Guwahati, March 8: In an era when women have leaped forward in educational attainment, sports and workforce participation, relatively few have made the journey to the highest levels of political, entrepreneurial or corporate leadership. Despite the never-ending conversation of men vs women, women have carved a niche for themselves thereby giving a reason to believe that women are capable of doing amazing things and need to be recognised as they continue to inspire.
Alana Golmei
"I believe women are more passionate, emotional and capable of doing much better than what men can do. However, women are seldom found in top positions. The fact that India does not have a female Chief Justice of India till now is a case in point. There is a priority for men to be on the top, wherever it is, in court or any other position," said Alana Golmei, an activist and lawyer who started the North East Support Centre & Helpline in 2007 to assist and prevent harassment and abuses meted out to women, the North East people and tribal communities in Delhi and National Capital Region in India.
While asserting that representation of women in the judicial system holds significance as it adds a layer of gendered perspective apart from projecting equality, Golmei is of the view that women bring their lived experiences to their judicial actions, experiences that tend toward a more comprehensive and empathetic perspective.
"We are in a society where there is a patriarchal mindset, it has to be removed, then only we can have an equal society. Even if we talk about education and job, the important thing is to remove the patriarchal mindset," Golmei added.
Hasina Kharbhih
When it comes to innovation, entrepreneurship, businesses, impactful work women always tend to scale deeper than men which sets them apart. Men are more inclined to take up the franchise model and number becomes the priority, whereas in case of women scaling deeper comes naturally, says Hasina Kharbhih, Founder and Managing Director of Impulse NGO Network.
Kharbhih stated that women have always been conditioned to conform to social and cultural status quos, so they need to challenge these ideas of what a woman can and cannot do, and take up spaces from which they were previously excluded.
"A lot of women still today are conditioned by the cultural upbringing, no matter how much educated they are, once women take higher position and when there is a family the tendency of not moving forward comes naturally which is not the case with men. This is where the gender disparity continues to occur. However, women have to think and move forward and take leadership roles," asserts Kharbhih.
Sangeeta Datta
Differing from the concept that women can do amazing things than men, Sangeeta Datta, consultant neuropsychiatrist from Aditya Medicity, Guwahati says that the idea is to prove that both the genders are equal partners in life and they should walk hand in hand in every sphere of life.
"Biologically and naturally women are blessed of doing certain things that men are not capable of doing but the point is not to prove that women are better than men but to focus on removing the gender bias or discrimination existing in the society that has limited the women from moving forward," says Datta.
She also says that women have been deprived of several things including their right to education, freedom, desires and wishes since time immemorial. "Women have been deprived of many things and they were being judged, given lesser jobs, salary, were abused. Moreover, there are upbringing issues and stereotyping which needs to be removed," says Datta.
Datta further added that women are as good as men when it comes to a particular job. "If men are efficient and productive so are women. A woman has been biologically created differently than a man so when it comes to intellectual abilities or social performance, I think women do excel compared to men in several areas. It is time to break the gender bias."
While acclaiming the ordinary women who have performed extraordinarily in different fields from different countries, caste, regions etc. Datta said that women are subject to discrimination in various cases including body shaming and sexuality.
"Psychology says that sexuality and sexual needs are relevant both in men and women, these are physiological needs. When a man talks about his sexual needs it is considered normal whereas when a woman talks about it, she is called names. This is also gender bias. It is not just about getting a proper job or opportunities, salary, right to education, freedom, etc. It is also about the basic things in life that women have been discriminated for ages," says Datta.
Onen Nenty
Women are conditioned differently from an early age, not many people encourage their daughters to follow their dreams or whatever they want to do in life. Now it is time to change the mindset, says Onen Nenty who is one of the few recognised women bikers from Nagaland.
"The conversation of men vs women has been a long drawn one, the society is judgemental when it comes to women. The need of the hour is to establish a support system for one another and create a safe ecosystem and speak out for the right of women. Moreover, women also need to take the leap of faith and give their best in whatever they do. They should be encouraged to think out of the box, as they are not only meant to be in the kitchen. She can be a police officer and a good wife at the same time," says Nenty.
