One side of the coin:
A girl ‘still’ needs her brother or any male acquaintance to accompany her when she goes out.
The literacy rate among Indian women is ‘still’ 65.46%, while that among men is 82.14%.
Girls are ‘still’ supposed to be slim, look beautiful, cook delicious food, and manage the house and work perfectly.
Doing a job is ‘still’ only an option for girls.
Women are ‘still’ harassed for dowry.
Girls ‘still’ have to take their male family members’ permission before taking their decisions.
Girls ‘still’ have to think ten times before wearing a dress of their choice.
India ‘still’ has only 940 female children per 1000 male children.
Girls ‘still’ have to justify their choices before society.
Many women ‘still’ have no say in matters of their own house, or even in matters related to them.
An Indian woman doing better than or earning more than her man is ‘still’ a taboo.
Women ‘still’ have to change their surnames after marriage.
The Women’s Indian Cricket Team is ‘still’ unknown among the masses, while the Men’s Team is worshipped across the country.
‘Still’, one case of domestic violence is registered every five minutes in India.
There ‘still’ is a wide gap between the pay package of Indian men and women, both doing the same job.
Another side of the coin:
India had a female President and a female Prime Minister.
Indian women today occupy top executive, administrative and bureaucratic positions.
Indian women today are choosing unconventional jobs and are excelling at them.
Indian women are raising their voices against the injustice meted out to them.
For us feminists, equality is the ultimate target. And my personal opinion is that feminism is no different from equality of the genders. The way to equality goes via feminism.
And as for your question, yes, we still need feminism. We still need to emancipate women, to give them the freedom, rights, and respect they deserve. We still need to educate our girls. We still need to uplift their status.
We have come a long way, but we ‘still’ have a very long way to go. When no female infanticide occurs, when women are safe inside and outside their houses, when women are free enough to make their choices, when all girls go to school, when no woman is tortured for dowry, when women are truly empowered- we would really have gender equality.
Hope that these transformations are here very soon.
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