Chennai:Ā In February, a 24-year-old becomes the first Indian woman to fly a fighter jet alone. Nine months later, a 19-year-old girl is thrown alive into a river, for marrying outside her caste. These two incidents pretty much sum up how women had it in 2018 – the year of extremes.
While on the one hand we saw the Supreme Court strike down archaic laws that suppressed the female gender’s right to equality, on the other, many were categorically denied work for speaking out against their harassers.
YOU TOO?
In October-November, Indian women from all spheres of life came out to name and shame their abusers. Termed as ‘#MeToo’, the campaign saw scores of popular men being listed as perpetrators. While it was expected that this will herald a new beginning with regard to safeguarding working women, the end result was what the victims had always feared. Barring a few companies that sent named accusers home, it was those who spoke out who were trolled and abused. In many cases, the alleged harassers continue to lead their lives unperturbed.
STEPS TO EQUALITY
The country’s highest court of law, in September, put an end to a centuries-old tradition that barred women of a certain age from entering Keralaās Sabarimala temple. However, months after the landmark verdict, women are yet to enter the shrine, courtesy angry protests from male devotees.
WHERE IS THE HONOUR?
In an incident that shook the State, Swathi from Krishnagiri and her husband Nandesh, who belonged to a so-called lower caste, were assaulted and thrown alive into a river, by the girl’s family members.
Also, anti-caste crusader Gowsalya who remarried two years after her husband was killed by her family, was subjected to a lot of abuse and was ‘disowned’ by her village for her act.
These cases proved that the inherent misogyny of treating the daughter as an upholder of the family’s dignity, is here to stay.
BEYOND BORDERS
In a society that goes all out to ensure that women remain ‘traditional’ in the truest sense, the SC’s rulings on Sections 377 and 497, were a huge blow. While in the first instance, the court abolished the law that criminalised same-sex relationships, in the latter, it ordered that adultery was no longer an offence and that ‘women are not property owned by men’. These two judgements were revolutionary for the reason that females exploring their sexuality is still considered a taboo in the country.
BREAKING THE MOULD
The year 2018 also showed that women continue to break norms and take confident leaps across various spheres. For instance, four Indian-origin women have been named by Forbes among America’s top 50 female technology moguls. Also, August saw the country’s first all-female commando team formally being inducted into the Delhi police. The 36 of them were trained to handle weapons and counter terror attacks.
Author: N SAHANA AROORAN