A New Sri Lanka For Women

By Mass L. Usuf –March 8, 2017

Mass Usuf

International Women’s Day (March 8) according to the IWD website is ‘a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity’. The story of the woman throughout history has been one of gross abuse of her status. She had been accused as a temptress, as responsible for the original sin, valued as a chattel and, even today, considered the weaker of the two sexes. The indomitable spirit of endurance in her to survive this relentless antagonism displayed against her position in society, teaches us one simple lesson. She is the stronger of the two.

Physical strength is brutish. Mental strength is sagacity. The woman is endowed with the latter quality in abundance and it is amply proven by her ability to nurture society.

A man came to the Prophet Muhammed and said, ‘O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship? The Prophet said: Your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your father. (Source: Bukhari)

From Oppression To Liberation

There is of course a distinction between equality and identicalness. The woman is constrained by natural restrictions like menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, child rearing, breast feeding et cetera. The conventional role optimally was minding the home, bringing up children and ensuring the happiness of the family. This was considered the most honourable work. She constituted the foundation of the nucleus family extending to the larger society. The feminists like a pendulum swung from one extreme to the other. From ‘oppression’ to ‘liberation’; The famous Bra burning in the 1960s, as a statement for women’s rights. However, the haphazard change in the traditionally accepted masculine and feminine roles opened up for her entry into the areas of the male. One view indicates this transition akin to the role of androgynous men and women.

Tired Mother And Wife

This role modification at times became an unwholesome addition to her onerous work in the house. Gender equality in the work place gave her the feel of self-esteem but with negative consequences. It affected family life, deprived quality time for children and made her a tired mother and wife at the end of each day. It is argued that the clamour to end discriminative gender roles culminated in the woman becoming further oppressed. It is not rare to hear a woman saying, “I wish I can stay at home”.

The behaviour of men and women display a paradoxical quality. For example, a woman who reads romances and fantasizes about her prince may be the same woman who during the day is an aggressive women’s rights activist. The man who is an advocate of equality of women may still see a centrefold more as a sex object than as a person. “Implicit in our gender role socialization is the belief that males ought to adopt a traditionally masculine gender role and females a traditionally feminine one because everyone will get along much better that way.” (Ickes (1981, 19855) & Barnes, 1978).

The ‘Pill’ and Safe Sex

The invention of the ‘pill’ in the 1960’s gave the woman sexual freedom to have safe sex. It enabled women to fully enjoy sexual relations without fear of unwanted pregnancy. This had its repercussions too. Women liberated themselves from one thing but were enslaved by something else. Research indicates that in 1960 with the advent of the contraceptive pill, usage was recorded at 400,000. Five years later in 1965, this figure shot up to 6.5 million users in the U.S.A. Sexual repression was met with the ‘sexual revolution’, ‘free love’ and ‘women’s lib’. Promiscuity progressed rampantly and pornography being the ultimate destination where women have been completely dehumanised and treated degradingly. “Sexual intercourse is rapidly becoming the one thing venerated in a world without veneration.” (C.S. Lewis, Miracles).

Cultural Feminism acknowledges that women are “inherently kinder and gentler” along with the socio-moral perception of ‘good girl’, ‘good mother’, ‘good wife’. This inherent disposition in woman was destroyed by the earlier lopsided Radical Feminism. These radicals were competing for space in the male dominated economic, social and political spheres. This shift created other challenges for her especially, exploitation. She was sucked into being made a commercial sex object. The media decided for her to be thin or fat. She was influenced on her choice of dress and on the accessories to beautify herself. In those decades, the physical appearance of women was how thin they wanted to be. Women started getting eating disorders (Anorexia nervosa) and diseases from trying to fit that “perfect image” for everyone but themselves. Basically, her self-esteem was boosted not by doing what she wanted but by what and how others wanted her to present herself.

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