IT'S THEIR WORLD

- Maithili

Haven’t we all been in some sort of situation where we have been discriminated against by people, regardless of how strong we are or how capable we are. Yes, even by our family members, our friends or people we consider close. It is not about them - It is about the society that has ruthlessly shaped us into the discriminating wall we have built.

We are all quite familiar with ‘পথের পাঁচালী’ for instance. Anyone from today would protest against the prevalence maintained during that time. Girls were not allowed education and were married off early, and women were engaged in household activities, taking care of their husbands and children. Similarly men have been burdened with responsibilities of providing and earning money for their families. We see Apu going to the pathshala, while Shorbojaya scolds Durga for not helping her with household activities. But we have never seen her scolding Apu for that reason. While Harihar was away from home most of the time, as he had to provide for his family, Shorbojaya was shouldered with the duties of a housewife. She didn’t have an option of earning even if she wanted to, only because the society distinguished women as a product for giving birth and take care of the household and men as a provider for money.

Similarly in ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ the readers have observed the condition of Afghan women. They are married off to men twice their age and are brutally tortured, and girls born to families are considered disgraceful and insulting. In Khaled Hosseini's story Mariam was beaten to death because she was considered a failure by her husband and othersfor not giving birth due to several miscarriages. Laila and her daughter were starved and had no clothes to wear. But her son was treated opposite. Everyone cared about the gender. If its a girl she would be neglected and the mother would be blamed. If it’s a boy then the mothers were forced to give birth to more boys.

Gender inequality is still here, today. And the only thing that could change this is us, the society.