Masculine-feminine balance in all of us.

Events on Earth demand the emergence of the feminine essence of Love all around. In the 21^st century women do not need to look at the historical injustices done to her. It’s time to put all that behind her and look forward to her empowered role in this ‘Aquarian age’. Women today need not look anywhere for a perfect role model. They need to look within and listen to their intuition, to take the right action at the right time. All they need right now is to set the right intention, and all their intentions will bear fruits sooner than later. Such is the power of the New Age.

You may well be asking, how can we change the traditions that have been entrenched in our systems through ages? All I can say is that no matter how entrenched the traditions appear, if they do not resonate with your present reality, they are no longer true for you. This entire Universe is ever-changing, why do you and I need to be stuck in age old systems that no longer serve any purpose? The entire creation is constantly in motion; even our so called traditions are loosening their stranglehold. Try them, give them a push, they will give way.

Have you seen a grown up elephant tied to a tiny stake with an ordinary rope? Have you ever wondered why doesn’t the mighty beast just give a powerful tug and break free? The problem is that since childhood the elephant has been conditioned to believe that he is not capable of breaking free. As a baby, when he was tied to the stake for the first time he did try to break free but could not succeed, eventually he gave up trying, thinking that he can’t; and now when he has grown up to be the most powerful of animals on this Planet, he ‘believes’ that he can’t do it. Beliefs are ‘that’ powerful. Women need to break free of their limiting beliefs.

Do you want to know how you, as a person, can make a difference? In this cosmic dance, we are all partners. When one of us moves a step, it helps rotate the Universe by one degree. When each one of us makes a small, insignificant move, it has the power to move the mountains. Now do you believe in your power? Someone has to become the first to move in your community, your neighborhood, your country. By taking one step, one turn you will affect the lives of women you don’t even know. Who are you waiting for? Get ready to write the history. Will you?

Some of you must be experiencing doubts. ‘I do not have so much courage’. You do not need to be Rani Laxmi Bai to bring about this change. All you need to do is find your voice. All you need to do is spread unconditional love and compassion. Just take that first step in whichever way you can. Use the power of tears, use the power of anger, and use the power of words. But USE it.

Let me assure you that the 21^st century is the century of the ‘feminine’. If you don’t believe me now, you soon will......