On Feminism

 
I would like to present a small little analogy before getting into a serious discussion. We believe that our education system has several loopholes and our that kids aren't encouraged to question. What if I tell you that I choose to disagree and that the kids are welcome to question their teachers. Well, who is denying that right? Einstein, Abdul Kalam and Richard Feynman emerged out of the same framework, didnt they?

I am sure you will disagree. The three gentlemen did question their teachers, Einstein even dropped out of his school. Feynman is well known for his quotations on the education system. Lets plug in Feminism, into this framework. Who is stopping the women from working, they can always go and look for work, can't they? Chanda Kochar, Indrani Nooyi and Meera Sanyal emerged out of the same society, didnt they?

The analogy should be quite intuitive. Women standing on their own feet is as improbable as kids questioning their teachers. There are a few who emerge out of the constraints, but what's the point? You need a system which produces awesome Individuals, not a sadistic one which selects a few.

Now let me ask a few important question and provide my perspective on that. I believe that the confusion arises due to lack of a historical perspective. Please allow me to present the evolutionary history of the two genders(for a moment, let me not talk of homos, this topic is quite intense in itself!)

Are women different
Evolution influences the physiology of organisms. That explains the diversity of sizes, colors and features of human races. If we look at human genders through this perspective we get some important insights. Men have evolved as the hunter gatherers and women the care-takers. Agricultural revolution is a recent development, forget the Industrial Revolution. It takes time for evolution to program us and we still operate within hunter gatherer framework. So the human mind perceives gender equality through notions which are thousands, if not millions of years old. Well, Yes Women are different!

Hiding them inside Caves
Lets get in some harsh facts before we proceed further. Tribes invaded other tribes to assert their supremacy. Evolution would select the ones who propagate more of their genes- reproductive fitness. The mechanism could be human ego. Tribes would slaughter the men and then rape the women or may be take them away. Apparently, Rakhi festival had its origins due to these issues. Afghani Pathans would take away beautiful Punjabi girls and so they started this custom of brother defending sisters. Human beings developed several cynical mechanisms to defend their women from other tribes. The women were hidden in caves and they were never let out, even after the Computer Revolution!

Inside the well
We have heard of stories of frogs inside a well. The story of refugees, hidden in a cave, is no different. Human genius has transformed the world from jungles to what it is today. Women are far from getting access to these insights. Evolution has programmed them to be better care-takes, women are the development team, who groom the next generation. Can we afford to have this important 50% of our population ignorant of these developments? May be they are not your other half, they are your Development half, think again!

How they emerged
Things got better during the Second World War. The job-markets witnessed drastic changes due to women joining the work-force. While the men were away, on the battlefield, the women had to take up jobs.  However, they were paid lower wages, molested at work place, forced to get married and not provided the kind of attention they need. This definitely discourages women from dreaming big. Women got quite a few opportunities after the war, however, they may another revolution, before they can catch up.

Women Empowerment
It is equivalent to developing curiosity. It seems irrelevant and trivial to teachers. But you know it is not and you know the dividends which it can get you. Not all women know that they differently wired and that human neural diversity is the only thing which transformed this planet into its present form. Women Empowerment is about developing your Development team.

Why encourage Women
They are different, as simple as that. A factory wants identical people who produce goods/services, A great company wants a diverse human pool growing its assets and thus help it in delivering superior customer value. Evolution has programmed them to have better soft skills and empathy. This asserts the importance of gender equality at a workplace.

Objective of this Post
When a child refuses to question a teacher or when a teacher refuses to encourage the student to question, what would you do? Well encourage a woman to know the world, the work-place and the opportunities which lifes gives her. Confront any of her obstacles and help her cross the hurdles. May be go out and help atleast one girl from a conservative house-hold get good education followed by a job she likes.

On a lighter note, I'd request all my female friends to let this blog excuse a thousand narcissistic jokes of mine. So, signing off, until I exhaust that budget!