Question & Answer: Gender in Global South Asia
Question 1
(It’s a Saturday afternoon, Tagore is seated on a beautiful couch reading a magazine. On the round black glass Mexican table is a steaming cup of coffee. The door opens, and Ms Mehta enters the room is a navy blue suit)
Mehta: Hello Mr. Tagore, I love your film game, especially Fire.
Tagore: Thanks Ms. Mehta for the compliment. Your films are also exceptional.
Mehta: Really? Tell me how exceptional they are.
Tagore: I love how you explore women’s protagonists to demonstrate despotic gendered domesticity. It’s an absolute beauty!
Mehta: Wow! I’m much impressed by your kind words. We seem to sail on the same boat on gender beyond essentialism.
Tagore: True. We should focus on the principle of founding a self-governing society that thrives on creating genuine emancipated individuals in the republic. It’s necessary.
Mehta: Totally agreed! It is in line with your film on education for girls. Probably it’s one of the many reasons it has reaped deep interest not only in Southern Asia but also worldwide.
Tagore: Exactly my view! It is relevant in all spheres. Be it on cultural theory, aesthetics, or philosophy.
Mehta: Great! I enjoyed this discussion. Let’s keep pushing for a better society for our women, Mr. Tagore. It’s crucial.
Tagore: Sure, Mehta! Every little effort will have a significant impact on our community. United we win, divided we lose.
Question 2 (“A Brown Girl’s Guide to Gender” – Aranya Johar (Women’s Day Special),” 2017)
With India associated with the gang rape of young girls, acid attacks on women’s faces as well as abused wives who immolate themselves, her courage to speak up on violence against women will be my first point on showing my gratitude to her poetic piece. Aranya Johar does not accept this society rotting and stood up to recite an uppercut poem, reaching out to the minority of men who assault women to stop it. She further asks the good guys not to turn a blind eye on the menace but actively speak up against such gender violence, which is a better way to solstice everyone to get involved in the war.
Moreover, in a society where films overtly sexualizing women is okay whilst a film like Lipstick Under My Burkha is banned, a community where men protect themselves from allegations on women’s sexual harassment with prudent reference to their entitlement to hit on women and heterosexuality, the poem strikes a chord. Ms. Johar explains how the first boy to hold her hand said something which made her realize how real is the rape culture and how much it would impact her life. This is a perfect example of how women are co-opted by men and turned into a sexual vessel instead of something belonging to a real breathing human being.
I think A Brown Girl’s Guide To Gender is a simple poem that clearly outlines the hierocracy in the way women are treated. They are expected to be modest that objectify them, sexualize them and blame them if they fail to heed to the society calls. Women are made to feel ashamed of themselves for having menstrual periods while simultaneously forced believe their bodies were created as displays for men. She goes on to explain the magnitude she with other Indian women go through to avoid assaults such as wearing high cut tops and avoid wearing skirts so as their dress not to be mistaken as “wanting it.”
Question 3 (“Water || 2005 || Hindi Movie || English Subtitle ||”, 2005)
I chose water because it is a beautiful and poignant film packed with essential society lessons, as it posits a sorry plight of Hindu widows in a traditional Indian society setting. Deepa Mehta set out the film too with a message, and she lets the story convey the message by failing to demonize the supporters of ancient oppressive practices, most of whom are motivated by faith rather than selfish interest. Interestingly the beauty of the film undercuts to some extents of political message, and I can imagine any devout Hindu viewing it as supporting the traditional laws.
The film is not much attached to attack religion as a particular belief, and I have no doubt one can live the life of a devout Hindu without believing that widows are responsible for their husband’s death just like on can be a devout Christian without considering that the earth is flat or believing on slavery. Although Ashram is a miserable place, self-protected by the proceeds of prostitution and begging, there is a camaraderie among the women of all ages, and Chuyia initially is not ill-treated. However, the focus shifts to Kalyani, the Ashram’s jewel who later is involved with a young political activist Narayana, a supporter of Gandhi.
I find it overly impossible to have any sympathy for their position since it amounts to using the practices of a society which has long passed away to protect an economic interest instead of excusing the abandonment by her family of a woman who was unlucky to lose her husband. The treatment of these windows and the extraordinary life that these women are forced to live is eye-opening; the female gender is ill-treated in global South Asian society.
References
“A Brown Girl’s Guide to Gender” – Aranya Johar (Women’s Day Special). (2017). Retrieved 18 April 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75Eh5OnNeoY
Water || 2005 || Hindi Movie || English Subtitle ||. (2005). Retrieved 18 April 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcCXshTP9FE