Month: February 2019

 

7 Reasons why Manikarnikais a movie worth watching:

 

1. You might be a regular movie watcher who enjoys movies indiscriminately or, you could be someone who only watches movies that stir the usual air of social norms. Luckily, this movie fits the bill in both categories. It is a fairly well-made movie, with a gripping story line.

 

2. The Time-Period it covers: It is based in a time around the year 1857 – which was when the Sepoy Mutiny spread from Delhi/Meerut, all the way to the west and east of India, setting the course for the first ever pan-India Freedom movement against the British Rule. We see the urgency which must have reverberated through India at that time and allows us to see why it took an additional ninety yearsfor India to finally gain Independence. We see that what was lacking in 1857 was not bravery, but a concerted leadership on the part of the Indians. With that realization, we can certainly appreciate the roles that freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and Patel played as central figures of the freedom fight that eventually led to the British exiting India in 1947.

 

3. The Subject of the movie: The movie is about Rani Laxmi Bai of Jhansi, who till date is one of the extremely rare breeds of women warriors to appear, not just in Indian, but in the world history. She is married to a king who suffers from a feeling of weakness against the British that contrasts starkly with his wife’s youthful valor and an amazing grip on ways of warfare to match. She is superbly trained in horse-riding, archery and sword-fighting, and also exhibits a thorough read of the ways of the world. We see an example of this latter, when widowed and childless, she soon assumes the status of the leader for her region of Jhansi, and takes many decisions that she thinks will ensure the protection of the people of Jhansi. It is impressive to see that one of the first things she does as an independent ruler is to send a letter to the then British High-command in India, extending a diplomatic channel for the two powers to engage with one another. The British of course reject such a channel, and instead send troops to bring the Rani to her knees. The movie then is a continuous saga of the young Rani’s unabated courage and skill on one battle ground after another, till she finally dies at war.

 

4. The Details: While the movie is about an important and interesting topic, the devil, as always, is in the details:
5. Rani’s courage is palpable from the start and gradually becomes truly larger than anything one has seen on a big screen. Thus, while as an unmarried youngster she can shoot a leaping tiger mid-air with her arrow, by the time she is the Queen of Jhansi, she wields her sword on the enemy mercilessly, literally decimating multiple opponents with one swoosh of her sword, balanced atop a racing horse. She is fearless, and every part of her presence says that. In fact, there is a scene where she stands in front of a large idol of Goddess Kali (the goddess of destruction of the evil and ego), having just slayed a large number of enemy soldiers within a short time. No co-incidence that the posture she assumes with a sword in hand, ferocity in her eyes, and the dead foe at her feet, compels the viewer to liken the Rani to the Goddess herself. I think it is this viewpoint which is an interesting take on how someone named Laxmi (the goddess of wealth) demonstrates that women’s appreciation and gravitation towards the non-violent forms like knowledge and wealth, and motherhood and love, should not be misconstrued as an inability to take to destructive forms.
6. Continuing on the same lines, the Rani, when faced with a shortage of men to fight in her army, invokes participation from women. She addresses the women of Jhansi, thus: If God has chosen for women to do the most important task and bear human children, then surely taking up arms and fighting in wars cannot be any challenge to the strength of women. It is an amazingly poignant moment to see women giving up their metallic jewelry to melt it to make arms for them. No ballad on women could compare with the poetry of this scene. It is not just a slap on the face of the many myths that are perpetuated about women’s obsession with vanity, but also builds up women, queens and ordinary women alike, in newer light of not just softness and maternal instincts, but also of intelligence combined with sheer physical power. In fact one of Hindi language’s most popular poems by the late poetess Subhadra Kumari Chauhan that immortalizes the Rani by saying “She fought a lot, she fought like a man!” can be read in a new light now, “She fought a lot, she fought!”
7. Rani Laxmibai embodies the true essence of a liberated woman, who is a daughter, a wife, and a mother, but more than just that. She cares for the family she is put in, but does not take any role as given. She writes her own script wherever she is placed.

i). As a daughter, she outlearns her brothers in all skills taught to them. As a wife, she is her husband’s true consort in appreciating and participating in his love for books and arts. As a mother, even when her own child is poisoned to death, she extends her full protection to the child they adopt.

ii). In fact, even as a queen she is not just a beautifully dressed doll, she is also a ruler, who goes out to her people to see their ways of life first hand. To me, personally, it is one of the most fabulous twists on a typical Bollywood narrative to see that the only supposedly ‘item number’ kind of song and dance, where one finds dancers swaying their hips and busts on a somewhat raunchy number is being performed not for a man or a band of men, but for the Rani who sits on a throne like seat in a tribal area lavishing her praise at the performers. (To put the dance in context, it is a tribal dance about a bumble-bee stinging a passerby). This contrasts sharply with how Indian cinema has often portrayed women in history. For example, most recently in the blockbuster film Padmavat, the Rani was full of beauty, glamour, coyness and a great sense of right and wrong as laid out by the traditions of the time, and thus to protect her pride, at the end she prefers to jump into fire than be caught by enemy. However, isn’t that exactly how patriarchy wants to see women- as beautified commodities abiding by the norms laid out by religions and cultures dominated by men as priests, kings and lawyers.

iii). Rani Laxmibai, is a gender-bender in the true sense. As a widow, she refuses to have her hair shaved off, and does not take to wearing white clothes, nor to retiring to a life of an ascetic in the devotion of gods in the holy city of Kaashi.

 

5. For all the physical beauty the Rani possessed, nowhere in the movie, are we forced to think of her as a beautiful temptress. Infact the movie is a no-brainer to show to even little tween girls, because seduction or titillation is not the path taken by the director. Thus even when creating a male heir is a big premise in the movie, since the British threaten to take over any kingdom that has no male heir (so much for gender equality by the West!), there are no scenes of love-making. The movie is a slam dunk in succeeding to single-mindedly portray women in their often underplayed, and ignored, avatar of fierce strategists. The image of the Rani with the enemy’s blood dripping from her sword and smeared on her clothes, will surely inspire little children to embrace the fact that courage, and (unfortunately) violence, is not a prerogative of males. The disposition to violence is not a natural to any gender, and thus the stereotype of ‘boys will be boys’ when it comes to disruptive behavior definitely needs to be re-considered.

 

6. For lovers of period costume, especially amazingAmrapalijewelry, there is plenty to relish. The jewels are charming in their sheer size and variety, and remind the viewer once again, why India had beckoned invaders from all over the world again and again.

 

7. The movie is a labor of love for the female director, Kangana Ranaut, making her debut. She claims that she wanted to show patriotism as a mission larger than any life. Interestingly, this sentiment, and perhaps her own history of being outspoken about all casting couch advances made towards her, has earnt her the wrath of the popular Bollywood group. Her movie has been shunned by Bollywood big names, who have maintained a tight-lipped disapproval for a woman claiming right to patriotic fervor, a prerogative retained typically for male protagonists like Manoj Kumar back in the days, or for newer crop of male soldiers like Hrithik Roshan in Lakshaya. And it is just when, those inside the movie-world decide to ostracize Ranaut, that people at large, like you and me, stand up to show our support for a voice of dissent, not for the sake of dissent, but for the sake of stirring the air which otherwise continues to stifle many who even remotely imagine a world different from one ordered to them by the system.

 

Seven stars for a 5-star project!

Go, watch the movie….you can read this later too!

 

#Manikarnika #genderbender #kanganaranaut

 

By

Nidhi Thakur

 

Bio

Nidhi Thakur is an economist, with specialization in labor and health economics. Her interest in Gender issues, is an on-going evolution of her resistance to the many systemic biases that are perpetuated through political, social and unfortunately even religious institutions, in order to preserve a power hegemony which perversely favors a small section of society. She believes in empowerment through education, skills, financial independence and political voice. She has published in academic and non-academic journals, and is currently a Lecturer in Kean University, Union, NJ, where she hopes to interact and hopefully influence, and be influenced by, the lives of many a first-generation college goers from minority backgrounds. She has an M.A. in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, a Ph.D. in Economics from University of Arizona, and a Post-Doc from University of Chicago.

Updated: Feb 14, 2019

By Emmanuel Nuetey Siakwa

As the Executive Director of Youth and Women Empowerment, an NGO based in Odumase Krobo, Ghana whose mission is to motivate and provide learning opportunities for all stakeholders to advocate for quality service delivery and hold duty bearers accountable, I recently had the honor of facilitating an event called “STATUS OF THE GHANAIAN WOMAN, EXAMINING PROGRESS, PROSPECTS FOR GENDER EQUALITY IN GHANA.” Our goal was to offer a safe space for women from difference backgrounds and experiences in Ghana to openly discuss issues that affect them, connect with each other, and brainstorm solutions.

The event was attended by 305 individuals, made up of 260 Women and 45 men. Participants were drawn from the security services, civil servants, artisans, market women, religious organizations (Christian and Moslem), and persons with disabilities among others.

Our two main objectives for the event were to 1) collate experiences of progress made by women and 2) develop a framework to work together in collective action to achieve Ghana’s development. In this article, I share how we organized the event, some of the key findings that were shared by the event’s presenters, and the ideas that were generated by participants during group sessions for the way forward.

 

The program was organized by the STAR Ghana Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection, and is focused on coordinating zonal programs across the country to solicit for inputs, challenges and gaps to feed into a national dialogue. For our zone, the organization I head, Youth and Women Empowerment, was honored to facilitate our zonal program.

 

The event kicked off with encouraging words from the Municipal Chief Executive for Lower Manya Krobo, who expressed that, during the recent District Assembly elections, no woman stood for election. He posited that it’s about time we probe to find out why women are not taking up leadership positions, what the hindrances are and how these challenges can be addressed. He pledged his support to improve women participation within his locality. He mentioned interventions being undertaken by the Government to support women, among them are the Livelihood Empowerment Against Program (LEAP) and Microfinance and Small Loan Centre (MASLOC). He encouraged participants to take advantage of the platform and contribute to shape policy formulation.

 

The event then continued with the sharing of person stories by 3 women, who described their experience overcoming abuse and discrimination to become leaders in their communities. These stories were then further contextualized through a presentation on the current state of Ghanaian Women made by Mrs Golda Asante, Director, Regional Coordinating Council, Koforidua, who discussed the advancement of Ghanaian Women through 3 lenses – Politics and Governance, Economic Rights, and Access to Social Services (Education and Health).

 

Beginning with a discussion of women in politics and governance, Mrs. Asante described the slow increase in political participation of Ghanaian women throughout history. Women are given equal rights under the constitution of Ghana, yet disparities in education, employment, and health for women remain prevalent. Additionally, women have much less access to resources than men in Ghana do. Ghanaian women in rural and urban areas face slightly different challenges. Although women are guaranteed political participation rights under the 1992 Ghana Constitution, there is a lack of female representation in government. In 2012, 19 women occupied seats in Parliament, while 246 men occupied the rest of the seats. In 2017, the number of women elected to Parliament grew, and 37 women were elected. However, Ghanaian women still make up only 13.5% of Parliament.

There has been a slow increase of women in Parliament since the adoption of the multiparty system in 1992. Ghana has taken multiple steps to increase equality in the political sphere. For example, the government signed and ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW). The Government declared its commitment to gender equality in Beijing. Yet 23 years after this commitment, we are asking, what has been the outcome of these commitments made by Government to improve the status of Ghanaian women?

 

Discussing the underlying causes for this phenomenon of low participation among women in governance, the following issues came up strongly

• Traditions and Socio-cultural attitudes- Socialization process
• Gender-based stereotypes –Eg. certain positions are for men
• Women in leadership positions are promiscuous, etc
• Discourages many women from talking up certain political leadership
• Unsupportive husbands/Partners – threatening divorce
• Choose between marriage and Political career
• Fear of name calling and insults – Terrible description of strong women in society e.g. maame gyata, Iron lady, witch, etc
• Campaigns are very expensive- lack resources- money, vehicles, etc.
• Lack capacity and confidence to take up leadership roles
• Taking care of the Home- unpaid work
• Some men undermine their “women” bosses

 

Next Mrs. Asante moved to a discussion of women’s economic rights, where she indicated that females involved in economic activities have increased over the years, from 31.4% in 1960 to 44% in 2010. Also about 91% of women are in the informal sector where they experience gender segregation and typically work for low wages.

There is also a distinct difference in artisan apprenticeships available to men and women. Most female artisans are only involved in either hairdressing or dressmaking. Some of the challenges identified to be hampering women’s participation in economic activities were highlighted as:

• Access to credit facilities and finance: Lack of collateral, inadequate savings and cumbersome bureaucracy
• Sexual violence/ harassment
• Ignorance on the awareness of credit facilities
• Cultural factors, traditions and stereotype- women will not participate in certain ventures – own a land
• Unpaid services- contribute to poverty and over- reliance on men

 

On the topic of Access to Social Services- Education and Health Services, Mrs. Asante explained that there is a general dominance of male child education. Women living at the highest socioeconomic status exhibit the highest literacy rates at 85%, while only 31% of women living in the poorest homes are literate.

Some of the barriers identified as hindering girls and women’s access to education and health are:

• There are still girls who are not in school because economic and cultural norms factor determine the choice of who go to school.
• It is often said that women and girls main purpose is reproduction –boys/ men are breadwinner for the family
• Some girls in schools experience sexual harassment – Experience from visits to schools
• Poor facilities in some schools for girls ie no toilet, no first Aid, no sanitary towels- No school during menses
• Parental neglect / lack of parental control- contributing to waywardness
• Teenage pregnancy
• Low awareness / information about availability of health services
• Fear and false perceptions about certain health conditions e.g. fibroid, cancers, etc. Eg. visited 85 prayer camps in ER- 1 camp had 50 pregnant women
• Women are susceptible to infections and diseases i.e. HIV and other sexually transmitted disease. E.g. More than 60% of persons living with HIV in ER and Volta are women
• Women cannot negotiate for safer sex
• Traditional Rites -Widowhood rites, Trokosi system
• Poverty

 

Suggestions shared on how to increase women’s participation in Politics and Governance, Economic Rights and Service Provision in the areas of Health and Education included:

• Increase advocacy through civil society organizations
• Affirmative Bill to enhance women’s participation and decision making- mobilize and intensify engagements to have it passed
• Women Empowerment programs
• Create enabling environment for gender equality –political participation
• Promotion of socio cultural change processes
• Enforcement of our laws – speed justice
• Integrated approach focusing on: gender mainstreaming and systematic efforts, Gender responsive budgeting, Strengthen the capacity of women and girls, increase their access to assets and opportunities through employment, etc

 

After having a chance to get acquainted with the facts on the historical context and current challenges facing women in Ghana, the participants were asked to get into groups to engage more deeply on the 3 themes discussed. The grouping was done with each participant numbering 1-6, where all persons who numbered 1, formed one group and same applies to the other groups. Groups 1 and 2 answered questions on Politics and Governance, Group 2 and 3 answered questions on Economic rights whiles group 5 and 6 answered questions on access to social services, Education and Health Services.

Each group selected a chairperson and a rapporteur to report back during plenary. Facilitators were assigned to the various groups to guide the discussion. The groups were task to come up with issues under the three thematic areas that were not captured by the resource person, or something that they would have captured differently and provide measures to address issues identified by the group. The exercise lasted for 45 minutes.

 

KEY OUTPUTS FROM GROUP WORK

 

Our team at Youth and Women Empowerment looks forward to continuing to grow our coalition of community members to put the excellent ideas put forth by the workshop participants into action through our advocacy and training initiatives. We continue to seek funds to help enable this work, and welcome partnership inquiries.