Women's Issues

On Women's Liberation

Articles

By Shampa Chatterjee

In today’s world of extreme political, social and religious unrest, there has been much defining and redefining on what constitutes women’s rights. And what women’s liberation entails? What is its meaning in the third world, where we have not been able to secure the basic and minimum rights and privileges for our citizens? When the right to employment, the right to get clean drinking water, right to move about without fear not to mention the right to free speech, vote and education is non existent do we really need a women’s liberation movement? I will try to explain here why I feel that we DO.

Securing women’s rights is actually a part of a larger movement to secure basic rights for all humans and move towards a more egalitarian or equal society. Therefore women’s emancipation and empowerment should not be seen in isolation from the rest of society. As I see it, denial of opportunities to women implies a denial of equality and opportunity to fifty percent of the population. And I cannot imagine that a society can truly become a people’s state, by not granting equality in every respect to half its people.

The women’s movement is not just about the working wives of wealthy men. Or women’s right to wear diamonds, expensive clothing and the latest fashion accessories from Paris. These are the components that are generally more visible in the media and have consequently given the movement a negative image. Detractors and opponents of the movement use these examples to make a case against empowerment of women. However, they fail to point out that a major demand of the women’s movement is access to education and healthcare, both of which have been shown in other countries to lower birth rate and infant mortality rate. Increased literacy in women has shown to lower both birth rate and infant mortality rate. In Kerala, a south Indian state, where 96% women are literate and where the state provides good child healthcare, the birth and infant mortality rates are comparable to the European nations though the per capita income is several times lower.

Since society has various strata, emancipation means different things for women from different classes. The poor woman might want health and education for her family, the upper class educated woman may wish to join the workforce while the intellectual poetess wishes to see the presence and participation of women in every walk to life, be it art, education, politics, religion or sports. In the development of a country each of these issues is important. If the women’s movement suffers each of these will.

The woman’s liberation has placed a lot of emphasis on economic freedom. This financial freedom for women does not mean “wealthy women drive the latest foreign cars”. True there are many that do that, but most would have done so with or without the liberation movement. (Many of the daughters of nawabs and princes had great freedom and access to wealth even before the term “women’s liberation” was coined.)

Women’s financial freedom is what middle class women have won through getting education and a place in the workforce. It is also what lower middle class and poor women have won through cooperative banks and working together in their self made unions and organizations. In western India, the hugely popular Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), has as its members rural and urban women from the unorganized small scale sector. SEWA members run their own bank and ensure minimum wages stipulated by the government are given to their members. There are several women’s organizations doing this kind of work in West Bengal and Bangladesh. These run on women’s desire for self emancipation and equal rights and affect the lives of thousands of women. If the women's movement suffers these women's dreams of a better future will be far more affected than those that use French perfumes.

Our third world countries face several problems. Our population is burgeoning and we have scarce resources. This means that every year we add on more people that we cannot feed or clothe or educate, must less provide jobs. This further compounded by the economic crisis we face due to faulty economic policies. Unequal land distribution and low agricultural yields have caused rural people to migrate to mega cities that do not have the resources to support them. At the same time there is criminalization of politics. Unemployed youth can be put to good use by local netas and politicians to hold on to power. The police-politician-criminal nexus is so strong that most crimes go unpunished. This whole situation gives rise to what can be called “goonda raaj” and a general law and order problem. There are complex economic and political factors at play. Since there are no simple answers to these problems, it becomes very easy to target the women’s liberation movement, deny its importance and dismiss it as a Western concept. But the truth is that any ideal that demands the removal of oppression and the granting of opportunity and rights to education, economic freedom and political representation for half of the world’s population is worth following no matter where it originally came from. Those denying its legitimacy are accepting the oppression of women in the name of society and culture. They forget that oppression can never be anyone’s culture.

Zakia Afrin

7th March, 2003

Yet another 8th March - international women's day. There will be seminars, rallies and big promises like always and at the same time millions of women and children will be battered, raped and killed. Still none of our leaders or intellectuals will have a little doubt in their minds that they got the whole idea of women's liberation movement wrong. As a young girl, I was fascinated by the idea of getting even with the male counterparts, but as I grow older, it seems more complicated than I ever imagined. I am not sure any more whether this is the right way to find a successful life as a woman.

The hottest business in Bangladesh now a days? "Empower the Women". Financial freedom will work as Aladdin's lamp for the unfortunate population, giving them access to all unfulfilled dreams. The result - all the rich and middle income families are blessed with double incomes. The women are playing a super woman role; posing as a career driven person, a wife, a mother and a house maker. Overworked, over-exhausted women are paying a price of their happiness in life for these multiple roles. Even worse is the fact that their momentary successful life is being possible at the expense of others - the most unfortunate of all, poor women. The working women is depending on her maid or nanny to take care of the household work, but what's happening with the maid's life? Have anyone wondered what her kids are doing in the absence of their mother? Who is filling the vacuum? Have the sociologists ever conducted any research about the high rates of crimes in the cities? In the slums? We the city people blamed all those poor villagers who came to the city for a living, but did not leave any stone unturned to abuse their cheap labor . Those are the kids who grew up without going to school, without minimum education from their mother( let alone the father), now threatening us on our ways of lives. Unknowingly, they are retaliating for their miserable lives. This is the part that I could not fit in my understanding of the superwomen hood. How many wings do I need to break to make one for myself?

There is more to the financial freedom phenomenon - it hasn't proved to be effective against violation. More women are working in Bangladesh than ever, yet the crime rates show no signs of going down. Anyone interested to educate the children? What is leading a 18 year old child to rape his neighbor? When I take a look around, it frightens me how we are neglecting our children, our future. The free market economy is taking its toll in our daily lives. Our children are exposed to a sudden change they can not handle. They don't know how to react correctly. And of course, our media is there to lead them in a wrong way. Where we see grown up women in their attitude bearing perpetual childhood ( this is a phrase I recently read in Mary Wollstonecraft's writing, still perfect) and displaying lack of intellect every way. When this is the situation, it's not anymore concerning only the woman, it's about the whole population. Why should I only cry for my own right as a woman, what about my responsibilities? Don't I have a duty to make the world a better place for the children of tomorrow? Am I not a human first? Then why is there no precession against bribing? Against the poor education system? Against the corruption of the organs of the government? Maybe instead of a women's movement we need a social cleansing movement first. Let's fight against the cultural aggression, the bribery pride and cheap politics. Let's give the debate on our freedom fight a rest, let's start arguing for a better future plan.

Every year hundreds of novels, poems and essays are published. Just count the numbers of educational literature. The philosophers, sociologists and thinkers are not visible much. If a few tries to be brilliant, they are declared perverts, unsocial, not to mention banned. Some honorable members of the society are so dead in their nostalgia of the independence war that every time they open their mouth , a sigh comes out-'ah 71'. As if the world stopped turning after the event, time freezed. They are so blind that they can't see the new generations' frustrations searching for a true identity. Our fearful scream of the uncertain future can't awaken them from the hibernation. In this kind of situation, how do I feel as a woman?

Honestly, no different than my next door neighbor, an unemployed boy. He is as much miserable as I am. He is not safe in the streets either. He doesn't know if he can save his property from the musclemen, he is not sure of his sister coming home safely in dark. So why is my struggle different from him? Why do I want to have it all when others have nothing? In Bangladesh now we need a movement of the whole population against the negative forces that prevail in our country. Our enemy - our own selves. Let's reject our westernized liberating ideas for some time. We have to find our own way out. West sponsored women's movement can only lead us to a capitalist society - where some women will have all and others will lose all they have - their families. It will be clear if we take a look at the lifestyles of our sponsors. As researchers reached their conclusion 'the lifestyles of the first world are made possible by a global transfer of the services associated with a wife's traditional role - childcare, home making and sex from poor countries to the rich ones' - we are following their footsteps by inviting women from villages to help us get through our busy lifestyles. We don't need that. We want to build a society where rights of the poor will be regarded as precious as the rich ones. Our movement is towards a bright future of our children, men, women alike. Sponsoring women's movement could very well be regarded a conspiracy of the capitalist world in order to distract us from our basic demand - equal place in the world picture. It's not about the men and women anymore; it's about the rich and the poor. Let this women's day open our eyes………………

Lopa Tasneem

Dear Zakia,

I thank you for raising some very good points. I agree with you that the concept of women’s liberation is a very complicated one and it may have different meaning in different regions of the world. There was a time when feminists believed that women’s liberation was to look like and act like men. That concept has been proven wrong and is no longer accepted by the feminists.

In a poverty stricken country as Bangladesh, where even men are not safe to walk on the street, it would be too much to expect that women will be safe. Therefore, is a woman has the same struggle as a man for living? You wrote, “In this kind of situation, how do I feel as a woman? Honestly, no different than my next-door neighbor, an unemployed boy. He is as much miserable as I am. He is not safe in the streets either. He doesn't know if he can save his property from the musclemen, he is not sure of his sister coming home safely in dark. So why is my struggle different from him?”

The struggle might be the same for us, the privileged ones, who were born in educated families and were lucky enough to have college degrees and look for jobs. But look at another next-door neighbor, a 16 year old girl, forced to marry a man 25 years older than her, and then committed suicide because her parents could not pay the dowry. Or another girl whose husband regularly beats her for his pleasure, have multiple wives, but the girl has no education and no place to go. Her relatives tell her to accept and compromise. These are problems unique to women and exist at a large scale in Bangladesh. Many women in the sub-continent have no other alternatives but to live the life of a sub-human. From the very first day of our childhood, we are brainwashed to compromise, sacrifice our desires for the sake of pleasing the men we depend on. IMO, one way to get freedom from leading such a miserable life is to achieve financial independence so that a woman can dare to have a room of her own if she chooses so.

Yes women are overworked, over exhausted for carrying out multiple roles – a wife, a mother, a careerist, to name a few. To solve that problem, instead of giving up financial independence of women, we should thrive on having a society where men take responsibility of equal share of work at home. Parenting should be both partners’ responsibility. A man also is a husband and a father and shouldn’t act like a king at home. A man should consider taking temporary leave from his job for taking care of a baby, if situation arises. I have seen many cases where the wife is better paid in her job, but when it comes to staying home to raise kids, it always has to be the woman. But above all, just to be able to protest against all the unfair treatments of the society to a woman, she needs to be able to take responsibility of her own financial burden.

Things wouldn’t change overnight. But the tradition has to be broken. The realization has to come to both man and woman and their kids need to be told differently than they were traditionally.

Lopa

Aloka Roy

Dear Lopa,

You asked me to write on women's liberation sometime back and I have not forgotten it. I just have been too busy living it, too tied up to take a few deep breath, to sit down quitely and to write.

Don't ask what I am doing, there is nothing to tell. Nothing special but the mundane tasks of a typical urban working women, perhaps loving life and living it to the max. Most of the time, I enjoy what I do, be it work or be it nagging and bugging loved ones.Yet there are those moments when something deep inside tells you "Hetha noy, onnyo kotha," to continue that eternal search for something elsewhere, something not quite definable. Perhaps many others are like me feeling the same, or may be there is no one like me.

Just this other evening after a long day of work, I had to drive about 40 miles to pick up my significant other. His car broke down and he needed a ride. As I wiggle my heavy footed way through the after work Interstate traffic trying to get there as soon as possible without getting a love note from the police, I turned on a cd. For a moment it caught me off guard. Hemanta Mukherjee singing "Kono ek G(n)ayer bodhur kotha" - a tale of a village wife. Couldn't help a smile thinking a parallel of a very urban wife whose tale will never be told. Our's is not the romantic fairy tale life, no 'madhu maash' (sweet time), no stream of hundreds of little dreams overflowing a small cottage. Yet it is tale of too many of us, too many of us still suffer in quite epic proportion. We make our own dream and we break it and we live alone with our shattered private dreams. Cost of liberation may be, as nothing in life comes free. Some one once said that the speed of life has taken away the romance of idle time. Getting up at the crack of dawn to get everyone out of the house and get to work on time will never trigger any poet's imagination. It is not the same as the waiting wife in the soft shadow of an oil lamp. To the poet, a line of delapidated cottages marked forever the end of dreams of the fabled village wife. What marks the end of thousands of struggling female of our time, Lopa? Loneliness, divorce, court, sleeping pills, antidepresent and for how many of us? Is the pain of our time any less than that proverbial Bengali 'G(n)ayer bodhu'? May be, she was a helpless victim, we are not.

This is not what you asked me to write, neither did I plan to write this, it is the product of this moment. Tomorrow, I hope to feel different.

Late that night, as I took the exit ramp, my passanger pointed out that it was full moon. I looked up at the clear sky one last time as we entered the house. 'Ghee mou mou aam kathaler gondho' (the aroma) .. no ...I had left chicken in my oven set on a timer. Past mid night, as I approach my bed, I had this very strong urge to go out and look at the clear sky and the full moon, but tomorrow is another work day! Moon can wait tonight, it must.

Yours
Aloka

By Dr Barnita Bagchi

The life and work of multifaceted South Asian Bengali feminist (writer, novelist, essayist, polemicist, teacher, manager of a school, social worker) Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932) provides inspiration and a rich source of insight to all those committed to furthering equity in education, and to those who perceive that processes of development in a patriarchal, multifaith society must be taken up and furthered by activist women intellectuals who invest energy in furthering formal education, particularly school education for girls. Rokeya is a diamond in the history of women's emancipation in South Asia: every little corner of her life and work yields beauty and splendour. Bangladesh celebrates her by observing Rokaya Day on December 9 each year, while India too boasts of many and growing numbers of admirers and scholars. A recent book by the distinguished scholar Professor Bharati Ray, Early Bengali Feminists, for example, analysed the richness of Rokeya's work.

As a crusader for girls' education, Rokaya saw the integral link between adult women's life-long learning and growth, that is women's own self-development and emancipation, and the education of millions of girls who even today lack access or security in schooling, a problem which is particularly acute in South Asia.

Rokeya set up a school for girls in 1909 in Bhagalpur, Bihar with the material and intellectual support of her husband. After being widowed, she came to Calcutta and re-opened her school, called Sakhawat Memorial Girls' School, in 1911. The school evolved into a full-fledged high school by the time of her death. It was a pioneering institution for Muslim girls, and still flourishes with government aid, a testament to the solidity of Rokeya's effort. The same Rokeya all through her life wrote impassioned, highly intelligent polemics about the oppression, discrimination, pain, and obstacles to development faced by women, both within her own community, and by women belonging to all communities. Published first as a series of columns in 1928-30, her Abarodhbasini ('The Secluded Ones'), bold and unflinching in its denunciation of the cruelty of the then-prevalent system of purdah, took Bengal by storm, as did similar essays in Motichur (1903-04). Sultana's Dream (1905), written in delightfully easy, humorous style, in English, depicted a female utopia where the principal of the ladies' college is largely instrumental in taking over the reins of government from a militaristic, patriarchal regime.

It is Rokeya's much-neglected novella Padmarag (1924) which shows her bringing together her espousal of women's personal journeys of growth and emancipation and their working to advance educational equity. This also shows her powerfully, explicitly, and boldly expressing her belief in an unsectarian, universalist society where women from all races, creeds, and colours, having suffered from patriarchal oppression, determine to better their lot by concrete social action and organising, and devote themselves to the often thankless task of getting out of school girls into school.

In this work of Rokeya's, a young widow, of Hindu origin, sets up a community which will both give shelter and training to women who have faced patriarchal and familial oppression, and which also runs a school, a vocational training workshop, and a home for the sick and destitute. The women who find refuge and run the community are Muslims, Brahmos, Christian, and Hindu-as well as white and black. We find wonderfully realistic details of pioneering working women typing, managing accounts, supervising subordinates, teaching: in short, taking on the full gamut of activities that competent women educators undertake.

Delving into the richness of Rokeya's educational work and her fictional depiction of it, I find as a feminist academic working in the field of gender, education, and development that we have troves of learning to glean from her. Today, the problem of girls' education in South Asia is urgently and worryingly acute. As the Education For All UNESCO initiative noted in 2000, half the girls in South Asia (as in sub-Saharan Africa) never attend school, over half the female population above 15 is illiterate, and South Asia has the highest gender gap in education of 29 points.

Meanwhile, international education and development experts are increasingly advocating that to progress in primary or basic education, one needs grassroots-based, community-based educational movements that heavily involve adult women from the community acting as motivators, participants, galvanizers, and teachers. We need simultaneous emphasis on adult education and life-long learning for women, with a recognition that women make exceptionally successful educational mobilizers and teachers. Recent success stories in school education, whether the schooling revolution involving hill women in Himachal Pradesh, or the success of community-based, women teacher-based civil society organization based movements such as BRAC in Bangladesh or Pratham in India, demonstrate the effectiveness of women taking charge of their own lives and entering teaching and community mobilization, with a special sensitivity to girls.

This is the mighty power and success unleashed when women, education, and social capital work in synergy, and this Rokeya realised and attempted heroically to achieve on micro-scale in the last century. The heritage of Rokeya's multifaith, multicultural, gender-just vision needs to be retrieved and learned from by those of us working in the field of development who have a similar unsectarian, feminist ethos, and who want urgently to bring millions of South Asian children and adults, particularly the neglected girls and women, into the fold of education.

Rumana Ahsan

The tale....which has historical findings....

The King Chandra Gupta*, the second-- was known as Bicromadditto. He had nine famous and wise advisors in his cabinet. It’s said that the great poet Kalidas and the famous astrologer named Bora Meeheer , belonged to his cabinet too. Bara was married and was not blessed with any children. So he was very sad. But after many years of prayers, his wife conceived. Out of joy, Bara became curious to know the future of his unborn child. His first counting was shocking. On his second count, he became angry. But he really became exhausted after the third counting. After counting three times, he learnt the fact that his future child is going to be the killer of his parents!. How could he share such pathetic news with some one? So he decided to remove his wife form the capital...named Uddjoyini. He sent her to the rain forest. His wife never went out of Uddjoyini and she didn’t know where to go. Fortunately, a lady wood fetcher was present at that moment-- in the deep forest. She was shocked to see a pregnant lady alone in the forest and took the women to her hut. After some days, Bara’s wife gave birth to a baby boy. She named him after his dad Meeheer. He was growing up in the deep forest, seeing his mother’s pain and sufferings. He decided to explore his own fortune. He started his journey toward an unknown destination and reached a new place called Srinagar (Kashmir). He was so exhausted that he couldn’t stand up properly and fell right in front of a man’s house. The house belonged to an astrologer named, Atal-Charjja. He saw Meeheer lying on the ground and took him to his house. He took special care of Meeheer and liked him very much. He had a very thoughtful girl named Khona and she was a good fortune teller. Atala charjja thought Meeheer will be a perfect match for Khona. Thus Khona and Meeheer got married with the blessings of Atal-Charjja.

In another story it was mentioned that for a certain time Meeheer and Khona didn't get along. Meeheer complained against his wife to king Bricomadditto. He complained about Khona that she was an arrogant lady and she didn’t have respect for the king. After hearing such complain, King Bicromaddito became very furious and ordered his men to cut off the tongue of Khona. King’s order was duly executed and the tongue of a beautiful fortune teller was gone!

Meeheer started feeling guilty as Khona became tongue- less. So he wanted to relocate, to some other place for a change. Finally he came to Bengal with Khona and asked for refuge to the Emperor Chandra Ketu of Chabbispargana ( Banada Area). After years of mediation, Khona’s tongue grew. She became the most powerful lady expressionist of her time. People came from remote villages to take her advice. Her fame spread everywhere as she started putting words in mother’s and sister’s mouth in Bengal. Thus Khona's proverbs were spread very fast and she became a famous expressionist of Bengal. Her proverbs are known as Khona’s Bachon(sayings of khona).

So my dear friend Aloka....I really liked your expression of this century. Your tale has touched my feelings. Also it reminded me of a tale of a tongue less women named khona. Who knows---could be because of a few little words of expression, she got that severe punishment! I collected some information about that famous lady and wanted to share it with all of you. The fact remains that Khona’s tongue grew back. The historical implication is that she regained her power of speech. She became more powerful with her newer version of her tongue! In the memory of the lost tongue of Khona...let us all celebrate the freedom of our expression---with the newer version of our tongues!

Whatever task or responsibility we have to perform in this world as women... no one can take back our expression of thoughts! We have earned that ‘beyond freedom and dignity’--- way before the chronological history of women’s movement! The women’s role in past and in future will be the same. So apparently, the feelings of a gayer bodhu and an urban wife will be the same too----but expression wise, we have achieved a lot. Our expression of thoughts is our shield and it is the greatest discovery of 20th century.

"ei onontto chora chore
je jemon karma kore
she teman phol taar paay
je chasha aaloshyo bhore bij na bapon kare
paka shossho paibey shey kothay" (Khona)

- Rumana C. Ahsan

Bibliography:
*The second son of Shomudro Gupta... is known as Bicramaditta.
..Brihot Bangla(vol.1)...by Dinesh Chandra Sen
Bangla o Bangaleer kaotha (khona meeheer) ....by Abul momen
History of Bengali speaking people...by Nitish Sengupta.....rise of Gupta empire around 350 AD

By Sultana Kamal

[Today, 9th December, is Begum Rokeya Day, birth anniversary of Begum Rokeya, pioneer of women's rights in the sub-continent. Special thanks to Ms Sultana Kamal, a lawyer and an activist from Dhaka, for sharing this article with Uttorshuri members. She is the daughter of poet activist Sufia Kamal. This article was read by Ms Sultana Kamal in a seminar in Kabul, Afghanistan in May 2003. ]

This is lady land, free from sin and harm. Virtue herself reigns here.
-- Sultana's Dream by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain

Sultana, a young woman from the remotest part of Bangladesh roams about paths of the Ladyland. She feels, as normal for a Bangladeshi Muslim woman, a bit awkward fearing she might come across a man in the street. Understanding her feelings, her host in the Ladyland, sister Sara assures her that there was no reason to fear that Sultana would come across a man there. Responding to Sultana's question where the men could be, Sister Sara explains men were kept in confinement. The reason being it was not safe for women to be in the streets as long as men were about. Sultana informs Sister Sara, in her country- like everywhere else- it's the women who are kept inside to be safe from men. Sister Sara comments how unfair it was to shut in the harmless women and let loose the men. She asks Sultana, "Was it wise to keep sane people inside and let loose the insane?" She points out to Sultana, "As a matter of fact, in your country, this very thing is done! Men, who do or at least are capable of doing no end of mischief, are let loose and the innocent women, shut up in the zenana!"

Sister Sara asks Sultana, " why do you allow yourselves to be shut up? "Because it cannot be helped as they (men) are stronger than women." replies Sultana.

Sister Sara comments, " a lion is stronger than a man, but it does not enable him to dominate the human race. You have neglected the duty you owe to yourselves and you have lost your natural rights by shutting your eyes to your own interests."

I couldn't resist myself from quoting the above lines from the fantasy story book Sultana's Dream, written by a young Muslim woman writer of Bangladesh a hundred years ago. The book, Sultana's Dream written in English by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (educationist and social reformer, 1880-1932) was published in 1908 in which Sultana, a young woman dreams of a land ruled by women, which is "free from sin and harm, reigned by virtue herself".

I quote these lines to draw your attention to the fact that feminist thinking, as commonly believed, did not emerge exclusively from the west. Women of this region, since at least a hundred years, initiated themselves into feminist thinking and looked for alternatives for their life not in terms of conventional male-dominated concepts of individual and social life, rather very much from the point of view of women themselves. The book astonishingly looks critically at the issues like discrimination in women's legal rights, individual freedom, social division of labour, man - woman relationship as well as women's social responsibilities. The book even discusses the issues of environment, alternative energy and war. Rokeya in this book of hers and also in other writings shows how religion and culture, misinterpreted and abused by the vested interest groups, exploit and suppress women and violate their basic rights.

The discussion goes on like this.

Sultana saying, "what is your religion, may I ask?"

"Our religion is based on love and truth. It is our religious duty to love one another and to be absolutely truthful. If any person lies, she or he is .............."

"Punished with death?"

"No not with death. We do not take pleasure in killing a creature of god- especially a human being .The liar is asked to leave this land for good and never to come back again."

In her description of the Ladyland, Rokeya elaborates, "Education was spread far and wide among women. And early marriage also stopped. No woman was to be allowed to marry before she was twenty-one." This is a very significant piece of information. Till now in Bangladesh, despite long continuous struggles by the women's groups we have not been able to raise the marriageable age for girls to 21 despite the fact that child marriage is illegal.

In other writings of her she says, "people may ask me why do you bring in religion while talking about the society. My answer to that is religion has strengthened our bond of slavery. It is in the name of religion that men dominate us. I, therefore, have no other option. May the religious leaders pardon me." In her comment on abuse of religion she further says, " whenever a sister has tried to raise her head, it was immediately crushed by scriptures or in the excuse of religion." (Nabanur, 2nd Volume 5 Issue).

Rokeya did not limit herself to writing only. She established a school for Muslim girls in kolkata in the early nineties. She walked from door to door to approach the eminent Muslim families to send their daughters to school so that the ordinary people of the muslim community does the same. She advocated for women's economic rights, education and personal as well as social liberation. For her, women's liberation was a comprehensive issue of personal, social, cultural and political freedom. Rokeya did not accept the subordination of women in the society or in the family and therefore dedicated herself to bring changes. It is said of Rokeya that she on the one hand, fought against the social norms and restrictions on women in the name of religion and culture through her courageous writings, and on the other, carried out activities for social reform. She worked hard to identify ways to bring women out from the darkness of seclusion. In her literary and social works, Rokeya relentlessly called upon the Muslim women to break the shackles of confinement and ignorance. Clear sighted and single minded, she pronounced the need for social and religious reform on a rational basis. Her analysis of the condition of women- their utter subjection under the various systems of patriarchy throughout history- displays a logic and vision rare for the age. Her argument was that it is the gender division of labour that determines the position of women in the family and the society. Occupational tasks and roles based on sexual differences fix women's roles and activities and limits her rights in all spheres. According to Rokeya, the path to women's emancipation is to break the chain of gender division of labour and creation of new social, economic, political and cultural conditions so that they can undertake any profession in the society.

Rokeya also established a women's organisation called Anjuman-e-Khawateen Islam which drew many Muslim women to come out of the limits of domestic life and join with other women in the effort to change their conditions.

Following her, we have a galaxy of very illustrious women who made remarkable headway in the struggles for women's advancement and emancipation both in their private lives as well as in the social scene. It is not possible in this short presentation to give a comprehensive picture of the century long women's struggles and the various issues they had taken up. To name a few among the many, they are Nurunnesa Khatun,(Writer,1892-1975) Sara Taifur(social worker and writer, 1893-1971) Akikunnesa,(writer, 1896-1982)Mehrebanu Khanam,(Painter 1885-1925), Pribanu Khanum,(social leader 1884-1958) Zobeda Khatun Choudhury,(Politician and educationist, 1901-1986) Fazilatunnesa,(Mathematecian and educationist, 1905-1977) Mahmuda Khatun Siddika,(Poet, 1906-1977) Shmasunnahar Mahmud(Politician, parliamentarian and educationist,1908-1964) followed by the era of Sufia Kamal.(Poet, Social leader and pioneer of the women's movement in Bangladesh, 1911-1999).

The youngest of all in the group but the most illustrious after Rokeya, Sufia Kamal's literrary career began at the age of twelve with the writing and publication of her first story which was followed by the publication of her first poem at the age of fifteen, then continued through her last year of life. Dr. Sajed Kmaal writes in his introduction to Sufia Kamal's book, Mother of Perls and Other poems, " It was a remarkable journey of initiative, determination, endurance, courage and commitment. As major an achievement and dimension it was, for a life so actively engaged as hers, focusing only on her literary career would severely limit the introduction to her." For Sufia Kamal, as she said herself, there was no separation between poetry and life. It is further said of her that Sufia being a major poet of the country also engaged herself in organising women for various purposes- social, human rights, women's rights, children's rights, peace, charity, development of the poor and slum dwellers, anti military and anti-fundamentalist movements, trial of the war criminals of 1971, communal harmony. Starting in the thirties she has been the founding member of several organisations, most of which are still surviving and with strong footing. She wrote, she edited women's magazines, taught, launched campaigns and gave leadership in forming organisations. She also actively took part in the liberation war of Bangladesh and since the liberation initiated and led many other organisations in a myriad of progressive causes, both at government and non- governmental levels. She was the founder chairperson of, among many other organisations, of the following: Bangladesh Mahila Parishad (the largest women's organisation in Bangladesh), The Bangladesh Women's Rehabilitation Board (Govt.) and Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC). But in protest against military interventions, she gave up all the government positions.

It is not possible to give full portrayal of Sufia Kamal in a single paper. Just to get a glimpse of her extremely active life and her position in the minds of the people of Bangladesh, the following quotation from Wahidul Haque's tribute to her "The One and Only", (1996), a senior most journalist, writer, singer and Tagore Scholar could be cited.

"Sufia Kamal, known and loved universally not only as the top Muslim women poet but doyen of all poets in Eastern Bengal after partition of India, was all her life more than a courageous person. In her snub (of the regime) she in fact expressed her rejection and open denunciation of the Ayub regime. And that simple yet great act set a tone for Bengali People's political resistance graduating eventually into the liberation war. It is common place to heap encomiums on Sufia Kamal for her cultural and literary work and contribution to women's emancipation. But, considered in depth, these are cushioned on her unerring political position of almost godly infallibility. Her stature has gained steadily over the years mainly owing to this and by as early as the mid-fifties she had become a truly national figure- not only a mere entry on the women's Who's Who. Her assiduous rejection of privilege- coming as it did from all successive governments- Ayub's to Ershad's- has lent her ethereal physical presence a kind of divine touch."

On the issue of religious bigotry, she was critical and enlightening, rather than merely condemning. Unshaken by their militancy or life-threats which she has been subjected to for years, she challenged its followers, instead, to re-examine the fundamental meanings of religions, including Islam. She challenged them- along with any other reason, for their own education and spiritual development- to critically and open mindedly examine the teachings of the Quran and its varied interpretations and seek within these the universal essence of religion and peace. She was not naive about the fact that there are some people who would exploit this cause or any other cause- to their own ulterior motives or ends. She considered one of the most effective antidotes to that lies with a broadening public awareness and education.

The other name that deserves mention here is that of Jahanara Imam (1929-1994) who led the movement for the trial of the war criminals of 1971. She took a strong stand against the religious fundamentalists who collaborated with the Pakistani army in 1971 in perpetrating violence against women and aiding the army in genocide of Bangladesh. I must aware people that though I have mentioned the names of Muslim women only, but to say women of Bangladesh does not necessarily mean Muslim women alone. Nor women's movement in Bangladesh is an exclusive movement of Muslim women.. Bangladesh is a multicultural, multi-religious society holding the history of struggles and movements participated jointly by Muslims, Hindus, Budhists, Christians and other ethnic groups and Bangladesh prides in the respect it has for such diversity. But for the purpose of this meeting, I restrict myself to discussing how the Muslim women struggled through to get recognition of the principles of women's freedom and equality.

All these women came from conservative Muslim backgrounds from the upper strata of the society. For many of them, going to school was almost sacrilegious. Except a handful of them who made it to the schools, colleges and universities, most of them were allowed only to learn Arabic, Persian and Urdu sitting at home. Bangla, the language of the land was considered the language of the commoners and therefore not to be cultured by them. Any other social opportunities were beyond their imagination. The only exposure they were entitled to was to make themselves skilled, good Muslim housewives. Yet all of them, defying all kinds of restrictions, inhibitions and threats, shone in intellectual excellence and social consciousness. They established themselves as writers, social workers, teachers, artists, historians, political thinkers and reformers devoted to the cause of women, society and the humanity. They merited high as outstanding individuals in various fields and at the same time became catalysts for women's liberation. What is remarkable in the work and deed of these women is the level of consciousness they demonstrated in their analysis of their social context, the role of religion and culture and above all their own role in the process of advancement of women. They were as critical of themselves as they were of the social, cultural and political conditions for the subordination of women. They fought for women's education, economic freedom, social liberation, political participation and equality in legal rights (proposed uniform family code for all women). With great risk they raised their voice against violence against women in the family as well as social violence in the name of protecting religion and honour (fatwa).

It is important to note that they all had to operate within the strict religious bounds as well as rigid nationalist values. Theirs was the time when Muslims sat backward in all spheres of life- political, social, cultural- feeling extremely defensive in front of both Hindu and British influences. It was the time when as Indians, on the one hand, they were reacting to British colonial interventions and on the other, as the backward section of the society (minority), trying to resist the Hindu (majority) interference. Muslim women, as a consequence, were being pushed further backwards. As always, as the depository and repository of culture and religion, women were made to take the sole responsibility of flying the flag of identity high. Those women who chose to and committed themselves to the women's liberation had to go on creating effective strategies to deal with the extreme sensitive and defensive character of the society particularly regarding the women's questions. The society was ever ready to put the women's fidelity to Muslim nationalism and Islam to test, which for all practical purposes, meant complete subjugation of women to male dominance and resignation to domestic life. On the other hand there existed so much disbelief and lack of respect for as well as ignorance about the struggles these women were carrying out in the western mind, which lingered until very recently. We hear even in 1972 , "No feminist works emerged from behind the Hindu purdah or out of the Moslem harems; centuries of slavery do not provide a fertile soil for intellectual development or expression" (Feminism: Essential Historical Writings by Miriam Schineir,1972). This attitude has totally been proved wrong by women of our region. However, the success of these women in breaking the barriers was first of all due to their determination, family support, the knowledge and confidence they so painstakingly acquired, extending themselves to other women for solidarity, organisation and above all their undaunted courage to face social odds and outright rejection of all undue, unjust pressures. They were dreamers as well as actors. They knew, for sure, what they wanted and knew no bounds to act towards that-- to live in dignity, equality and peace.

References:

1.Sultana's Dream, Rokeya Skahawat Hossain, Narigrantha Probotana, Dhaka, 1996

2. Begum Rokeya: A brief Introduction and the Struggle, Afroze Akram, Dhaka, December 2001

3.Shoto Bochhorer Bangladesher Nari, (women of Bangladesh over hundred years), Narigrantho Prabartana, Dhaka February 2003,

4. The One and Only, Waheedul Haque, The Daily Star, January 1996

5. Introduction to Sufia Kamal's bilingual anthology of poems- Mother of Pearls and other

Lopa Tasneem

Even though I raise this question with an ailing heart whether there is a future for women in Bangladesh or not when I hear stories like Simi's suicide, I would like to be an optimist. I would like to think that the future women of Bangladesh would be strong enough to fight all injustices perpetrated against them and not choose the path of suicide to protest. Neither suicide nor taking up arms in one's hand should be the language of women's protest against any social injustice. Those might temporarily solve the issue, but to seek a long-lasting solution, we need to search our souls first to see what is the root cause of these injustices.

I do not observe much change in the mind-set of women, more acutely and specifically among the mind-set of Bengali middle class women. The same old stories: worries of the mother of an unmarried girl and arranged marriages of girls to men twice their age. I do not sense much hope when I learn that my young feminist friend's family pressures her to leave her work in order to get married and settled. As long as women elect to remain the weaker sex and succumb to the myriads of society's unfairness, there will be more stories like Simi's.

The solution, IMO, lies in education and financial independence for women. It might take several generations of education for women before they would recognize an injustice as an injustice against women. But the protest has to come from within first. As long as our womenfolk do not realize that marriage and family cannot be the ultimate goal of a girl, we would remain in the dark. When the mothers will teach their sons to learn to better respect women, only then we would see the number of abusive men decrease. We create this social awareness through education. The women need to realize first that the society has been unfair to them and one way of protest would be to become financially independent so that they can take full control of their own lives. Until then, we need keep our struggle alive.

The Police inspector Abul Bashar who blamed Simi instead of punishing the hoodlums does not come as a surprise to me. We face many Abul Bashars at home and on the streets in our everyday life. In a traditional, patriarchic society like ours, Abul Bashars who may quote religion to their advantage are quite normal. There is not much difference between the mind-set of the hoodlums and that of the police inspector in respect to their thoughts of women, as our society does not teach us that women should enjoy equal rights as men. It can be very frustrating for the women at times, especially when our own parents blame us too for going against the norm. Most of the times, we make compromises by giving up the fight. Our mothers teach us to compromise on every steps. They tell us that women are meant to be the weaker, inferior sex. We get brainwashed by our mothers, aunts, friends.

We, the women need to educate ourselves first to collectively realize that we are mistreated by the society and therefore, need to protest. We, also, should educate a son like Abul Bashar regarding women's place in the society and a daughter like Simi to stand up on her own feet. That will require several generations of proper education. But we, the women need to start the process.

Financial independence will give women the power – power to make their voices heard. Women need to become government officials, business entrepreneurs, doctors, engineers, political leaders, artists, teachers equally with men to have the power to reform the society. We can create such mass awareness only when we have the power to do it.

Simi was an under-graduate student and perhaps, was working towards achieving her financial independence. The achievement of financial independence would have led her to take full control of her life when she would not have to listen to the parents or a husband if she chose to be so. She might have been all alone in her journey and I can, very well, feel her pain. Still, I would like to think that other Simis would not put such an untimely stoppage to their journey. Simis would come out united and keep their struggle alive. The sun has to come out after the stormy nights!

Maleka Begum

Dowry prevails in Bangladesh. Despite much effort to do away with it, this curse still exists throughout the country. Even this moment while we discuss the issue, somewhere in Bangladesh, a bride is being beaten for dowry, she is being oppressed at the hands of her in-laws, and she is being tortured. Some wives are even giving their lives for dowry. There certainly is something very wrong, therefore, in the social movement of the country, in the state endeavours, in the political, ethical, cultural and human rights movements. So many seminars, symposiums and conferences are being held on the issue, but there really is no change. There must be some error in the efforts of the intellectuals, the activists, the civil society, otherwise why is there no alleviation of this problem? We must find the loophole if we want any tangible solution to the problem.

We drift from one seminar to another, but there is no coordination between our words and our actions. We are not evaluating our movements, nor monitoring actions. While on one hand the dowry-related crimes continue to spiral, on the other hand the programmes aimed at stopping dowry also continue to flourish. Of course, we should not belittle the struggle that has been continuing against dowry. There is no lack of sincerity in the struggle. There is no lack of effort or continuity.

Way back in 1854 a play entitled Kulin Kul Sarbaswa sparked off social awareness regarding the dowry issue. It was an indictment against the dowry system. The movement against dowry has not stopped from then. The great writers of the region, from Rabindranath Tagore, Sharatchandra and Kazi Nazrul Islam down to the contemporary writers have written strongly against dowry. In 1904 Rokeya Shakhawat Hossain, the proponent of women's education in the sub-continent, harshly condemned men who demanded dowry from their in-laws. Poet Sufia Kamal, Advocate Aminul Islam, Mr Mohaymen and others all contributed significantly to the anti-dowry movement of the seventies. The Anti-Dowry Act was promulgated in 1980.

A milestone in the movement against dowry was the Saleha case. Her husband, Dr Iqbal, murdered her for the sake of dowry. The law stepped in and ultimately he was hanged. Even so, dowry has not been eliminated. The struggle continues.

Recommendations made by women's organisations: The following recommendations have been formulated over the last 32 years of the movement against dowry:

1. As the problem of dowry springs from a male-dominated, poor and backward society, the movement against this issue must include socio-economic, cultural and political forces. A one-point coordinated programme against it will definitely yield results. The political parties and government must match word with action.

2. All progressive forces, not just women's organisations alone, must attempt to bring about an equality between the sexes. General inequality is a major cause of dowry. Improving women's position in society would be an effective measure against dowry.

3. The over-extravagant expenses for weddings and marriage-related functions must be curtailed as the bridegrooms often take dowry so as to meet these costs. The role models of society themselves should ensure that the weddings in their family are inexpensive and devoid of extravagance so that others follow their example.

4. It is a crime both to take and to give dowry, but the bride's family is often overlooked as a part of the crime. We just see the girl's family as the victim. But the girl's guardians must also be alert about the issue. A girl should be brought up to be self-dependent.

5. There is a tendency for the girl and the girl's family to simply tolerate the oppression rather than risk the marriage breaking up. The families must not fear social shame, but boldly take action and protest against dowry-related oppression. They must resort to legal action rather than encourage the girl to 'bear the oppression' for the sake of 'respectability'.

6. Educated girls are also asked for dowry, but the poor illiterate girls have no alternative if abandoned by their husbands for dowry. Unfortunately in the rural areas, the daughters of poor farmers often study and work in order to earn enough money to pay dowry. The activists against dowry must keep these factors in mind.

7. The role of the police and the court must change. Due to long-drawn out legal procedures, thousands of dowry cases are simply pending in the courts. Hindu brides are deprived from marriage registration and divorce rights. A uniform family code is needed to protect all women, regardless of religion.

8. The demands for amendment to the law prohibiting dowry must be implemented.

9. A woman must take an established place in society, a place of respect. Social values must be moulded in this regard.

Views and recommendations from recently held regional open discussions: Three regional seminars were held in Sylhet, Rajshahi and Chittagong on 20 October 2001, 3 November 2001 and 13 January 2002, respectively, at the initiative of the British Council and Prothom Alo. The views from these open discussions can be thus summarised:

Social

* The responsibility of a not fully matured person is being handed over from one person to another.

* Woman's unproductive role is being encouraged.

* This problem prevails under the shield of tradition, social status and culture.

* Dowry is no religious rite.

* Laws are not enough. Only when a girl is physically and mentally tortured does the issue come to light.

* The entire family is harmed, not just the girl alone.

* The birth of a baby girl is not welcomed. Due to this tradition of dowry, a girl is deprived of inheritance.

* A separate room is kept at weddings to display the dowry gifts.

* Inequality is created in the different upbringing of girls and boys.

* The bride's family appeases the groom's family with gifts and money at the wedding.

* Dowry is one manifestation of oppression against women.

* Women are taught virtue in tolerance of oppression.

* Social awareness and legal reforms are essential.

* Qualitative changes must be brought about in society.

* In Sylhet, the bride's family gives the groom all furniture, jewellery. If they can't afford it, relations help out or they take loans.

* Haggling over dowry during wedding negotiations in inevitable.

* The groom's side takes dowry for granted.

* Conscious quarters must actively take steps to prevent dowry.

* The educated class too are responsible for prevalence of the dowry system.

* Girls are brought up incapable of working or earning a living. They are made to feel inferior to men. The woman appears to be a burden to her husband's family. Her family pays dowry to meet the added burden of her expenses.

* Women's organisations must work at grassroots level on this issue.

* The unhealthy competition to give gifts at the girl's wedding must stop.

* The boy's side, in turn, pays hundreds of thousands of taka to marry a 'Londoni' girl.

* Women must be seen as humans, not items of bargain.

* Since men are the ones who oppress women, it is men who must initiate a stoppage of dowry.

* The tendency to keep women downtrodden continues.

* Dowry is a form of social extortion and terrorism.

* Social awareness programmes are needed both at government and non-government initiative.

* Area-wise networks must be built up at village level.

* Local elite must take initiative.

* Along with the movement against women's oppression and dowry, steps must be seen to ensure implementation of the movement.

* A culture of equality and social movement is required.

* The society and the family must take measures to ensure a woman to be self-dependent.

State and political

* The state machinery must ensure a woman's security.

* The proper implementation of law must be ensured.

* The political parties must have specific programmes against dowry and women's oppression and work for the implementation of these programmes.

* The government must amend the loopholes in the law.

* Inheritance laws must be changed.

* The government must take measures to stop women's oppression as it is tarnishing the image of the state internationally.

* The government has objected to two points in the convention regarding women's rights on religious, cultural and traditional grounds. These objections must be withdrawn and full support given.

* A democratic and secular society must be established where dowry and women's oppression is abolished.

* The Members of Parliament must be conscious.

* Women oppressors must be expelled from political parties.

Economic

* The educational curriculum must build awareness against women's oppression.

* The syllabus must include studies on human rights and civil rights.

Legal

* While the Constitution and the laws speak of human and women's rights, these are not implemented.

* Laws are not enough to deal with oppression against women. The issue must be tackled socially.

* The law-enforcing forces must take on a responsible role.

* The law must be amended to bring about coordination between the police and the law.

* Too much dependence on the Anti-Dowry Act is an obstacle to eliminating dowry.

We must continue our struggle to end the curse of dowry. The issue of dowry and oppression of women must be considered in view of the country's socio-economic, cultural, political, legal, state and overall structure and circumstances. United efforts are needed to put an end to violence against women. A specific framework must be drawn up to be implemented. Dowry won't come to end in a day, but we are certain that it will end. Correct action will ensure that.

Maleka Begum, an activist, columnist and researcher, is member, steering committee, NGO Coalition on Beijing plus Five Bangladesh.

By Aditi S. Ray

In most cases, even if the invitation for the parties is for the couple, I attend them alone. Two reasons. My husband, who is not from the Sarkari circle, feels suffocated and isolated in such parties. The non-Sarkari types are seldom included in conversation, which does not normally extend beyond politics, and civil service gossip. I end up sticking by his side to keep him company, which is not a very healthy thing to do in office parties. Second, I do not like leaving my son alone to have dinner all by himself in the evenings, with both of us away, partying.

In many of the office parties that I attend , sometimes I am the only woman officer around. The other women present are the wives of the seniors, colleagues and juniors. Men officers have no problems. If they attend with wives, they introduce their wives to other colleagues' wives, and retreat strategically to their own crowd. For women officers, it is a very delicate balance. If they stick only to the office crowd, they look conspicuous. If they sit with the wives, they deliberately underplay their identity, so that they do not appear intimidating or condescending.

Just like the social divide we have in our subcontinent, the men and women sit separately in groups in office parties. In fact, sometimes the chairs are drawn up in separate circles, where some men would necessarily have their backs to the women. The moment a senior enters, immediately everybody encircles him, in eagerness to mark attendance, and to impress. The senior of course laps up the attention. Ditto for the senior's wife. The other wives, taking a cue from their spouses, also try to get close to Mrs senior.

The men, senior, or junior, talk of general and office politics, and gossip, always. And they flock the bar counter, which in all parties where liquor is served, is the main attraction. In most cases, only whiskey and beer are offered as choice of hard drink, no wines. Even if there are wines, the bearers never approach ladies with anything but soft drink. Although most women in India do not drink, those who do also will not be seen holding a glass in office parties. It is a question of political correctness. Depending on the mood of the senior most in the party, dinner would be announced, but always ladies first. Amazing. In homes, I doubt if women ever eat earlier than the men on a normal day. But in official parties, (if these are not formal sit-down parties), they are expected to, almost forced to, by convention. Interestingly, while the women sit down to eat, the men continue to drink. So even if the wife is ready to go home, she can not, because the men have not finished.

Of late, I note a distinct change in the quality of women-talk, particularly among the younger women. Few years ago, most of the wives talked about children, respective neighbourhood problems and advantages, and admired each others' dress/jewellery. Most of them were housewives, and many basked in reflected glory of their respective husbands' position and status. Sample this, said by the wife of an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) colleague in my presence, "In OUR state, WE get super-time scale in 14 years". The wife of the officer in question co-opted herself in her husband's career progression milestone, as something quite natural and legitimate. We, the women officers, used to find instances of such honorary promotions very interesting.

Today, most of the wives attending the office parties are not housewives, and are from a wide range of background. They are teachers, architects, doctors, corporate executives, journalists. Their conversation is not restricted to domestic affairs. They attend parties as wives of their husbands, but they are their own persons. These women, who have a world beyond immediate domesticity, are neither intimidated nor overawed by the official status of the people they meet socially, nor have the false façade of basking in reflected glory of their husbands. Most interestingly, they have a conversation, which is so refreshingly different. The Sarkari men have not changed. At all.

These days, as I myself grow older, I prefer sitting with the wives of younger colleagues to sitting with the office colleagues. Of course, I still do the rounds of customary polite noises with those I must.

Last updated: November, 2004