Economic empowerment of women has come a long way since the Gandhian times. Now almost every family has its daughter or sister employed somewhere, whether the family belongs to the stiff-collared business class (who generally look down on the working mass) or to the impoverished (read “aam aadmi”) class. The buzz word is to earn some money and be independent.
Recently an uncle, a veteran of many summers, commented drily, “Nowadays girls are least bothered about lighting the gas stove, but in a hurry to earn some bucks outside the portals of the house, even if economic necessity does not warrant it.” Did he sound like a misogynist? He surely did. But he merely implied that girls should make a cost benefit analysis before stepping out due to the lure of the lucre. Money should be weighed against quality of life and time. We hear of parents spending lakhs in educating their progeny, but at times the education is wasted as the progeny pursues some other interest down the line. I remember an uncle of mine who searched desperately for a doctor bride for his doctor son settled abroad. But the girl never took up practice and preferred to be a homemaker, and even more surprisingly, not there but in India.
A stray example of education gone to waste. It is the same with girls burning their caregiver’s money in pursuit of an engineering or a master’s degree, only to remain unemployed after marriage, as if marriage itself was the goal of the degree. Yet in another contrasting example, I heard of a girl, grown up in the rustic background of a coastal town. She went on to complete her bachelor’s degree, the basic eligibility criterion in the marriage market of her community. She got married to an engineer employed abroad. The enthusiastic girl that she was, she honed her entrepreneurship skills from her own initiative and turned into a baker and confectioner par excellence, working from home. She is the mother of three kids too, juggling her responsibilities with aplomb. This only proves that it is not the qualification that matters, but the motivation of the mind and spirit.
Women have broken all shackles and made their mark in almost every field. They have reached the zenith, especially in fields like banking, politics and the tinsel world. It is wonderful to see women so articulate when facing the media, and displaying polished expertise in their chosen fields. Such women assume the figures of super women having shattered many glass ceilings in the male centric scenario. So it is indeed a shame when such women, in the seats of power, let power corrupt them. It is a let down for the “aam aurat”, like me, when the real face behind the facade is revealed in such women. As is said, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Like any other lesser mortals (read men) who do not readily relinquish their seats owning moral responsibility in the face of allegations, recent cases have shown that women, alas, have become likewise brazen, belittling the esteem placed on them and putting to naught the age old belief that women have nobler virtues, and rise above the mainstream. Is this not pointing to moral turpitude in an already almost decadent society?
