Why I Don't Not Need Feminism.

Now, the past couple of months of my life have been a study in the art of perfect unemployment. Like most other teenagers of my age, I spent most of my time trawling through the veritable depths of knowledge that is the world wide web, googling how to be a potato in twenty-one different ways, and developing an impressive collection of adorable cat memes.

However, between bouts of laughing at Mean Girls parody gifs and worrying about college admissions, I noticed a disturbingly large amount of hatred against feminism mushrooming online.

Now, I don't claim to be an intellectual or a philosopher, and I have not the slightest inkling of how the socio-econo-political undercurrent is flowing at this moment. But what surprised me is the vehemence that is so freely distributed virtually, mainly as retaliation against a group that uses this now-sensitive F word in ways so warped and unlinked to the original theory, one can imagine Simone de Beauvoir wincing in disgust.

So let me just try and write why feminism isn't an outmoded concept just yet.

I Don't Need Feminism Because
A. I don't feel the need to demonize men.

Oh well then. I really love how feminists are portrayed as rancorous shrill hags that hate all men and scream out stuff like "phallic oppression!" and "down with the power of the beard!" at random people on the street.

Reality check: Feminism isn't about hating or demonizing men. It is not the female equivalent of male chauvinism. Feminists do not seek special privileges on the basis of their gender.  This movement is not about putting one sex on a pedestal above others. It is merely an effort to overcome stereotypes and glass-ceiling conformations that we, as a race, have been conditioned to, biologically and socially, since time immemorial. And this means that several men, too, advocate feminism as one of the most important ways to achieve sustainable progress.

Feminism isn't about alienizing or sidelining men. It is about inclusion and mutual respect.

B. I am not a victim.

I am a modern day woman living in a city in a not-too-bad country. I am allowed to vote, speak my mind, and live my life as I like. Therefore, feminism has lost all value for me.

Or maybe not.
Maybe the fact that hundreds of women are regularly subjected to gruesome forms of mental and physical torture just because of their gender does horrify, sadden and anger me in equal measures.
Maybe my personal safety at this moment is not a guarantee of my well being.
Maybe I care if there are women denied education and condemned to marital and war rape as part of their fate, even if they live on the opposite side of the world.
Maybe I am optimistic enough to believe that if present day society were more tolerant and empathetic, hate crimes against women will not be a common news headline.

Maybe I am not a victim, but I am vulnerable.

C. Feminism tells me that women cannot inflict harm on men.

Contrary to popular internet belief, feminism is not about woman supremacy. Or even absolute equality (sorry, but I really, really cannot ever have the physical stamina of an average male adult- I am not trying, either.)
Feminism is centred on equitability- a simple notion that we take into consideration the similarities and dissimilarities between men and women, and found a society that allows beneficial stability for both.

Read up on feminist theory. There is NO mention of special privileges or opportunities rewarded for the inability to participate in peeing contests.
See, this is the thing about equality. If you grant women equal rights (rights, mind you, not gender-based entitlements), you automatically help build a society where women can be held accountable for hurting men. (And if anybody points me towards the Indian Constitution, let me add how much I disagree with the non-existence of legal action against domestic abuse by women, and the latest piece of brilliance in the form of the ordinance that excludes prosecution of women raping men. The Indian Constitution is not always the perfect place to look for justice, you know. *cough* Section 377 *cough* Armed Forces Special Powers Act *cough*)

Here's the thing- feminism strives to do away with the pigeonholing that is rampant on both sides (and the grey middle) of the sexual-demarcation-line-of-control. It allows for the recognition of men as potential victims of abuse. It isn't a threat, people. It is just a rustling of jimmies that have been settled in the same position for far too long.

D. Feminism has lost all relevance in the modern context.

Now that women have been granted suffrage, education, equal opportunity, what further purpose does feminism serve?

Like the "I am not a victim" statement, this declaration shocks me with its myopic world view. Sure, my little piece of the universe, allowing me free(?) usage of the internet and a more or less free expression of thought, has achieved bunches on the feminist front (note above-mentioned judicial inadequacies, though). But even as countries like Latvia, Brazil and Peru have women Heads of State, a schoolgirl was shot at, not 1500 miles from where i sit, for the audacity of wanting to be educated.
Even in my own country- and the society that I am part of- it is not too difficult to find mothers telling their daughters to become gynecologists, because "it is the most respectable doctor-ee for women", or, a little lower on the socioeconomic ladder, women that are the sole breadwinners for their 7-kid-strong families, who return home every evening to the conjugal violence their lives have taught them to accept.
Heck, Iraq still allows men to "physically discipline their spouses". The UAE is more diplomatic, and rules that "as long as there are no physical marks", men can "punish" their wives. (Because when you're a married woman, your place in the domestic scene is slightly above that of the adopted pariah. Be grateful.)

When this is what the world looks like in the 21st century, calling feminism outdated and irrelevant is an invitation for public ridicule.
(note: UN Millennium Development Goals acknowledge that feminism is one of their strongest hopes to eradicate global poverty by 2015. Though we might just miss the deadline, you get the point, eh?)

E. Feminazis.

Now this is the point I have been waiting to come to.
Number one.
Feminazis =/= Feminists.
Every mass movement for rights has had a regrettable offshoot that twisted the original idea out of context, and made the authentic protesters cringe in shame.

However, they did not make the main movement lose impetus, or undermine its integrity.

In today's time and age, when a keyboard with its caps lock on serves as a very effective weapon of mass destruction, the reality of feminism is often superscripted upon by the very, very vocal (and vacuous) rants of people that have sculptured a "modern" definition of feminism, which, for want of a more delicate term, is pure horsedung. (Yes, yes. Feminists don't really say they need feminism because men need to look at them to make them feel pretty.)

Mostly, feminazis use feminism as a convenient cover to malign and spread libel under the pretext of emancipation. It is absolutely loathsome, and ires feminists as much as it does everyone else.

However, their large presence does not do away with the importance of feminism. It never will. They merely show what a deadly combination too little knowledge and too much hatred can be.

I need feminism, and I am a feminist. Proudly so. And if you aren't, that's fine by me. Now let's have muffins.

Five Things That Are Screwed Up With The Indian Education System

So it looks like I may be going off to college this year. To celebrate my release from thirteen years of rote-learning regimentation (and also because I honestly have nothing better to do), I started thinking about the different reasons that make the education system in my country suck donkeyballs so gloriously.

(Mostly, it boils down to the fact that the Big Men in the Government fancy schmancy posts get together every once in a while to make important policy decisions, and then say, "fuck that, YOLO.")

5. Government funding? What funding?

Now, from your internet-accessing, English-reading point of view, this may not seem to be a big deal, but government aid in education is an ABSOLUTE necessity in a society where over a tenth of the population still lives below the International Poverty Line.
And it isn't all that uncommon. Most European countries take free education for granted, and USA, despite exorbitant college tuition, does have totally free schooling. So what's the problem with India?

Money, mostly.

India uses, a measly 3.5 percent of its annual GDP to educate almost one-fifth of the world's children. Compared to China's whopping 6 percent, our contribution to the development of the demographic dividend seems pathetic, no?
Add the ever-present tinge of corruption to the wonderful mixture of bureaucratic indifference and TERRIBLE implementation botch-ups, and you have your regular Hindustani khichdi.

Sorry, kids. No education. Go spin khadi, like Bapu wanted you to.

4. All The Growth Figures Are Misleading Hype.

For all appearances, India has comfortably settled its tush in the list of countries that provide free primary education to all kids upto the age of 14 (thanks to the RTE, 2009.)

AND YES, MAGIXXXXX HAPPENED. The enrolment in primary schools has gone up to an all time high of NINETY SIX POINT FIVE PERCENT in elementary schools!!

Yay?
Nay.

See, when this RTE thingy came in, the Indian government was getting a LOT of flak for our desi, illiterate population (33% of the world's non-literate population, exclusively in India, people) and so our Education Ministry came up with a brilliantly populist idea.

Despite the fact that TEN LAKH CRORE RUPEES (you can take a minute to get your head around all those zeroes) have been invested in the Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan in the last decade, less than half of school-going kids can do anything that would qualify them as literate.

What happens really happens:
ALL kids are enrolled into schools.
Even if they can't really do a math sum to save their lives.
Even if they can't read a line in ANY language.
Even if they never attend school at all.

And since no kids are to be failed till class 8, and nobody really understands how Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation works, there are kids in 7th grade that can't write the alphabet (for real).

Most of us are well acquainted with how "literacy" is judged in our country, (if you aren't, here's how it goes: if you can write your own name in one of 22 languages, you're good to go) so the knowledge that 48% of these kids drop out in primary  school itself shouldn't shock you.

The fact is this: the rosy picture painted in front of your eyes isn't real.
Despite midday meals, "free" education and all that jazz, a depressingly large part of today's youth is never going to receive any credible formal education.

Cheers.

3. Schools are understaffed, teachers are untrained, basic facilities are non existent.

When I say "understaffed", what image comes to your head? How many teachers do you think India can really lack? I mean, of course, we know that most rural government schools have teachers that have better napping qualifications than teaching ones (more on that later), but at least they are THERE, right?
Erm, not really. Our government schools have 14 lakh vacant posts for teachers, which contributes to pupil-teacher ratios so big, that every teacher has roughly 45 seconds for individual interaction with each student.

IF the teacher does interact, that is.
One fifth of the Indian schoolteachers generally suck at being teachers even according to the NCERT guidelines (we students know that number is a tad bit higher, but eh). Over ninety percent of teachers appearing for a Teaching Eligibility test failed it. Most of the time, almost half the 32 lakh employed teachers are off-duty, or not in their designated classrooms. And if, by some miracle, they do end up in front of their students, they are often clueless as to what to do next. (Teaching? Who does that, rey!)

I am not bashing on the teaching system in India. Okay, maybe a little. But the sad, dismal truth lies in something my grandpa used to say: Only the people that couldn't get a better job end up teaching in India.
While not always true- I have met a fair share of teachers that genuinely care about the welfare of children and are amazing educators- the job of teaching is still looked down upon, and not often taken up with a lot of enthusiasm. This leads to a country that puts its young minds in the hands of people that
A. didn't want that duty in the first place, and
B. often lack the training or vision to keep up with the demands of contemporary education.
C. have to perform other work they didn't really sign up for, or expect. (Oh, a government school teacher? Great! Go to the polling booth and supervise it. Education can wait, man.)

Add to this the fact that most government schools don't even have toilets or drinking water facilities, and you can see why the private costs of education have risen 12.5 times in the last decade; even a quarter of rural schoolkids are sent to private schools, which offer a better, if not great, chance at a real education for kids (the RTE muddles things up there, too, though.)

2. Higher Education? Sorry, no can do.

Picture this: You, like 6 million others, belong to a rural Below Poverty Line family, and by some grace of God, have managed to make it to grade 8 by age 14 under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan. You are pretty bright, and have managed to ace in your classes, and you want to go right ahead and fulfil your dreams of building a rocket like the ones you see in your Science books.

Wait, what's that?
Yeah, turns out you can't really do that.

Right from the beginning, our Constitution makers were pretty much set on the whole "until they complete the age of fourteen years" part of education provision in India.
Which was a great thing.
In 1951.
Today, when we look at the almost-100% literacy in China, and the all-expenses paid schooling (beyond the age of 14) in many European countries, shouldn't we atleast once ask ourselves HOW THE FUDGE DOES AN EDUCATION UP TO GRADE 8 REALISTICALLY HELP ANYBODY IN THE WORLD?

Sure, it makes the government look nice on the charts, brings the literacy level higher, gives us all a reason to become chronic alcoholics, yada yada yada.
But if we seriously think about it, we have basically developed a system which (maybe) provides you sub-average education till you are fourteen, doesn't ensure you learn any vocational skills, then leaves you hanging dry for the rest of your life.
Good luck fending for yourself with that education, ha!

I can almost hear some people sanctimoniously scream, "But scholarships! If you have the merit, the government will help you!"

Reality check: The scholarship:meritorious poor kids ratio in this country is lower than our annual GDP growth rate, which is saying something. Student loans are hard to get, the number of schools providing secondary education is astonishingly small, the abysmally low enrolment in grade 9 (52%) and grade 11 (28%) are a direct result of inefficient application of funding for education.

Welcome to reality.

1. Even after all that, numbers show you still might be royally done for.

Okay. Now you are done with primary, secondary, senior schooling. It's time for college- and after that, all your problems are solved!
Right?
Wrong.

After all, your twelve years of schooling have actively discouraged you from thinking out of the box, and by now, you are probably in the mindless race to beat a million other kids to grab a coveted seat in a great college, that sets you up for life.
But hey, if that doesn't work out, don't worry, you have so many colleges in this country, man.
Right?
Right?

Despite having the largest number of universities in the world, and pretty affordable-if not free- education, our colleges manage to be the final cesspools of intellect, where all dreams go to die.
Even as we have institutes of undeniable excellence and irreproachable prowess in producing badass citizens of tomorrow, a certain tight-lipped former PM of the nation was quoted as saying that over 66% of our universities and 90% of our colleges are shittier than your average levels of shittery. (Rule of thumb: When the Big Men of the government say something is messed up, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES.)

But yeah, seriously. Only 20% of jobseekers have any kind of vocational training. Of these, over three fourths are unemployable by India's "high growth global industries".

Oopsie?

A major factor responsible for this is that the sudden inundation of the college scene by private "deemed" universities has effectively diluted the quality of graduates being churned out by the educational machinery per year, leading to a growing number of unemployed graduates or overqualified (dissatisfied) workers.

Basically, in interests of populist eye-pleasing statistics, colleges are allowed to set up left, right and centre- who has time for things like trained faculty, or proper infrastructure? We give out degrees, sheeple!
While the number of degree-holding Indian 20-somethings is pretty impressive, most of these degrees aren't recognized by any institution with a modicum of self respect.

Yes, yes. The B. Tech Degree from *insert unheard-of private college in some part of India* qualifies you only to work at a call centre.

Like a million other Indians.

CELEBRATE THE DEMOCRACY!

P.S. Since I wrote this mainly for the lulz, it may have factual errors/supremely judgmental thought expression.
Please donot hurt your backsides.

To New Beginnings.

Okay, so it has been quite a while since I last tried wrote a blog that made it to the public eye. The last time I did that, I was maybe fourteen- the efforts I put into my "poem blog" were Herculean, but just looking at it makes me cringe now. So I let THAT particular adolescent misjudgement be, and decided to start afresh. That was a year ago.

Now, procrastination is one of the most recurring themes on my long list of shortcomings. I kept finding excuses to not write, and instead just READ. I have lost count of the number of books, articles, blogs and random crap I have read in the past six months, while I kept getting ideas about things to write and losing them by the time i woke up the next day.

So today, over a cuppa and a friend's urgings to write "whatever" in my blog, I decided that a lame "hey-I-am-getting-started" blog is WAY better than doing absolutely nothing, which has been my topmost priority for quite a while now. The thing about settling into patterns is, you get comfortable with familiarity, whether you like it or not. And once you have settled into that half-hearted existence, you forget what you started out as. Though I decided somewhere along the way to study Biology, I was always the kid that wrote bad poetry and got excited over books and the Arab Spring. And I wouldn't want to lose that for anything in the world. So even if this blog only ever gets 2 viewers (who I'll probably ask over to see how the "new thing" looks), I will still upload stuff about whatever happens to be the focus of my overenthusiasm at that point. And to hell with cynicism and sobriety.
Cheers.


P.S: I may or may not have been on a coffee high while typing this.

P.S 2: Thank you, Zehra and Rishi. I owe you guys.