When you hear this word ‘Feminism’, there is some strange kind of frenzy that spurts through your mind. You all go in your self defined shells to bombard this poor word by teaching its pros and cons. And the so called intellectual rant proceeds like this; those in favour of this concept build an edifice of praise and empowerment around it by making genuinely (apparently so) strong and at the same time diplomatically soft arguments, claiming it to be the torch of enlightenment and protection. While as, the not so big fans of this word just turn it down by calling it a means of ‘new age discrimination.’ It really makes one think how can a single word stay aright on such uneven extremes of enlightenment on one side and discrimination on another.
There is a need to introspect. Well before we do that, let me tell you I agree with neither of the two (you too can, no harm though).
The battle of being respected and cultivating virtues is an age old thing that man has been fighting over, ever since the dawn of this civilisation. No doubt humans have evolved (read ‘evolved in most part of the globe, but not entirely yet’), but there still remains a void in becoming completely civilized and ingenious species. Respect for a person is a cognizance deep seated, inculcated in every person (genetics, I would better put it) differently. Bred over a long period of time, it is like sowing a seed which needs daily nourishment, with intermittent weeding, amounting for hours of hard work and care, from an individual’s side, his/her family, and then the society as well.
A month back while I was travelling , I noticed something amazing and that actually compelled me for this particular write up. Exhausted as I was from a long journey and a constant jet lag, waiting for our connecting flight, I tried to get some sleep, leaning on my head rest. As I was struggling to catch some sleep, my somber mind got alerted and my tired eyes got lit up all at once at this beautiful act. There came this couple to sit next to us, who must have been in their late 30’s and with them was their son, around 5 . His father was a tall, handsome man wearing a white gold rolex, with brown hair, who didn’t shy away from being a stud company to his son as was evident from their real friendly and gentle way of communication. And his mother looked like an elite, sophisticated and a humble woman. She was gracefully dressed in a blue skirt and a black overcoat and to add to her grace was a mustard Hermis scarf wrapped neatly around her neck. Their boy was a little naughty like every kid of that age in any part of the globe would be expected to be. But something that should be expected of each and every person through out the globe (but not more often we find it) that this kid exhibited,was the discipline and the mannerism. Shortly after this adorable kid started playing with his little guitar, an old lady with a young girl passed our row, just where the boy was enjoying his little interest. To my surprise, the boy just cleared the way, “here my ladies” and walked a few steps back and then excused with the old lady, “Sorry maa’m, for a tiny tiny inconvenience!” The ladies smiled and the old woman caressed her hair and gave him the blessings. For a moment I couldn’t believe what I saw. It looked fanciful. But to his parents it was nothing less than a delight to see their boy growing up to be a gentleman. Their faces were aglow with the happiness and their hearts weighed with pride for what they had delivered to their son and to their family. As I continued being surprised on the fact that a kid of such age in our part of the world does not properly know how to spell and pronounce the word RESPECT, but at the same time I was happy, filled with positivity and hope – hope for us and hope for the generation next.
This boy was pampered the same way other kids are, as he played a few easy but well learnt notes on his very cute guitar, which he was holding so tightly, while very firmly pulling and playing its strings. He too liked the candy as do other kids. He too did spoil his clothes while playing in the rain. Then where lied the difference?
The difference lies in our initiatives. Values haven’t died. Virtues still exist. Just press in the reboot button and start a fresh, muster the courage to inculcate them back in, in the upcoming generation. It doesn’t matter which part of the globe you belong to, what color, race and gender you are a part of, which religion you follow, what you eat and what you wear. Our values are far ahead of all this. They are an essence of being one civilised, evolved, refined and truly developed human race. Let us not go back to where we came from. Ignorance is not bliss here.
We can not expect anyone to attain sainthood overnight, but we can steadily nourish the souls with virtue, righteousness, humility and regard for the fellow beings. Before mending anyone else, you will need to set yourself aright. And yes, you can. Till then, no amount of feminism and terms alike will suffice to bring in the change that we desire to see. But right amount of grooming and proper upbringing will.
There is one beautiful biblical quote, ” For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue and virtue with knowledge.”
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