1. Prologue
2. Emma Watson: Gender equality
   1. What is Feminism?
   2. Gender Equality: What and Why?
   3. Men too face Gender inequality
   4. Gender stereotypes 
3. Views of New NCW chief:
4. Mock Questions

Prologue

Combining two topics from current affairs- mainly for Essay fodder.

• September week2: Emma Watson speech on Gender equality
• October Week1: Views of new NCW chairman

Emma Watson: Gender equality

Emma Watson, former star of Harry Potter movie series and now UN women global goodwill ambassador. Her speech for UN campaign – “HeForShe” – to end gender inequality.

What is Feminism?

• Feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.
• It is the theory of political, economic and social equality of the sexes.
• It doesn’t mean men are inferior.
• A Feminist doesn’t mean aggressive, man hater person.

Gender Equality: What and Why?

Gender Equality is achieved when

1. Women are paid equally as men, and given equal social respect.
2. Women are allowed to take decision about themselves, their education, career and family planning.
3. Women are allowed to participate in nation’s policy making.

Such, gender equality will bring more true and complete version of human being. BUT, no country in the world, has achieved gender equality.

• The reform process is so slow in Africa, it’d take 2086 before all African girls get enrolled in secondary school.
• Gender sensitiveness and gender-equality needs equal participation from men. It can’t be achieved by  creating awareness among women alone.
• Men should join the campaign for gender inequality, so that their mothers, sisters and daughters can live free from prejudice.

Men too face Gender inequality

Issue of Gender equality is not just confined to women but its issue of male community as well. Men do not enjoy gender equality either. For example:

• Father is less valued as a parent than mother in the society.
• Men prefer to suffer rather to ask for help for fear it will make him less of man
• Men are  fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of male success.
• Higher suicide rate in men

Gender stereotypes

Gender Sterotypes put restriction on both men and women. For example

• Girls are prevented to join sports and boys are prevented to express their feelings
• Liberating men from such stereotypes can bring freedom to women.
• If men don’t have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won’t feel compelled to be submissive.
• Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive.
• Both men and women should feel free to be strong
• Gender should be seen as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals.
• We should stop defining each other by what we are not, and start defining ourselves by who we are.

Sidenote: India has contributed $1 million to UN women’s body. Official name: United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. India founding member. Contributed 1 billion$ for its 2014 budget

Views of New NCW chief:

Lalitha Kumaramangalam, Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) gave an interview, providing some more fodder on the same topic:
About Love Jihad

• It is a social problem and not religious one. Intermarriages are becoming common and society is bound to resist any such change.
• There are a little over 800 women for 1,000 men. Extrapolate that to the country’s population. There are just not enough women. Hence we see cases of one woman being married off to more than one man and bride-buying in Punjab, Haryana and even northern Uttar Pradesh, irrespective of castes and religions

About Khap Panchayats:
Even if the Courts, Police, and NCW protect a couple seeking help from Khap Panchayat, they would still be on the run for the rest of their lives because society is not ready to change its mindset.
Violence

• Violence against women, is not confined to rape and beating at home.
• Malnutrition, lewd SMSs, cybercrimes, deprivation, no sanitation facilities in schools, along highways, these are all examples of violence too

Her wishes:

• That Women’s Reservation Bill would be tabled in the winter session of Parliament and Nirbhaya fund is utilized properly.
• That NCW be given more powers to enforce its recommendations.

Mock Questions

Write essay on following topics

1. The gender equality will bring more true and complete version of human being
2. Daughter aversion. (Context- deep seated patriarchal mindsets leading to the preference for sons over daughters.)
3. Not only women but men also need to participate on an equal footing in gender justice.
4. Healthy mothers and healthy children are crucial for India to realize the demographic dividend. (Melinda Gates)
5. The promise of women empowerment is hollow without breaking away from gender stereotypes first.
6. Gender is a matter of culture without which either a man or a woman cannot lead a harmonious life.