Issue of Position of Women: Need for contextualised rethink

Amar Yumnam *

Dharna denouncing the rape a housewife on April 02 2012 :: Pix - TSE

The recent case of rape of a woman by a group including security personnel has brought the issue of position, security and role of women in Manipur into focus. This is not the first incidence and will not be the last until drastic intervention and reforms are put in place. This calls for a multi-dimensional understanding of the issues involved.

But before we come to this specific issue, we must be appreciating the evolving powerful but unfortunate reality of Manipur where the only inclusive phenomenon emerging is the one of committing violence and crime. It is really painful to find that security personnel were collusive with the private individuals in committing rape of a plain housewife eking out a living for her family.

The Issue: It is talked, mentioned and repeated day in day out in Manipur that the position of women is much safer and status much higher than anywhere in the world. We are also very proud of the presence of a South East Asian character in the existence of the Women's Market. But the dynamics and contextual manifestations have turned out to be much degraded and anti-women contrary to the facial display of social functioning. There is now the fundamental urgency of appreciating the economics and the technological aspects of the entire dynamics.

Quite a few researchers have been pointing out for some years and raising the issues of paradoxical status of women in fact in many rounds of academic intercourse in the rooms and corridors of Manipur University and the unfolding events only stand as empirical testimony (by the way, in recent years, in a very encouraging sign the academic discussions and debates among the Social Science Faculty and doctoral research scholars in Manipur University are turning out to be increasingly ahead and deeper than the larger social understanding than widely prevalent elsewhere in Manipur.

In fact, this should serve the State good in good stead, and sooner than later the powers that be would have no alternative but to listen to this new understanding emanating from theory and research in order to efficiently address the socio-political issues of the land.) The sustenance of Sharmila's movement as more of an individual crusadeinstead of a social movement and the increasing frequency of crimes against women like the recent one involving security personnel stand as empirical testimony to the sharpness and relevance of the young research scholars working on gender issues in Manipur.

While talking of the social crisis surrounding the status and position of women in Manipur and the relevance and urgency of a new appreciation, I am reminded of what John Stuart Mill wrote in 1867. Mill wrote: "The same persons who cry down Logic will generally warn you against PoliticalEconomy. It is unfeeling, they will tell you. It recognises unpleasant facts.

For my part, the most unfeeling thing I know of is the law of gravitation: it breaksthe neck of the best and most amiable person without scruple, if he forgets for asingle moment to give heed to it. The winds and waves too are very unfeeling.Would you advise those who go to sea to deny the winds and waves – or to makeuse of them, and find the means of guarding against their dangers? My advice toyou is to study the great writers on Political Economy, and hold firmly by whateverin them you find true; and depend upon it that if you are not selfish or hard-hearted already, Political Economy will not make you so."

We need to heed to the advice of John Mill and thus listen to the new perspectives and interpretations being articulated by the young research scholars in Manipur University working on women issues. They have been arguing that the whole high status of women is only a hoax to conveniently suppress their voice and exploit their contribution to the advantage of male. With so many reports of rapes and other crimes emerging, it only reinforces that there is point in this argument.

Modern Approach: Any contemporary approach to addressing a social issue is always composed of multi-faceted dimensions. There are sociological, economic and technological aspects of social issues and ipso facto a wholesome approach involving all these aspects is mandated for effective intervention for amelioration. In this connection a recent Editorial in this daily commenting on the mind-set of the people is timely.

We have been socially applauding the contribution the women have been making to make our economy survive and people enjoy a livelihood. But have we ever done anything to see to it that the women are facilitated in their functioning? I must hasten to add that the answer a capital 'NO'. We know that we have a strong presence of women in the larger daily socio-economic exchange of relations.

Though there is this large presence of women in the open social arena, we would witness them performing the natural urination functions in a slightest corner. They have been forced to behave this way by the cumulative failure of our policy thinking to address the need for convenience rooms. We pretend that we would not like our Imas to be humiliated, but we make them urinate in the open for all these years. We just laugh it out and forget it at the policy making level.

We also know that our women are responsible for ensuring the availability of vegetables in the kitchens and clothes around our body and for prayers and what not. In order to perform this commendable economic function they have been out of their homes with loads over their heads. The buses have been their only available medium of transportation for years.

But let us ask a question: Have we ever pondered on designing a bus in order to facilitate the movement of women playing the most important role in the socio-economic life of the land? No, not at all. All our buses are on borrowed designs and based on economies very different from Manipur's. Where are our Scientists, Engineers and Technologists when it comes to addressing the paramount needs of women whom we presumably put on high pedestal socially?

We can multiply the examples, but there will be no instance of meaningful intervention and reforms for the facilitation of women in performing their daily social functions. This is what we need to correct immediately.