THAT GENDER & THIS SOCIETY
Many times we’ve wondered how women who have been demeaned emotionally, physically, and mentally their whole lives fight those circumstances and bloom. For generations, they’ve been taught that they’re not good enough, or that they are good enough only for limited matters, mostly related to family and household. Since day one, they’ve been told that their male counterpart is better, stronger. So where is it that they find the courage, strength, and motivation to fight the inherent gender bias and rise among their peers?
It could be support from a trusted peer or a circumstantial force pushing them out of their comfort zone. It could be both or neither. But what’s inherent, something that stays inside them no matter what is imagination. Despite the external oppression, one cannot bind the mind to shy away from exploring limitless possibilities. Think of it this way - as a housewife, how do you imagine your house to run? As a daughter, how do you imagine making your parents proud? As a mother, what kind of a life do you imagine for your children? Regular as these questions may seem, they make a woman explore the depths of her mind and thereby break the shackles of bondage she’s conditioned to abide by. And somewhere between these questions, women often find the drive to step outside their comfort zones. And more often than not, they develop extraordinary personalities that galvanize those around them into action as well.
So what is it exactly that drives women, who have been oppressed in different ways their whole lives, to create a dent in the universe, however niche? Let’s take a look at a few who have.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A remarkable woman. In the Fall of 1956, when the dean of Harvard Law reportedly invited all the female law students to dinner at his family home and asked them, including Ginsburg, “How do you justify taking a spot from a qualified man?" (1) , Ginsburg said something she didn’t mean. “My husband is a second-year law student, and it’s important for a woman to understand her husband’s work.” But the reason she had actually enrolled in law school was that she and her husband had decided from the time they’d met was that they’d do everything together. Even pursue an education in the same field. And while her husband was not someone who saw her as a threat and instead pushed her to pursue work, Ginsburg had started to imagine a world different from the one she was living in. What she had other than passion, skill, and an extraordinary sense of strategy, was imagination. All she wanted was for society to see men and women as equal. This project, this goal, the one that seemed ridiculous circa 1960 was the one she never deviated from in her long-standing career. And here we are. Talking about this woman, this legend, and I know we will continue talking about her for years to come. I mean, This is Us even had an RBG toy!
"How do you justify taking a spot from a qualified man?"
Lt. Col. Iman Elman. Trailblazer, really.
Elman was only 17 when she decided to join the Somali National Army in 2011. Almost a decade later, she is now the only female department head and one of the highest-ranking women in the Somali military battling one of the deadliest terror outfits in the African continent - Al Shabab.
So as someone who was born in Somalia and raised in Canada in a family of peace activists, how is it that she decided to pursue a tradition so different from her family? When she first joined the army, the male officers rejected her, demotivated her, and resisted her almost instantaneously. She was told to sew a skirt for herself from the uniform she was given. She was told over and over again that she would only be assigned roles related to cooking and cleaning. But that’s where she found her motivation. In the rejection. But is that the case always with those oppressed? Do they only find motivation when they are rejected, demotivated, and resisted?
“She was told to sew a skirt for herself from the uniform she was given”
Sujangarh, a small deserted village in the Churu District of Rajasthan, is where the colorful craft of Bandhani and Shibori (both textile designs) was born. This is also a place where residents wake up at 3 am to feed their cattle and lights are switched off by 7 pm for a good night’s sleep. A place where life from the outside seemed beautiful, adorned with the beauty of Bandhani and Shibori, brimming with a rich heritage. But once you spend more time there, you see the other side to it. Marked by a high rate of divorce, domestic violence, and female foeticide ratio, Sujangarh is considered one of the most dangerous cities for women in India. Leera is a for-profit organization that is run by Amrita Choudhary, an on-ground women empowerment enthusiast and founder of an established NGO in the region along with two talented, dedicated, and young graduates of NIFT (National Institute Fashion Technology, India), Disha and Kairavi.
At Leera, an artisan and designer run the show collaboratively. Leera encourages women of Sujangarh to create artisanal pieces through the practice of Bandhani and Shibori. Over time, they have encouraged numerous women to join the organization and build handicrafts to keep them motivated, financially support their families and find a purpose within themselves.
Leera aims to sell the designer products by narrating the stories of these talented women artisans while understanding the significance of quality. Disha, Kairavi and Mrs. Choudhary attempt to inculcate design sensibilities in the women artisans that further equips them with an added skill. Additionally, as a for-profit, Leera tends to bring in a modernized vibe to the simple village and its artisans, it is here that Mrs. Choudhary’s on-ground connections help Leera gather support and relevance. Mrs. Choudhary stands as a role model for many women in Rajasthan and she is supporting hundreds of them in the region and across the country with her initiatives. With over two decades of experience working in the social sector, she acts as a bridge between the women Leera aims to help and the world out there. Having broken many social stigmas herself, she truly puts her passion to a pursuit in helping reduce the gender bias in India.
The women Leera works with have remarkable stories, ones that make us stop and ponder, what keeps them going and how did they change their lives? Two of such talented craftswomen are Arti and Nathi Devi.
Meet Arti. An influence we all need. Trafficked at only 15 years from West Bengal to Sujangarh, Arti was married off to her husband in exchange of money. At 17 years, she’s a wife, a mother, and an artisan working with a foundation and Leera. Arti was brought to Sujangarh in an unstable and uncomfortable environment. Apart from marrying a stranger, bearing children very young, it was only after her marriage did she find out that her mother in law often indulged in prostitution to put food on the table.
Working part-time with Leera, Arti has found a purpose beyond household work and childbearing. She earns enough money to feed her daughter and her family and has developed a sense of work ethic and discipline that she tries to inculcate in her family.
Her motivation? Someone she didn’t really know convinced her that working with these two foundations was probably a good idea for her and her family. She put her faith in them and commenced her journey as someone more than simply a young, inexperienced and innocent trafficked child. Today, she has her own bank account and savings that will help her in a time of crisis.
“At 17 years, she’s a wife, a mother, and an artisan”
Nathi Devi. An inspiration, really.
A native of Sujangarh, Nathi Devi never got the opportunity to go to school. Her parents died when she was very young, so she naturally had to look after her siblings from a very young age. Married off at the age of 14 to a truck driver and a part-time carpenter, she was left to fend for herself when an accident left her husband partially paralyzed.
Apart from taking care of her deceased son’s children, she has been working with a foundation in her village and Leera for the past 8 years, cooking food for events in the village, singing at occasions, farming and rearing animals, and even doing household chores for other people in the village. Essentially, Nathi Devi has been taking all sorts of odd jobs to ensure that she puts food on the table, her grandchildren attend school every day, and take care of her family.
So what really was Nathi Devi’s motivation? Her situation. She knew if she did not give it her all, her family would collapse and that is not a future she envisioned for herself or them.
“Nathi Devi has been taking all sorts of odd jobs to ensure that she puts food on the table”
Isn’t it safe to say though that these two women, who were thrown in a situation they were not ready for, were visionaries just like RBG and Col. Elman? Arti and Nathi Devi did not know they had an option to work with an organization like Leera, let alone work at all. Yet in their minds, they knew that they could better their lives. It may have taken external support to bring the visionary out in them, but they are now stronger than ever before.
Of Course, there are many commonalities between Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Col. Iman Elman, Arti, and Nathi Devi - they’re all fighters in their own right. But another palpable similarity in all of their stories is that of our ever-changing world. The dynamics of this dynamic world never cease to amaze as we talk of a rare feminist in 1960s America, a strong army woman in East Africa or the resilient craftswomen sewing and knitting in the deserts of India while humming traditional songs. If we gave this world ideas for change, it too opened its arms to it, yes it was hard to embrace in all its glory but that just made the achievement of it even more fruitful. When Arti now eats her hard-earned roti, her face breaks into a smile for she is no more dependent, for there are forums to help her out and that it took that one aha! the moment for her to realize that this world is as small or large as we make it.
Because you see, a skirt is not going to do the job.
Research conducted by Hasrat with inputs from team Leera and in-depth documents provided by them
Picture credits:
Thumbnail: Yeh hai India
Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Iman Elman: The New York Times/2020
Leera: Instagram/Leera Profile
Aarti: Disha & Kairavi/NIFT Chennai
Nathi Devi: Disha & Kairavi/NIFT Chennai