THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN FIGHTING COMMUNALISM
“The
most heinous and
the most cruel
crimes of which history
has record have
been committed under
the cover of religion
or equally noble
motives”, said Mahatma
Gandhi. This statement
can be nothing
less than truth.
Nobody can deny
that religion is
the search and
discovery of truth.
It is a way of
life, a torch
that guides people
on the right
path. Since the
arrival of the
British, the history
of India has been
a history of communal
divide, marked by
communal violence. It
is understandable that
the colonizer resorted
to the divide
and rule policy
to consolidate power.
But even then,
communalism was an
elite phenomenon where
the elite Hindus found
the British education policies
to be a
gateway to government
jobs and power whereas
the feudal Muslims saw it
as a loss of
power. The common
mass was largely
left out of all
this, busy with
his daily struggle for
existence. Finally, the
British left with
a parting stoke,
creating two nations
on the grounds of religion.
We
have come sixty
six years away
from those gory
days and yet
we carry the
communal baggage on
our backs. The
violence, the bloodshed,
the loss of
lives and property
have been turned into
mere statistics to
be referred to
again and again
while the psychological
damage of the
nation and emotional
fissure between communities
remain unattended along
with the list
of paltry compensation.
Research has shown
various reasons for
communal violence. Political
powers use it
for their own
selfish interests. Communal
vote banks are
created to acquire
and consolidate power.
Poverty, unemployment, illiteracy
and ignorance make
the masses gullible
and they become
mere remote controlled
gadgets of violence
functioning as per
the instructions given
by political fingers.
Inertia and indifference
of the government , right from
the beginning when
tremors are heard till the end
when ashes are
blown away, add
to the unease.
The authorities turn a
blind eye when
trouble brews. Often
it is a
passive or active
partner in the
looting and genocide.
Finally when it is all
over, the government’s
inaction and blindness
becomes a cause
for fresh brewing
of communal hatred
which erupts again
in another place
at another time.
Besides this, word
of mouth, abetted
by media plays
its own major
part in fanning hatred
and suspicion. Rumors are spread
and printed as
news. The entire
process can be simply
concluded as the failure of
man’s sense of
reason. It is
absolutely illogical that
every time man
sows or nurtures
hatred, he has
forgotten the violence
and fear of
the past. When
people in power
play the religion card,
they know very
well that they
are well insulated
from the fire
and fury that
will burn the
civilization. But how
senseless is the
common man on
the road to kill and
mutilate absolute strangers
or even neighbors
with whom he
had often shared
a good laugh.
All this, believing that
‘they’ deserved it.
But
can a woman
of any community
say that the
other woman deserved
to be raped,
deserved to have
her fetus ripped apart,
deserved to be widowed,
deserved to be orphaned,
deserved to see dead
children? The answer
is a loud
NO. Then why
should women be
silent in all this,
letting herself go
with the flow.
Being a part
of nothing, she
is the one
who bears the
worst blow. Death
and mutilation inflicts
the same pain
on everyone, but
its manifold in
a woman for
she has always
been made to
feel that her
physical appearance is
of utmost importance.
Destitution gives the
same sense of insecurity
to everyone, but
its manifold in
a woman, for
she has been
told overtly or
covertly that she
will always have
a man to
protect her. Society,
community and religion
has never let
a woman build
her physical or
mental strength. She
is tailored to
live for her
home and family
and when that
is lost, there
is nothing for
her to hold
on to. Communal riots
is the ideal
time for the
perverted men to
unleash their filthy
lust. A woman’s
chastity is the
honor of her
family and community
and when that
is violated in
the most brutal
way, the shame
is for all,
but the pain is hers
alone, for life.
When
a woman cannot
justify all this, how can
she remain silent
and let the men
around her decide
upon her surroundings and
compromise on her
security? Its high
time women shook
off their imposed
grace and domesticity
and took matters
in their hands.
The battle of
Mahabharata could have
been prevented had
Gandhari not blindfolded
herself. Realizing
that her
chosen husband was
blind, she decided
become a partner in
his blindness, resulting
in a hundred
wayward Kaurava children.
Kunti, on the
other hand, upon
widowhood did not jump
into the pyre of
her husband, but
took the responsibility of
the upbringing of
her five children,
resulting in the righteous
Pandavas. Every religion
glorifies the role of a woman
as a mother.
The pictures of Krishna
with Yashoda and
Infant Jesus with
Mary talk a
lot about the role
of a mother. The mother’s
influence is foremost
in the life of a
child. She is
the first person
to introduce God to
a child. She
is the one
who inculcates values
in the young mind. She is the
child’s first definition
of truth and
faith. She should
use her power on
her child to
teach him to
love life and
humankind. She should
teach him his
religion, stressing on
its innate values
and not its external
trappings. But along
with it, she
should teach him
to respect the
religion of his
fellow beings because
religion is nothing
but a way
of life. "loka
samastha sukhino bhavantu"- is
a Sanskrit invocation
for peace in
the whole world.
Prayers like these
kindle a feeling
of kinship with
the entire world. The
stories that put
the tender eyes
to sleep should
be about human
values and tolerance
and not violence and valor.
The
influence of the
mother on her
child will not
diminish if she
knows and keeps
her worth in
the family. Most
religions have kept
women on a
high pedastal, clothed
in virtues of a Goddess.
A woman must
never forget her
worth. She must
remember that she
is the mistress of
the house not a
slave, she is a partner
to her husband
not his attendant.
When she values
herself, only then
will her family give
value to her
and her words.
No outside influence
can waver the
young minds nurtured
by a strong
woman. And every
time the mature
child looks at
any woman, he
will be unable
to define her
as weak and
vulnerable. Home is
a place of happiness and
a woman, being
the mistress of
the house should
never let hatred
be spewed in
its air. She
is the partner
of her man
and should be
his friend and
confidante. Blind obedience
and blind agreement
is an insult
to the Creator.
Woman, according to
the Bible, was
made from the
ribs of a man,
not from his
feet or from
his head. She
should be able
to sense the
negative influence of
any negative fundamentalist indoctrination in her
husband and root
it out with
her love and
companionship.
Fundamentalists and fundamentalism are to be
opposed and not
appeased. In Bible
it was the
intelligence and humility
of Abigail that
saved her family
and head strong husband
from the wrath of
king David.
Woman as
a mother and
woman as a
wife has been a role
played by a
woman since time
immemorial. Its high
time women think
beyond these traditional
roles. At a
time when she
has crossed the
threshold of her
house, she can
influence not just
her family but
also the society.
The
most commonly played
other role is that
of a teacher.
Even without a
valid data on our
tables, we can
see a majority
of women in the teaching
field- from the
pre-primary section to
the universities. This
gives them a
hold on the
young minds from
the stage of
innocence to the
stage of rebellion.
As a teacher, a woman
can expose the
young minds to
the various ways
of living called
religion, underlining the
underlying similarity between
each one of
them. She should
stress the need of people
blending with the
society rather than
being out of it.
The woman as
a teacher can
create enlightened citizens.
If selfish politicians
can use the
rebellious youth to
fight amongst themselves
in the name
of religion, She
can guide the
rebel in the
youth to voice
their anger against
the communal discord.
Woman has created
new roles for
herself as doctors,
engineers, scientists , politicians
and what not. As
an auto driver
to an astronaut,
she is capable
of anything if
she wants to.
In her own
space, she can
make a big
difference by believing
and making others
believe- “did not
he that made
me in the
womb make him?” (Job 31:15). The
marks of religion
should be prominently
displayed in her
soul and not
just the body.
Unemployment, poverty
and illiteracy are
major causes behind
communal riots. When
there is nothing
to lose and
there is nothing
to do, its
easy for the
ignorant mass to fight
in the name of
the books of
supreme knowledge. Women
need to be
educated, employed and
empowered if a
lasting solution has
to be found.
She shouldn’t be
growing up to get
married and bear
children. These could
be primary objectives in
a woman’s life
but not the only primary objectives.
If a woman’s
voice has to
be heard, she has
to bring out
the man in
her. She has
to stop being
docile and domestic.
She has to
be thorough with
at least her
religious text and
find the multiple meanings
hidden in those
seemingly simple words.
A scholar will
never be hushed
down and will realize As Gandhiji
said,” I came
to the conclusion
long ago...that all
religions were true
and also that
all had some error
in them, and
whilst I hold
by my own, I should
hold others as
dear as Hinduism.
So we can
only pray, if
we are Hindus, not
that a Christian
should become a
Hindu...But our innermost
prayer should be
that a Hindu should be
a better Hindu,
a Muslim should
be a better
Muslim, a Christian
a better Christian.”
A religion that
preaches violence is
either wrong or
has been tampered
with in the
long process of translating
and transferring through
ages and generations.
Women should strive
to occupy as
much public space
as possible and
bring out the
woman in man.
As a legislator,
as an administrator
as an ordinary
person on the
road, a woman
can make a big difference.
An atheist is better
than a fundamentalist and
if religion leads
to the path
of bloodshed, its
better to be an
atheist.
