“Woman may be weakened by the absence of man,
But man ceases of exist in the absence of woman.”
Woman, the earthly form of the goddess Venus, is the subject of our interest today. Yes, the very same Eve, who partook in eating the Forbidden Fruit according to Christian mythology, the woman who was created from a piece of man. Any study of the topic of woman and their role in development is incomplete without a shallow foray into the history of the woman. Beginning with early or ancient times, the woman was a form that was highly reserved and respected by humanity, to the extent that she was given a divine status, the goddess on the sacred feminine. From the Jewish ‘Shekina’, to the Egyptian ‘Isis’, she was worshipped across the world as the symbol of fertility, beauty and power all in one. She played a massive role in the life and times of early civilizations. Though the emphasis was mainly on her ‘magical’ or ‘wondrous’ ability to procreate, she was respected for her role in life as a whole.
Following this came the Medieval ages, during which, as painful as it sounds, the beauty of the feminine was destroyed, seemingly for eternity. With the advent of modern religion, the pagan concept of the sacred feminine was lost, and along with it disappeared the respect and reverence for her role in the life of mankind, and her once ‘wondrous’ ability to create new life. Any woman who was engaged in occupations which were specific to men, or dared to voice her opinion, or even made the mistake of trying to decide the course of her own life, was deemed as a threat to the society, or a ‘witch’. This is clearly evident in the numerous ‘witch hunts’ held throughout Europe in the Medieval times, during which innumerable women were burned at the stake. All this a heavy price for a simple crime, trying to live in a male – dominated society with their heads held high.
This scenario was seen all over the world and could be termed an epidemic which was a mole of shame on the face of humanity. That brings us to the Modern Era, what we are genuinely concerned with. Being specific to the scenario in our country, ‘what has the Indian woman become?’ Past an ancient history of goddess worship, past an age where women were treated as equals, Indian Society has moved a long way down the road. India has seen a history where women have ruled vast expanses of land, women have headed families and women have been beside men in the struggles they faced.
There have been valiant queens like the Rani of Jhansi, who besides being a wise ruler, was one of the strongest arms in the Indian struggle against the British empire. A fine example of the power that women held is the matriarchal system of family in Kerala, where the women held the position of the head of the family. Even thought the great Rani survives only in history books today, and though the family system in Kerala has given way to a patriarchal order, there continue to be women in every front of development even today. Whether we are concerned with the development of women, or the role of women in development is immaterial. As a matter of fact these are inseparably married aspects and one need not be distinguished from the other.
A truth no longer ignorable, or a truth that should bring pride to every woman on earth: women have humbled men in almost every field that has seen their participation. It is safe to say that, without the tremendous effort made by woman, ‘man’-kind would not have moved very far from the pathetic state of Medieval life. Taking a cue from the Rani, women have begun to make certain that there presence is felt in the governance of the nation. Women in politics is a common sight now, and what better example to cite that that of our Honourable President Smt. Pratibha Patil. In every aspects of leadership and governance, the modern woman stands side by side with their male counterparts. In all facets of education and work, women are now a force to reckon with. This is demonstrated easily by the tremendously increasing numbers of women completing their primary education, and a large number of them even completing higher studies. This has been in stark contrast to previous figures which showed a meager school attendance, and a near absence of women in higher education. The steadily increasing literacy rate of women is also expected to tally that of males in the years to come.
Besides the increasing number of female entrepreneurs, professional, clerical workers and females engaged in other regular professions, there is also another side to the coin. The advent of women’s ‘Self-Helf’ groups has stabilized the status of women, and at the same time lent a strong helping hand in taking the economy to the heights. There is also a marked rise in the number of NGO’s being operated by women, both for their purposes, as well as for the betterment of society as a whole. This success streak of women has even extended into the field of sports, where Sania Mirza, Anju Bobby George, etc. have become household names now.
As is now clearly evident, women are comfortably on the golden path of development today. The future holds only a million more opportunities for the woman of today to go forward and achieve what she desires. Concluding this, as pleasant as it should sound, there is a chance that humanity will get back ‘the sacred feminine’, which was once thought to be lost for ever. I think now that it is apt to say, “It is no more a man’s World”.