Dhriti Mahanta

Justly being provided the Right to education, India has seen a constant rise in the percentage of female assigning themselves to higher education and grabbing opportunities of all sorts and conditions. In the global arena, the ongoing race demands  participation and indulgence in all the fields and disciplines .My take here is the question mostly attached to the female engagement  and are they provided enough opportunities to walk hand in hand with the male members of the society.

If we are to dig deep the question we see the females are yet to be celebrated during birth. Female foeticide nip the girl child in the bud. If born they hardly see the face of schools in Indian scenario though it has changed to a great extent in the present century. A few of them indulge themselves in formal education if provided enough opportunities. It is to remember that many of them have abusive fathers and patriarchal hands upon them. They told them back to work at home and marry them off considering them to be the burden of the family. Some are to provide avenues for their brothers to study, for eventually the girl will be married off and the boy has to run the family and feed them if not to all intents and purposes but let’s assume. Only the few among the lot who dares to flee from home and fulfill they ambitions are seen to be the active contributor struggling and enjoying in the field of higher studies simultaneously. These are just the preliminary restrictive activities and the list goes on and on.

The psychological play of patriarchal forces is even more menacing and treacherous. The following are few instances from our day to day life on how it operates : To begin with I have seen many of my friends struggling with the push and pull between the discipline chosen and  career choices being made. This mismatched scheme is the result of the career choices being made by their parents on their behalf for the latter’s unfulfilled dreams which they wished their children to carry forward despite their apathy. It is logical to the point if their field of interest coincides with their parents. Another apparent instance which I came across while having a conversation with a relative of mine is his views about how having a female Doctor as a colleague is a matter of concern for the male doctors in certain cases. He started complaining about their frequent leave from work which make it difficult for him to cope up with the work load. The reason he foregrounded is the lack of practical knowledge relating to the field for in most cases he had seen them ceasing their practical classes for female health related issues comprising menstruation and child birth. The female body is subjected to such phenomenon which he couldn’t think about with graver knowledge besides kept complaining about the same. One more basic hitch common to all the preference of male working staff in companies rather than females as they would not be needing the maternity and child care leave and can indulge more efficiently in their field as they say. In this way the females are mostly side-lined from reaping what they sow.

The position of women in higher education management cannot be treated in isolation from the general status of women in society. Throughout history women have been given restricted opportunities and limited roles in society. The biases and the myths attached to women as only caregivers, nurturers, fulfilling and necessarily care-advancing individuals are to be altered. This kind of gendered behaviour of women makes way for gender politics that we are critical of. Educating the mass and broadening the horizon of the faculties of education along with its  proliferation is the call of the hour. Education breeds confidence and empowerment which holds back the women from seeping into the male dominated world. It is abundantly clear that gender equality is a highly politicized and contested notion in the present  structure of higher education. Effacing the diseased socially constructed  constraints from the grass-root level should also be taken into consideration. Proper selection of subjects for ourselves and for others instead of shying away from discipline of our choice is yet another matter of analysis. Virility and confidence to come forth and stand for oneself should be taught to every child beyond gender.

Women are often expected to serve as role models for other women who have less experience in the field of careers and academics. This can only  be done when the diversity of the campuses be it workplace, home, institution like schools, colleges and universities are upgraded to gender- neutral centres of interaction rather than typically gender biased. Discrimination, disparity, loss of opportunities , powerlessness and stereotyping are the loopholes in the world of gender which are to be worked on.

As appropriately said by Alice Walker “ The world cannot survive on its own ,men and women must coexist to seek so”.

Dhriti is currently pursuing English Literature at Cotton University, Guwahati.