The porn industry has become more popular with the advent of the internet and the industry has been fishing in a lot of money. It is now readily available on the internet. Many stores also sell takeaway DVDs at a very high price. This has resulted in a highly profitable industry. The display of such adult content on television or the internet is looked down upon in society. This kind of duplicity has been common in India. In fact, porn is also blamed for the rising count of rapes in India.

According to a 2011 IMRB Survey, one out of every five mobile users in India uses their 3G internet for accessing porn. In fact, over 47 percent of students discuss porn every day, according to a public school survey by Max Hospital in Delhi. These numbers speak volumes about how much the porn industry impacts the lives of people.

Over the years, the education of children regarding sex has always been held as being necessary. However, what people don’t talk about is the toll it takes on certain women and children who end up being the victims of human trafficking. According to Miss Rawal, who is a professional in Delhi said, “Porn belittles women more than anything in the world. Treating females purely as an object for personal sexual satisfaction is all porn ever evinces. I hope it is declared illicit at least in Indian society.”

How Porn and Human Trafficking are Related?

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime defines human trafficking as any situation where an individual is forced, coerced, abducted, deceived, or abused. If any of these qualifiers are present, the situation will be considered human trafficking. Human trafficking takes place on many fronts in the porn industry; although due to the way in which porn is produced and distributed, it can be extremely hard to identify the presence of such trafficking along with its source.

Survivors of sex trafficking are often subjected to many kinds of abuses and more than one form of exploitation. In order to control it, traffickers take incriminating photos of their victims to their family members to shame them more. They also attempt to sell the content by uploading it to mainstream porn sites. In addition, victims are also exploited through prostitution.

In many other cases, victims are exploited solely for the purpose of producing pornographic content.  Many NGOs have been responsible for finding victims of trafficking. These missions have also provided evidence of the existence of such heinous acts. In a very recent rescue known as Operation SCOPE, investigators have seen this type of trafficking first-hand, and they have managed to provide the police with evidence of pornographic content being sold by traffickers.

In the mainstream porn entertainment industry as well, the recruitment and employment of actors have been the result of deception, threats, and drug abuse.

According to research conducted by the Internet Watch Foundation, 95 percent of the nearly 133,000 URLs assessed were hosted on platforms that allow people to create and upload porn.

If a pornographic video of a survivor or victim of trafficking is uploaded to any website, both the uploader and the website profit from it, even though the content is freely available. According to recently collected data, 90 percent of the free porn websites and nearly 100 percent of porn websites that require payment get the content from outside sources. Even if the users are able to upload any sort of porn content for free, the website owners will be able to profit just from the traffic flow that is generated to the website.

The line between legal pornography and human trafficking is very different from each other. There is a thin line between them which gets complicated. Most of the popular porn sites today have been seen featuring illegal content. They even go as far as featuring videos of rape victims.

A recent campaign was launched against Pornhub, which happens to be the largest porn website in the world. Many have joined this movement and advocated that the website be shut down. Pornhub features many cases of human trafficking, including the rape of a 14-year-old girl. They also display child sexual abuse.

Globally, the porn industry is a $97 billion industry where the US accounts for 12 billion of it. In 2017, the International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE) was able to trace certain online child sexual abuse material to over 70 countries in the same year and more than 60 countries in the year 2018. Top porn entertainment companies, like Pornhub, advertised and received a huge amount of content from countries all over the world. Every year, Pornhub manages to release a report that shows the statistics from the top 20 countries. Human trafficking in the porn industry is something that cannot just be isolated to just one location. Sadly, pornography of trafficking survivors have been spread all over the world and are available with only a click.

Human trafficking in the porn industry is very different from the prostitution industry. It is something that is happening every day, but it is not dealt with in a proper way. There are many NGOs that work to find and help such victims of human trafficking. The millions of people who are fighting for the closing of the Pornhub website are also trying to help in their own way. Many women and children are tortured for this. The porn industry isn’t kind to any actors nor are the human traffickers. However, with the help of some NGOs, we can hope to reduce this kind of trafficking.

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Autism is related to some genetic and environmental factors. Certain factors during pregnancy such as alcoholism, cocaine, etc lead to autism in newborns. Recent researches confirm multiple genetic abnormalities that can lead to autism. In addition to this, many metabolic or biochemical factors that can cause autism in children There are many environmental factors as well, which may not be much. Children with autism need constant care and protection from their family members and other caregivers.

Understanding Autism

While autism can only be treated by doctors, there are many common symptoms that parents and caregivers can look out for:

• Pragmatic Language – Most individuals with autism have difficulty communicating with other people. This particular symptom shows up during early childhood. Any delays in speech development and nonverbal communication should encourage parents to see a specialist.
• Eye Contact and Nonverbal Communication – Children with autism often have difficulty making eye-contact. Other non-verbal communication difficulties may include recognizing and using facial expressions, physical gestures, and overall body language.
• The Tone of Voice – Some people with autism may have difficulty modulating their tone of voice. As a result, they may speak too loudly, too quietly, and/or with a monotone voice.
• Repetitive Behaviors – Many people with autism may perform the same behaviours repetitively. This is also common for schizophrenic patients. This may include rocking, spinning, or flapping of the hands and arms.
• Ritualistic Behaviors – This may include eating the same food at every meal or watching the same videos repetitively. They also get upset easily.
• Self-Injury – Some children with autism tend to hurt themselves. These signs can also arise early, so a parent can notice and ask for immediate help.

Challenges Faced by Autistic Children

Children with autism go through many challenges in their lives, as do their parents and guardians. As they have many motor and communicative difficulties, they have trouble in school. A school rarely provides a good environment for an autistic child. Other kids’ success and the various challenges in a school environment often makes it difficult for the autistic child to cope. In such cases, it might make autism worse.

Autistic kids are often sensitive to loud noises and bright lights. Schools are often breeding grounds for such noises and lights which might cause discomfort among the children. This might further agitate them and make them hurt themselves. An autistic child often has problems with reading and writing. Children with autism are almost certain to be at a disadvantage, as learning how to read and write can be a major challenge. There are many other challenges that an autistic child might face in a school which would be very unpleasant and in some cases dangerous for them. 21st-century schools are in no way a fit for such children. Schools today are only designed for a specific group of students.

Researches on Autism in India

As a developing country, India has had more research articles on Autism than any others. There have been many published and unpublished articles that have helped in the advances made.

In a country as vast as India, there are no direct channels to organizations dealing with such disorders such as the National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped, in Secunderabad, and Action for Autism, New Delhi. Parents must rely on references from their paediatricians, and psychologists, on word of mouth, and newspaper articles or television broadcasts to find out about such places. By the time families of autistic children become aware that there is a national organization that specifically deals with these needs, things get worse. In the case of autism, a correct diagnosis is crucial because research has demonstrated the effectiveness of the early intervention, a specific intervention that occurs between the age of birth, and four years.

Treatments of this Mental Condition

Indians have a reputation for considering Autism as being a mental disorder. So, the vast majority of children do not get the appropriate kind of treatment. Historically, most autistic children were not even recognized until it was too late. Most people in India thought that children with autism were “slow” and best left to themselves.

Currently, many schools provide education to children with autism in the correct way. There are now autism-specific schools in India. However, considering the number of children suffering from autism, the number is not a lot. Most of these schools do not have a sufficient number of trainers.

TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Communication Handicapped Children) is a behaviour-based treatment, for children with autism. In India, TEACCH strategies were first introduced at Open Door in Delhi in 1995, followed shortly by ASHA in Bangalore. Over the next few years, TEACCH strategies began to spread across India through various training workshops.

Family Coping

Children with autism cannot take care of themselves. They have to be under constant care by their parents. Parents of autistic children have to be specifically attentive to the children, noting the little changes taking place. Parents need to constantly educate themselves. They are advised to keep up to date on all research to help their children. Most parents have to quit their jobs to focus their attention on their children.

Conclusion

Over the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of diagnosed cases of autism in the U.S. and around the world. Experts do not know if this is because the disorder is actually on the rise, or if doctors are simply diagnosing it more effectively. We should learn more answers to questions like these over the next few years. That’s because many researchers are currently looking into autism’s origins, prevalence, and treatment.

Autism is a sad disorder that swipes the face of Earth. Unfortunately, it usually gets unnoticed by people. Most people do not know about the issues faced by such patients and the toll it takes over the family members. In order to treat Autism in a correct way, people have to come to terms with the presence of disorders such as this and other disorders which affect the cognitive and emotional health. Only then can it be acknowledged and hence treated in its fullest sense. Many children miss out on their lives owing to Autism and many parents suffer seeing their children go through this journey. As citizens, we must all learn to deal with autistic individuals and make their surroundings loving and easy.

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It has been brought to notice terms related to female genital mutilation have been used interchangeably in the past and one such term was “female circumcision” that was used because the surgery bore some resemblance to male circumcision. This not only raised questions about the term but also the misleading comparison made with male circumcision. Male circumcision involves removing only part of the foreskin of the penis without impairing sexual function. Male circumcision was carried out to avoid infections and make men superior to women, even with regard to having sexual intercourse. On the other hand, women were forced to undergo such surgery for curbing sexual desires, not keeping in mind the infections and the consequences. This practice experienced by girls is called ‘Clitorectomy’ or ‘Clitoridectomy’ where partial or complete clitoris or even parts of the labia are removed surgically with lifelong side effects, and significant health and sexual impairment. 

The Origin of Female Genital Mutilation

When we look back and try to trace the origin of female genital mutilation, a lot of researches that were held clearly denote that it existed before Islam and Christianity came into being. Some researchers have traced it back to Egypt (5^th Century BC) on the west coast of the Red Sea. There were a few more dots that could be joined to be more assertive about this statement like the Greek papyrus in the British Museum (163 BC) which clearly showed signs of Egyptian mummies of women who went through such surgeries. Strabo, a Greek geographer, on his visit to Egypt in 25 BC reported that circumcision of girls was a tradition widely followed amongst Egyptians. They even gave it an identity of its own by calling it the “Egyptian style”. Curiously, today FGM is referred to as “Pharaonic circumcisions” in Sudan and “Sudanese circumcision” in Egypt!

Four Broad Categories of Female Genital Mutilation

With the establishment of its internationally accepted definition came the differentiation. Hence WHO classified female genital mutilation into four broad categories in 1995 and again in 2007.

• First: Partial or total removal of the clitoris.
• Second: Partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora.
• Third: Narrowing of the vaginal orifice by cutting and creating a seal, with or without excision of the clitoris.
• Fourth: Every other harmful procedure of the female genitalia for non-medical purposes like pricking, piercing, and scraping.

Today’s Scenario

Even today as we speak of female genital mutilation we try coming in terms with reality and how gruesome the nature of this ancient practice can be that is still being carried out largely. Looking at the brighter side of the story we find many groups and organizations that have come together to work and eradicate this practice. They purposely made it a point to not refer to it as “Female genital cutting” out of respect for women who have undergone the ritual and do not wish to consider themselves mutilated. It is a highly sensitive issue and no woman wants to feel worse about it than it already is.

Female genital cutting is still prevalent in about 28 African countries, and among a few minority groups in Asia, affecting from 1% of women in countries like Uganda and Cameroon to about 98% of women in other countries such as Sudan. These practices might differ from country to country but the sole motive remains the same, some face limited or controlled forms of cutting in countries like Sierra Leone and others face extreme forms of surgery like Somali regions.

Female genital cutting is illegal in at least 26 of the 28 African countries in which it is practiced, and it has also been made illegal in several industrialized countries where immigrants or refugees from Africa may reside. FGM has no positive health values attached to it but its prevalence proves the value of women being closely intertwined with this tradition. A large number of girls drop out of schools after this procedure as education and schooling is not seen as a necessary part of their lives.

Female genital mutilation laws by country map

India’s Dawoodi Bohra Community

Right when we think India is not one of those countries that we look down upon for practicing female genital mutilation we realise it very much is! Such cruel practices happen not only in tribal societies or distant places like Africa but also by the Dawoodi Bohra community right here in our country. Young girls aged six and seven are regularly having to go through the unbearable pain of such surgeries without realising the impact that it leaves on women, both physically as well as mentally. About two million people belong to India’s Bohra community and between 75-80% of Bohra women are subject to female genital mutilation. The colloquial word for female genital mutilation inflicted on girls is ‘khafz’. The practice is kept secret and hidden from the public eye and media to keep it away from debates, disagreements, and criticisms. The mothers and grandmothers are usually at the epicentre of it to ensure that this practice continues decade after decade.

India does not as yet have a specific set of laws that criminalize FGM, mainly because the government still denies the existence of the practice knowing quite well about what goes on behind closed doors. Despite provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences(PoCSO), the tradition has prevailed for decades together.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, myth-busting or a new law would not mean that all girls are safe. Almost all graphs and surveys fail to capture the real number of women who are subject to gruesome experiences as most of them are not allowed to even have an opinion about it and speak openly about it either. Changing a law alone cannot end the deeply entrenched practices, neither can it tackle questions about whether it can really legislate changes or not. It is often warned that any attempt to challenge such social and religious norms could incite a backlash or outlawing the practice would only drive it underground. As societies become more urban and industrialized, changes take place and bring in new pressures, pressures that require individuals and such communities to re-examine age-old beliefs, question traditional roles and reconsider established priorities with the view to make this world a better place.

Reference(s)

Murray, A., 2013. From Outrage To Courage. Monroe, Me.: Common Courage Press.

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The trans community, owing to their difference in nature, have been seen as a threat to the core foundation of gender in society. Members of the trans community are collectively called hijras. Most people do not understand the meaning of the term hijra and use it in a derogatory sense. They do not get significant jobs because of the perception that they are unable to perform any. Being a parent of a transgender child is considered shameful and members of trans community are not allowed to marry and bear children.

Since most people in the Indian society and the global arena fail to understand the heterogeneity of gender, they see such trans persons as a threat to the traditions and culture and try to remove them from the society. Shunned, these people are not provided with any basic human, political, and civil rights and do not have any access to the necessities. They also have no access to education or healthcare.

The main issue with the Indian Education System is that they don’t facilitate skill acquisition. While moving further up, many students drop out, which creates a learning gap. Trans persons fall under this category. Many trans students are subject to a lot of bullying owing to their nature, which leads them to drop out of schools and colleges or committing suicide. In India, schools and colleges are not sensitive to trans people. The University Grants Commission and the Central and State Education Boards have to make more policies inclusive of them and make sure that these policies are implemented and that the bullying of the trans students is stopped immediately to facilitate their education.

Another benefit that is not accessible to trans people is healthcare. Trans people are often refused care from various health services. They also face harassment and physical attacks in the hospitals which in turn makes them skeptical to take the help of hospitals and doctors. Many are admitted to hospitals and left untreated. This kind of behavior has scared them and forces them to stay away from healthcare institutions. Apart from this, since they are also derived from education, they are unaware of a lot of important health care benefits and treatments that should be accessible to people in general and them.

Besides these, they are constantly ridiculed and discriminated against, which results in identity issues. They also go through a lifetime of poverty and are subject to human trafficking. They are subject to unemployment and homelessness.

Through time, the trans community, after being an integral part of the LGBTQ community, has protested against this injustice and discrimination. This had made the government create some policies and laws for the trans community.

• The Supreme Court of India recognized the third gender along with the primary genders of ‘male’ and ‘female’. This decision has successfully shattered the dual-gender structure of “male” and “female” that is usually recognized by society.
• The Supreme Court has given certain directions for the protection of the rights of the trans persons by including them in documents like the election card, passport, driving license and ration card, and for admission in educational institutions, hospitals, amongst others.
• Articles 15, 16, and 21, do not allow the violation of discrimination on the grounds of gender.
• The Court recognized the right of an individual to choose how to behave in private and allowed them the means needed to reach their full potential. The Court noted that a person will not realize his abilities and interests if he is forced to accept a gender assigned to him at birth. He should thereby be given the freedom to choose for himself to reach his full potential.
• The Court also protects an individual’s gender expression invoked by Article 19 (1) (a). It upholds that “no restriction can be placed on one’s appearance or choice of dressing subject to the restrictions contained in article 19(2) of the Constitution”.
• Human rights were awarded to them which includes the right to life, liberty, equality, dignity, and freedom of thought and expression.
• The decriminalization of Section 377 of IPC is also a colossal step for solving transgender issues.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 was passed on November 26, 2019, by the Parliament. It is the revised version of the Bill that was passed in 2016 and 2018. The previous Bills were heavily criticized for various reasons, one being that they were not at par with the Supreme Court judgment in National Legal Services Authority. The 2019 Bill attempted to define someone whose gender does not match the one assigned at birth. This bill included transgender persons in the Constitution, thereby including them in our society and providing them with legal human rights. It also prohibited any kind of discrimination and harassment based on an individual’s gender.

The provisions of this bill are:

• It recognizes the 3rd gender after the Supreme Court ruled in the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) judgment that the third gender should be legally recognized.
• It defines a transgender as someone who is partly female or male or a combination of female and male or neither female nor male. It advocates that the person’s gender must not match the gender assigned at birth. It includes trans-men, trans-women, persons with intersex variations, and gender-queers.
• The government must provide the necessary support, like rehabilitation, self-employment, and healthcare.
• The bill prohibits discrimination and harassment against members of trans community and protects them from any kind of violence.
• A strict penalty has been assigned against discrimination, either in public or in private.
• It holds that the members of the trans community must obtain identity proof which is provided by the district magistrate (DM) on the recommendations of medical experts, government officials, and one other transgender.
• A National Council for transgenders is to be set up to protect their interests.

In time, many states have taken certain measures to make the lives of transgenders easy. Some of them are:

• Odisha categorized transgenders under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category which now enables the community to avail of socio-economic benefits, which might otherwise be out of their reach.
• Tamil Nadu constituted the Aravanis Welfare Board in 2008 for providing a pension for the community.
• Kerala came out with a Transgender Policy to help transgenders.

This bill too has been criticized by many and has been a topic of debate and discussion.

The reason why the Transgender Protection Bill was due to the efforts of the LGBTQ Community whose aim was to ensure equality in our society. Yes, this monumental change of the Supreme Court acknowledging the transgenders as any other human is celebratory but we cannot forget that in a world of trillions, some people who do not understand or accept anything other than the binary ideals of gender still walk the earth and attempt to make the lives of such people difficult. Even though the Constitution has passed the Protection of Rights Bill, many civil servants refuse to help transgenders and indulge in violent activities because they do not accept the bill or the existence of such persons. Members of the trans community are still subject to the same amount of harassment as before, if not more. 

Members of the transgender community such as Revathi and Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi have openly spoken about their struggles in their autobiographies to show the world the kind of harassment that every transgender person has to face in today’s world. While many succumb to these inhuman challenges, people like Lakshmi and Revathi have not only fought their battles but are now helping millions of other transgender’s fight as well. Many non-profit organizations have also dedicated themselves to help such people. The usage of terms such as “coming out” or using the term as a hijra only for insults, shows the deep-rooted hatred for such people among us and while many transgenders are moving up in society, the social issues that they face since birth are still probable in society. While the mindset of people is slowly changing, whether a complete change will ever be possible is a point of debate among scholars today. As citizens of India, we should all accept this natural entity even if we fail to understand the mechanisms of it.

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Why and How are Drugs Reaching Kashmir?

With China and Pakistan axis at an all-time high, Pakistan has been stronger than before and has been using a variety of tactics to fund its terrorist activities in Kashmir by providing funds, assistance and substance abuse. The Sino-Pak Nexus is greatly dependent on the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) region and they have been using the region as a linchpin for stymieing India’s growth and fomenting issues in its Achilles Heel. Drug smuggling, thus, has become a great cause of concern in the Union Territory, creating security threats and weakening the International Border. Afghanistan and Pakistan have had a huge role to play in the on-goings in the region, as the former supplies drugs and well as men, material and training and their militant networks are strong enough to penetrate India’s borders through North Kashmir that has been lapped up by the persistent drug addiction and abuse and brainwashing. Moreover, post the abrogation of Article 370 in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan has been strongly engaged in giving a fillip to the drug sponsored terrorism in Kashmir with help from Afghanistan, mostly through good quality heroin that is then sent to various parts of the country through their associates based in those areas.

Obscured among regular merchandise or in secret niches, these narcotics are sent from the drug corridor in North Kashmir to Punjab, Gujarat, Mumbai and Rajasthan in transportation trucks and vehicles. The cross-border drug menace has spread its tentacles far and wide in India, with drugs also making their way into Kashmir through Gujarat via sea route from Pakistan, in trucks carrying products from mountain salt to cumin seeds and apples.

Prior to Indian Government’s 2019 order for suspension of the cross border trade that took place via the LoC, the drug mafia was active through this route. Heroin has been found in consignments of dress material in Uri and hawai chappals that were later dumped in Lal Chowk area of Srinagar.

Landmark Case Study: Attari Border (2019)

The heroin haul in a Pakistani truck at the Attari border in Amritsar on June 26, 2019 by the Customs Officials, is a landmark event to show how narco-terrorism became well-embedded in the fabric of Kashmir. The truck driver had unloaded six hundred bags of pink salt which seemed suspicious to the officials and after investigation, it turned out to be 15 bags containing 532 kilograms of heroin worth Rs 2000 crores. The case was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which found out that there was huge involvement across the border, from Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the narcotics racket; the profits from the scandal being used for funding the terror module in Kashmir. The NIA found linkages between Amritsar-based businessman, Gurpinder Singh for whom the consignment was apparently meant and a Kashmiri man, Tariq Lone who had linkages with the Noor and Noor Company based in Pakistan. From various interrogations, what came to light was that the drug cartel passed through various channels through Afghanistan-Pakistan and Kashmir. Loads of packages of other goods and mundane consignments prior to this recovery must have contained these shipments of heroin, according to the investigating authorities who discovered an ostentatious network of hawala operators helping the narcotics lobby. The huge network had linkages to Dubai and Kashmiris who had crossed over to Pakistan to become terrorists.

The Inside Story: A Look Into Other Case Studies

The persistent issue of drug abuse in Kashmir again came to limelight on the fateful evening of June 11, 2020 when the police personnel in Handwara town in North Kashmir stopped a car sans a registration plate. The passenger seat of the car had a black coloured bag safely tucked under it, which on further investigation contained over six kilograms of heroin and twenty lakhs in cash. The occupant of the seat was identified as Abdul Momin Peer and subsequent raids point out that the drug syndicate spans his entire family. His father-in-law, Ifthikar Andrabi and brother were arrested in successive raids, with 21 kilograms heroin and Rs 1 crore cash recovered from various properties in the family’s name. The seized drugs are estimated to be worth Rs 100 Crores. The story of poppy and guns of Kashmir was transferred to the NIA who found that Peer’s father-in-law has a number of relatives across the LoC in Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir, close to North Kashmir (Handwara region). It has been established by the agencies that they have links with the terrorist outfit, Lashkar-e-Toiba through which the high-level narcotic consignments have been sourced by the family from the Afg-Pak belt and then sent to other states in India from Kashmir, hereby, the profits of the narco-trade being used for furthering terrorism in the valley.

The profits of a recent drug consignment of Rs 5 crores to Amritsar wherein more than three crores were distributed among the ground workers in the valley and the terrorists of Lashkar-e-Toiba has been an important case study of the investigation of this drug scandal. According to the intelligence agencies, this is just the tip of the iceberg of the J&K especially North Kashmir’s drug romance and its narco-terrorism. The rampant drug trade has been a major source of funding to the terrorism in Kashmir as the recent cases have highlighted and outfits like Lashkar-e-Toiba Jaish-e-Mohammed, the Hizbul Mujahideen operating in the valley have been seen to be greatly involved in this narco-terrorism tête-à-tête. With further investigations and newer facts being unearthed, the NIA found another key player in the drug peddling from Hyderpora, Kashmir: Afaq Ahmad Wani from whom they recovered Rs 30 lakhs in cash and three kilos of heroin. Interestingly, the accused is a bank manager by profession.

Conclusion

As evident from the various interrogations and recoveries made by the investigation agencies, North Kashmir has, hence, become a safe haven for the terrorist outfits and the narco-terrorism is on its peak in the region, the profits from the drug consortia providing the basis for the development and deepening of the terrorist activities and associations in the valley. Moreover, the issue does not end here as the drug peril is spreading its roots in various parts of India, creating an appalling security threat for the state. The drug issue has extremely dark undertones to it and the need is for a coordinated and strategic approach by the authorities and government, to stem the issues at the ground level.  

References:

Ahuja, N. B. (2020, July 18). Cross border narco-terror becoming a major concern for India. THE WEEK. https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2020/07/18/cross-border-narco-terror-becoming-a-major-concern-for-india.html

Hussain, A. (2020, June 27). ‘Narco-terror’ module busted in Kashmir, 2 held with Rs 65 crore narcotics and weapons. Hindustan Times, Srinagar.

Pandita, R. (2020, September 11). Guns and Poppy. OPEN, pp. 26-31.

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The Chittagong Hill Tract: Acts Implemented by the British Empire

However, it must be remembered that the British Empire bore the colonized with the fruits of colonial forestry that altered India’s ecology. Nonetheless, it must be mentioned how the onus of responsibility has been placed on the Raj for deforestation. The dense forests of the Chittagong Hill Tracts were perceived to be a source of revenue for the British and declared it to be Government property under the guise of protection (Golam, 2005, p: 7-10). The practice of kumri was now denounced under the British Raj which had been known as shifting cultivation where trees had been burned and seeds were then sowed in the ashes, performing as a fertilizer (Rajan, 2006, p:1-112 ). It was argued that it had resulted in deforestation and soil depletion. The shifting cultivators had been engaged in competition with the colonial state for forest resources. This could be perceived as the beginning of intolerance against the indigenous consumer of the forests, as hunting for livelihood was now criminalized. However, the commoditization of forests was detrimental for the British Empire to pronounce its dominance. The Act XXII of 1860 brought the Chittagong Hill Tracts under the jurisdiction of the British Superintendent and was made a subdivision in the Bengal Region (Barua, 1971, p: 514-518). The Chittagong Hill Tract Regulation Act of 1900 put forth the trajectory of separation by reaffirming restrictions on immigration. By this law, it was the Deputy Commissioner under whom jhum cultivation could be regulated. The Government of India Act, 1935 designated the Chittagong Hill Tracts as a “Totally Excluded Area”.

It was in 1947 that the establishment of two nation states: India and Pakistan were established as sovereign. It was Cyril Radcliffe, the Head of the Bengal Boundary Commission who suggested the inclusion of CHT in Pakistan (Ashrafuzzaman, 2014, p: 39-53 ). The Chittagong Hill Tracts was incorporated by the Pakistan who she had directly governance over. By the constitution of Pakistan, proclaimed under the Dictatorship of Ayub Khan in 1962, the CHT was declared as a ”tribal area”. It was believed that the Kaptai Dam was to be established across the Karnaphulli river during 1959- 1963 which was a hydroelectric project and the stepping stone for industrialization. This led to the displacement of over 100,000 indigenous people and many were compelled to resettle in India. As a result of continuous economic exploitation, resistance was the only solution for East Pakistan.

The Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971: Government Sponsored Violence in the Chittagong Hill Tracts

It was in 1971 that Pakistan withdrew, although the Liberation War brought to the fore violence by both East and West Pakistan. The Bengali freedom fighters declared the tribespeople as supporters of Pakistan and were tortured. However, it cannot be forgotten that the Bangladesh Liberation War was fought in 1971 by the indigenous communities who were a minority as well as by the majority population constituted by Bengali Muslims against West Pakistan, the former believing the claim that their rights would be restored to them after independence. The Bangladesh Liberation War must be analyzed as an imposition of the Urdu language in Bangladesh with a pursuit for Muslim rule (Wolfgang, 1984, p: 1-126).

In 1972, Manobendra Narayan Larma, the only representative in parliament of CHT led a delegation and placed demands to the Prime Minister, Majibur Rahman such as the establishment of a Legislative Assembly in the CHT, restricting the movement of outsiders in this region and lastly the continuation of the designation of Tribal Chief Offices which was outrightly rejected. A new political party was born known as Parboti Chottogram Janasanghati Samati or PCSS, coupled with its armed wing known as Santi Bahini. The indigenous communities were collectively termed as Jumma (Islam, 2003, p: 137-160). However, no special status was awarded to CHT by Bangladesh after it gained independence and its population was accorded the citizenship of Bengali which denied the separate identity that its indigenous community had. The Constitution of Bangladesh in 1988 declared Islam as the state religion, the victims of religious persecution has been the Jummas and the Hindus. Temples had been destroyed of both Hindus and the Jummas alike. There has been an influx of Bengali Muslim settlers with the support provided by the Bangladeshi Army which has resulted in the significant reduction of the Jumma population. The International Labor Organization has brought to the forefront the annihilation of the indigenous people.  

The Peace Accords: A Failure

It was in 1997 that the Peace Accords were signed between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the PCSS. The Accord stated that the Bangladesh Government would withdraw its troops from the Chittagong Hill Tracts, although human rights violations have continued to occur even after the treaty had been signed. Rabi Shankar Chakma, the Central General Secretary, in an exclusive interview with Hill Women’s Federation has commented on how CHT has still been under military occupation by the government. The Army’s influence plays a vital role in the failure of the implementation of the Peace Accords. Adding to that, the Bangladeshi National Party has espoused an attitude that can be termed as uncooperative. It violated the terms of the treaty by not appointing a minister belonging from the indigenous members of the parliament. Detentions of the Jumma have accentuated. Massacres have been occurring since 1976 and women have been victims of sexual violence as rape has been utilized as a tool. Not only that, but looting has also occurs predominantly. Many such incidents can be cited to propound the role of an authoritarian government that has repressed the voices of the Jummas. Hill’s Women Federation which represents the rights of Pahari Women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts has reported the rate of rapes at 67% during 2011- 2012.

Therefore, it is important to point out that the Chittagong Hill Tracts is such a region that has been fraught by communalism which has been fueled by discrimination of the Government of Bangladesh, and their perception of the Jumma community. While this same government has spoken out for the displacement of the Rohingya Muslims, it has remained silent on the terrors it has engaged in. 

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“Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong; it’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength”

– G.D. Anderson 

Women and Islam

In Islam, men and women are moral equals in God’s sight and are expected to fulfil the same duties of worship, prayer, faith, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage to Mecca. Islam by and large improved the status of ladies contrasted with before Arab societies, restricting female child murder and perceiving ladies’ full personhood. Islamic law stresses the authoritative idea of marriage, necessitating that a dowry is paid to the woman and not her family, and ensuring women’s rights of inheritance and to claim and oversee the property. Women were additionally allowed the option to live in the marital home and get monetary maintenance during marriage and a holding up period following demise and separation. 

Historical records show that Muhammad counselled ladies and gauged their opinions seriously. Umm Waraqah was selected imam over the family unit by Muhammad. Women contributed altogether to the canonization of the Quran. A lady is known to have adjusted the definitive decision of Caliph Umar on the endowment. Women prayed in mosques unsegregated from men, were involved in hadith transmission, gave sanctuary to men, engaged in commercial transactions were encouraged to seek knowledge, and were both instructors and pupils in the early Islamic period. Muhammad’s last wife, Aishah, was a well-known authority in medicine, history, and rhetoric. Caliph Umar named ladies to fill in as authorities in the market of Medina. Life stories of recognized ladies, particularly in Muhammad’s family unit, show that ladies acted moderately independently in early Islam. In Sufi circles, ladies were perceived as educators, followers, “otherworldly moms,” and even inheritors of the profound privileged insights of their fathers. 

No woman held religious titles in Islam, but many women held political power, some jointly with their husbands, others independently. The best-known women rulers in the premodern era include Khayzuran, who governed the Muslim Empire under three Abbasid caliphs in the eighth century; Malika Asma bint Shihab al-Sulayhiyya and Malika Arwa bint Ahmad al-Sulayhiyya, who both held power in Yemen in the eleventh century; Sitt al-Mulk, a Fatimid queen of Egypt in the eleventh century; the Berber queen Zaynab al-Nafzawiyah (r. 1061 – 1107 ); two thirteenth-century Mamluk queens, Shajar al-Durr in Cairo and Radiyyah in Delhi; six Mongol queens, including Kutlugh Khatun (thirteenth century) and her daughter Padishah Khatun of the Kutlugh-Khanid dynasty; the fifteenth-century Andalusian queen Aishah al-Hurra, known by the Spaniards as Sultana Madre de Boabdil; Sayyida al-Hurra, governor of Tetouán in Morocco (r. 1510 – 1542 ); and four seventeenth-century Indonesian queens.

Nevertheless, the status of women in premodern Islam all in all adjusted not to Quranic beliefs however to prevailing patriarchal cultural norms. Thus, improvement of the status of ladies turned into a significant issue in the present day, reformist Islam.

The rights to education and employment plus women’s activism make a big difference in women’s rights.

In “Myths About Women’s Rights: How, Where and Why Rights Advance,” Feryal Cherif, analyses two hypotheses for why cultures advance gender equality. 

The first is the thing that we call “centre rights”: that women’s rights to education and employment are the structure hinders with which to begin political organizing for equality, developing a group sense of fairness (or the lack thereof), and building public support for women’s equal socioeconomic standing. This gives government officials, and other residential elites motivations to help ladies’ privileges. 

The subsequent hypothesis is that ladies’ privileges backing cultivates change as local and worldwide activists advance new standards of uniformity by publicizing countries’ practices — both those that treat ladies similarly and those that slack — and constraining governments to adjust to worldwide norms. Research shows that these hypotheses are steady with the ongoing advances in gender equality in Saudi Arabia and the region at large. Looking at ladies’ property rights in 41 Muslim-larger part nations, I believe that women are probably going to appreciate safer property rights in nations where, first, women have more prominent admittance to education and second, where there are thick systems of women rights activists. Where ladies are more mindful of their privileges, better situated to challenge male family, and have the socioeconomic power to hold politicians accountable, their property rights are stronger. That is valid also for the Saudi Arabian development of women’s rights, including the right to drive. It is presumably not a happenstance that, throughout the long term, the hole between Saudi Arabian boys’ and girls’ education has considerably limited. Furthermore, it’s actually in numerous other Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) nations, where young ladies beat young men in school and enrol in universities at higher rates than boys. Besides, an expanding number of Arab ladies have joined the work power — though not yet at levels as high as worldwide midpoints. Indeed, even in Saudi Arabia, with its extraordinary forms of gender segregation, ladies are working in an ever-increasing number of fields. Also, with the right to drive, more women will be able to seek employment. 

In addition to core rights, women rights activism has additionally considerably expanded in the Middle East and North Africa in the previous decades. During 1980 and 2015, the number of women rights groups operating in the region nearly tripled. Some scholars and reporters have argued that advocacy campaigns and global pressure have helped push MENA nations toward gender equality. 

Indeed, even in conservative states like Saudi Arabia, the government may think that it’s hard to contain women’s expectations once they’ve been educated and entered the work power — even while more traditionalist pieces of their country push back.

Political Participation

Political revolutions and instability in the Middle East have mobilized women in new ways. Despite political turmoil and express dangers to their privileges, numerous ladies are expanding their activism to make their voices heard. Because of this flood of political commitment from ladies, however, fundamentalist and traditionalist pioneers and governments are pushing back, increasing their assaults on women’s human rights with an end goal to keep up their power. 

Even though, when women do win rights, they aren’t able to execute them since they are sabotaged by solid accepted practices and conventions. For instance, although women in Egypt have cast ballot rights, the Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement (which conducts customary political race checking) has discovered that in provincial towns, spouses, fathers, or siblings will advise women how to cast a ballot—or even just take a women’s polling form from her and round it out however they see fit. 

Laws in the area, including both old laws and ongoing ones, confine ladies’ common freedoms and fill in as unequivocal proof that people with significant influence don’t consider women equals. For instance, in 2014 the Iraqi parliament introduced a draft law that endeavoured to make it lawful to wed a young girl as young as nine years of age, granting conjugal assault, and allowing polygamy. A long-standing law in Lebanon doesn’t permit women to pass on their citizenship, implying that if a Lebanese lady weds a non-Lebanese man, her children wouldn’t have Lebanese citizenship. Also, fundamentalist gatherings are a ground-breaking and developing danger, with systems that straightforwardly target women, including the abduction and forced sexual slavery of Yazidi ladies in Iraq by the alleged Islamic State gathering (ISIS). With so many powerful forces opposing women’s human rights in the Middle East, many in the region feel that international support has been far too weak. Leaders of women’s groups across the region stress the need for international support and solidarity. Past budgetary help, women likewise call for worldwide solidarity and expressions of help, referring to the two sorts of help as basic to opposing fundamentalism. Women’s gatherings keep up that while fundamentalist dangers against women’s rights are at the moment most powerful in the Middle East, the issue is, in fact, a global problem. 

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Origin Of Manual Scavenging In India

The origin of manual scavenging in India goes back a few centuries. Its roots lie in the birth-based occupation structure wherein sub-castes within Dalits were forced to live a life of degradation. The system became more concrete after the coming of the Mughals, Mughal women under purdah system had in closed toilets that needed to be scavenged, later modern flush toilets came to the forefront with the advent of the East India Company, but by this time, it was too late to go to give up the old ways. By now, most houses that adopted outhouses or dry latrines that required to be scavenged. Manual scavengers are known by different names in different regions, often called Phakis in Andra Pradesh, Bhangis in Uttar Pradesh, Balmiki in Haryana among others. However, while they’re called by different names in varied areas, their identity remains blurred for most of the world. 

Life Of A Manual Scavenger

Work-life of a manual scavenger is demeaning and Inhumane. Most often they jump inside the drains without any equipment and the stench is unbearable. Lack of technical intervention makes the lives of those involved in this inhumane occupation a hardship. Human faeces and urine are carriers of Hepatitis A, Rotavirus, and E.coli exposing the workers to cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and a range of other diseases. This makes their life a heavy pill to swallow as they face multiple atrocities, in the hands of the general public where the perception revolves around untouchability, perversion and pollution. Their occupation is deeply attached to their caste, it is only the sub-castes among the Dalits who are occupied in the process. Those involved in manual scavenging hardly get a reasonable income, ranging from Rs. 50 to Rs 100, after cleaning about 40-50 toilets is less than the bare minimum. Without any safety net to fall back to, the occupation brings misery from all quarters.

Death Of Manual Scavengers

The practice is driven by caste, class and income divide and the cornerstone of untouchability in the country. The number of those who died in septic tanks has multiplied in the past years, in the year 2019, around 110 people lost their lives in the tanks. This is a 61% increase from 2018 data available to us. Most of those who die in septic tanks die of toxic fumes and asphyxiation. Even though the government promises a compensation of 10 lake rupees, it is imperative that in several cases there has been no compensation in the hands of those who lose their kin. 

Government Intervention

The Protection of Civil Rights Act, known as Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955, The  Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, remains the earliest legislation that made the practice of untouchability a cognizable and non-compoundable offence. The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, prohibited the construction of dry latrines and employment of manual scavengers but the reality is, that the menace continues. Due to lack of technical intervention by the state, the burden on manual scavengers remains unchallenged, even though the act is non-bailable, those involved in manual scavenging come from a deeply marginalised stratum of society where they find it difficult to fight legal battles. Lack of awareness with respect to rights is another issue. In the current light of events, it becomes ever more important to empower those who find it hard to empower themselves. 

Abolition of Social Stigma

Any social stigma is hard to overcome in a day, month or a few years. It takes a multi-pronged approach to overcome biases that plague any given society. Gandhi Ji once said, “My fight against untouchability is a fight against the impure in society” in his words it is evident that untouchability persisted for decades in Indian society and hence it becomes even more important for the present generation to take stringent steps to permanently eradicate the menace of manual scavenging and the taboos attached to those who engage in the occupation. The larger question is, what can we do as civil society? What is in our hand? What’s in our hand is the boon of technology, technology has connected the world ever more in the last few years, we can use the medium of social media to bring forward the issues of those whose lives have been under great stress for centuries altogether. Dialogue is the first step to any change, we need to educate our children about the ills of our society and inculcate common empathy and respect for individuals regardless of their social status. Schools need to inculcate coursework that helps them appreciate their surroundings and the people who contribute to that very society. Over the time, we as a society might’ve accustomed to the changing ways but as long as people around us live a life of degradation none of us is truly independent even though we’ve entered the 75^th year of independence.

Way Ahead 

Technical interventions to replace manual scavenging is the need of the hour. For instance, the Water Supply and Sewage Board of Hyderabad is currently using mini jetting machines to clean choked water pipes in the narrow alleys. Whereas in Kerala, engineers designed robots that can clean septic tanks. Further, the use of anaerobic bacteria to treat human excreta has been explored but research on it needs more funding. Apart from the use of technology, there is a need for an overhaul holistic approach towards designing rehabilitation schemes, keeping women in mind to make sure they have alternate sources of employment. The best way forward would be to converge existing government employment schemes, such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), 2005 with PEMSR Act 2013. It is a sensible option for the liberation of scavengers to be guaranteed employment for at least 100 days in a year. Continuous audit of the steps taken

in accordance is another step in the right direction, social sector schemes specifically for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers is the way to go, otherwise one size fit approach hardly gives any dividends, scholarships for young children of manual scavengers and provision to complete schooling to those who dropped out of school early in life is required to not only rehabilitate scavengers but also to ensure that this liberation is lasting in nature. 

At this note we must work towards realising the words of Dr Ambedkar, he once said –

“Unlike a drop of water that loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being on the society in which he lives. Man’s life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but the development of his self”

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  “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own”

This is 2020 and a 12-year-old Meera peeps outside her window for hours day after another. She sat through the morning sun and waited for the moon to set in and oh! She sighed as the autumn leaves fell on her window as she flipped through the pages of a book of Bengali poems, yesterday it was ‘Abhilash’ by Rabindranath Tagore and today it was ‘The fruit of the tree of knowledge’ by Kamini Roy. She wrote, “ The Male desire to rule is the primary, if not the only, stumbling block to women’s enlightenment. They are extremely suspicious of women’s emancipation. Why? The same old fear- the lest they become like us”

Meera thought to herself, what is enlightenment?

Women of Yesterday 

Enlightenment in 16^th-century Europe was one of many outcomes of 30 years war from 1618 to 1648, as a result, many authors like Hugo and John Comenius went ahead against tradition to question some of the most rational questions of time. However, there’s not much reference to the role of women in the period of enlightenment. The status of women during the period of enlightenment is highly debated in academia and many of their works remain rather unpublished to date, which makes it difficult to understand 16^th century Europe from the eyes of a woman. Enlightenment brought with itself ideals of tolerance, liberty and progress, but these ideals remained rather secluded to middle and upper-class women who were able to discuss issues like politics, equality and sexuality in salons, coffee houses and debating societies. Among enlightened philosophers was John Locke who believed that the notion of male superiority was created by men and on the contrary Rousseau believed that women were subordinate to men and women must obey men. It is surprising to note such contrasting belief systems, that also highlight the fact that maybe, we’ve come far from where we were centuries ago but often we see more of Rousseau than Locke even in 21^st century. 

Tracing The Legacy Of Women Issues In Mid-19th Century India

Modern Europe saw the rise of some of the most renowned feminists, however, we see flashes of feminism in India primarily beginning from the mid-19^th century, this was the time of reform movement centred around Indian freedom struggle when social reformers like Savitribai Phule, Kamini Roy, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Behramji Malabari among others talked of issues surrounding rights of women and social injustice. There was much hue and cry over the abolition of Sati but reformers like Ram Mohan Roy held their ground and even went ahead and said that “Sati was murder according to every shastra”.Issues like age of consent were debated in middle and upper-middle-class quarters, but such regulations did not reach the masses, it is astonishing to know that the practice of child marriage and crime against minor girls and children are on a rise even after over a hundred years of increasing the age of consent. Where did we go wrong? Before we try and analyse the answer let us look at some revolutionary women who changed the course of history for all women.

Mary Wollstonecraft 

Late 18^th century saw the first feminist philosopher in history, Mary Wollstonecraft, she was among the first women to openly publish under her name, she is widely known for the book, A vindication of the rights of women, it was a philosophical text for the education of women. She famously said “I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves” what she meant by this was that seeking the rights for women does not in any regard mean taking away rights of men, the essential purpose of all rights of women is not to control men, rather have the right over herself, her soul, her being, the very right that women over the world are still fighting for. For years altogether she wrote about how systematic patriarchy blinds women in the garb of obedience and how important it is for a woman to be strengthening their minds to become rational human beings. 

Kamini Roy 

Kamini Roy was born at a time when national freedom struggle was gaining ground but there was rather a lack of women participation in public life, born in a small village in present-day Bangladesh, Roy spearheaded the suffragette movement in India, after a long struggle, the Bengal legislative granted limited suffragette to women in 1925, she was among the first girls to attend school in British India. As a young woman she enjoyed writing and poetry, she quotes  “why should a woman be confined to the home and denied her rightful place in society?”  This was a revolutionary message for the time as it portrayed the zeal within young women who actively wished to participate in public life, who wanted nothing less than emancipation. 

20th-Century Position Of Women

20^th century was a period of decolonisation and formation of national boundaries. Ideas of sovereignty, republic, democracy were gaining ground, but rights of women remained at the periphery of nation-building. Hence, it is not surprising to know that most countries over the world, more or less, have ensured political rights but despite that remain the second gender, in the light of growing crimes against women it is natural to remember words said by Dr Ambedkar, he said “ political rights mean nothing in the absence of socio-economic rights” perhaps what he meant this was that political rights will only take an individual so far but real emancipation comes from social and economic rights. The example of this can very well be understood in the context of India. Even after over 70 years of independence women membership in the lower house remains at 12%, whereas Rwanda, a small country in Africa has 62% of women representatives. We will now look at how Rwanda achieved these feet.  

Women of Impact – Rwanda 

It is imperative to ignore how a small country like Rwanda can increase its women participation in a world where three nations; Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu have no women in their central legislation. A country like the U.S; the world biggest superpower has just 23% representation of women in the lower house. Whereas countries where there have been improvements in numbers of female legislators, they have had a long history of women’s inclusion in public life. One of the reasons for the high number of women legislators is rooted in the re-constitution of the Rwandan constitution post-genocide in 2003. The new constitution allowed leaders to include progressive measures like gender equality, mandating a minimum 30% quota for women in parliament. It is now documented that countries where there is a significant reservation of seats for women in parliament, there has been a jump in numbers, Nepal has 33% quota whereas Djibouti has over 15% women parliamentarians. Another reason for a growing women representation lies in the fact that Rwanda has a proportional electoral system where a percentage of government seats held by a party is roughly equal to the percentage of voters who support the party. Women’s caucus in Rwanda developed a strategy to increase participation of women, they had veteran lawmakers run for open seats whereas reserved seats were ushered by newcomers. The passing of the anti-violence legislation is among one of their biggest achievements. 

Status of Women in the 21^st Century 

Women form almost 50% of the world population, any significant growth cannot be realised without the participation of women as a global citizen but before we focus on that, the world needs to give the status of a human being to a woman. The moment women are considered human beings and not just a commodity, probably half the race will be won. The other has to be won by working on multiple levels, ranging from strong legislation for crimes towards women to gender sensitisation in primary, secondary and high schools. The concept of consent is gaining ground and ever more important, especially in a world where most crimes against women are committed by a known entity. This only strengthens the notion that sensitisation at school might be the first step in the right direction but there has to be ensured gender sensitisation of parents right after the birth of a child. State and non-state actors, media, celebrities across the world and people like us who are part of society must do our bit in ensuring that women are given their due status in society not because they are women but rather because they are human beings. 

What Will The Woman Of Tomorrow Want?

For every 1000 baby boys, we have 940 girls. For starters, women of tomorrow must want to bridge this ratio. Women of tomorrow will want to not only be born and be granted the rights that already exist for them but also occupy more and more public spaces, women of tomorrow will want to be writers, a politician, scientist, musician, painter, journalist, a homemaker, teacher, work in an MNC but all by her choice, and not by compulsion. She will want to occupy not just public space but also live a life without the fear of harassment, she will want to take a sanitary napkin to the washroom without the fear of a male guardian knowing that she is on her period. Women of tomorrow will always be like the woman of today and yesterday, their demands might change over time but at the heart of it, she just wants to live a life of dignity, she only wishes to a life she chose for herself. 

As for Meera, let’s just hope she gains the true meaning of enlightenment in a few years, and let us make sure it remains only a few. 

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WAVES OF FEMINISM

The modern wave of Feminism called the Fourth wave which began around 2008, has its roots in the First, Second and the more recent Third Wave of Feminism.          

• First wave Feminism arose in the 19^th century with the aim of bringing about equality as well as ensuring women’s suffrage in the countries of United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Canada, but however was not limited to only these four countries. In the Indian context. The first wave was set in the backdrop of the 19^th-20^th century, beginning with an attempt to eradicate evils like Sati, child marriage, and introducing ideas of increased literacy among women, allowing widow re-marriage, bringing changes in property laws, etc.
• The Second Wave of Feminism (post-1920) on the other hand, argued for women’s rights to abortion, birth control, and overall control over their own bodies, opposing the patriarchal family’s sexism and sexual control over their bodies. Therefore, it had a more radical element to it, in contrast to the first wave. In India, the second wave retained its radical nature, as women became more engaged in the public scene, and participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement as a part of the Nationalist struggle. Emphasis was placed on women’s education, their livelihood and also led to the founding of many new organisations for the upliftment of women, as a whole.  
• The third wave of feminism emerged in response to the failure of the second wave. It was to challenge the second wave’s idea of ideal feminism which highlighted the struggles of only white upper-middle-class woman. They decided to shift the aim of the movement to ensure that every woman despite its colour and family background is respected and given equal rights. It was not only related to sex and gender but caste and colour too. The concept of lesbianism also came into the forefront during this wave. Earlier lesbians felt sidelined by both women and gay liberation but eventually, it became a part of the mainstream women’s movement. This wave also demanded the right to contraception and birth control. Feminists also fought for social acceptance of female sexual freedom. They demanded sexual equality for the freedom of women. Thus it became a very important wave in shaping the concept of modern feminism.
• The fourth wave is a very recent development within the movement which began in 2008. It is connected with technology. It focuses on issues like sexual abuse, rape, violence against women, body shaming, homo and Tran’s phobia, equal wages, sex work acceptance and most importantly male feminism. It is an ongoing wave that aims at ensuring equality and removing patriarchy and misogyny from the world.

INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM

One of the most important by-products of the Feminism movement, especially the third and fourth waves, was the emergence of the Intersectional Feminist Theory, which was propounded by a Civil Rights activist called Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw about 30 years ago. According to her, “Different things make different women vulnerable,” which basically sums up the core ideology of the Intersectional Feminists. If anything is for certain in this world, it’s the persistent presence of diversity as different factors like race, caste, class, disability, immigration, belonging to the LGBTQ community, identifying as indigenous people, etc. has an impact on the lives people live.                                                                                                                                                 

The aim of this theory is to bring about an end to the exclusive nature of the Feminism movement of the past and make it inclusive for women of all races, castes, classes, economic standing, etc. For a long period of time in the history of Feminism, the movement mainly focused on middle-class white women and therefore failed to look at the problems of the other sections of women, who were in almost all cases, in a far worse state. This “white feminism” that generalized the entire feminist movement on the basis of the experiences of white women, is however sadly, not just a thing of the past. While intersectional Feminist theory has continued to highlight its problematic aspects over the ages, “white Feminism” can be seen in play (either covertly or overtly) in fields of entertainment, music, sports, and in general workplaces. But women from all over the world gave not failed to speak up over such issues, one such example being when Nicki Minaj, a 37-year-old Black woman rapper and singer, spoke about how almost always, those videos which were nominated in award shows, showed white and slender-bodied women. 

The theory of Intersectional Feminism becomes even more significant in the context of India, as it remains the most diverse nation in the world, and therefore brings into light a number of other factors that collectively result in oppression. One such important factor is Caste, which has been a crucial aspect of Indian society since the very beginning. Evidence suggests that Indian feminism for the longest time mainly focused on Upper caste women. History gives insight as to how education was a privilege only for Brahmin women, and how the education imparted was mainly on how a woman should become a good daughter, wife and mother. Even today, education remains a privilege for those living in poverty, especially the female children in those households, as most often it is the boys who are sent to school. Statistics suggest that about 32.5% of women drop out of schools at the secondary level. 

PSEUDO-FEMINISM

Being a feminist is something to be proud of, but being a pseudo-feminist is a whole different thing. Anyone who calls themselves a feminist knows the difference between feminism and pseudo feminism. Feminism is all about genders having equal rights and opportunities. It aims at achieving equality and equity despite a person’s gender, race, caste and colour. It believes that a woman deserves respect like any other human being. But pseudo feminism accosts that women deserve more respect than any other person. They don’t aim for equality but they want a world ruled by women, and while they seem to want an end to misogyny, whether knowingly or unknowingly, engage in misandry or male-hating. In a world, where feminism is still seen as a detrimental movement, pseudo feminism gives people the upper hand to legitimise the flaws of the whole movement. It somewhere tarnishes and wrecks the idea of the actual feminist movement. A lot of people don’t even know that they are pseudo feminists and they keep claiming themselves as feminists, without even understanding the consequences of their actions. This leads to people misunderstanding the concept of feminism and thus not supporting it. Hence the terms feminism and pseudo feminism are most of the times used interchangeably. Despite the fact that these are two different concepts, people often mistakenly consider it the same. People should have enough knowledge so as they can differentiate between the two and comprehend both the concepts. They should not withdraw their support from the idea of feminism which aims at achieving equality, by perplexing it with pseudo feminism.

CONCLUSION

Feminism is all about ensuring that equality prevails in society regardless of a person’s gender, caste, colour, and sex. It emerged in the late 19th century and is an ongoing movement, which occurred in 4 waves.                                                           

An important aspect of Feminist theory is keeping in mind, privileges that each woman has that another might not. For instance, a white middle-class woman is privileged in ways more than a black middle-class woman. Likewise, a cis-gendered white woman is more privileged than a white woman belonging to the LGBTQ community. Therefore, it’s crucial to recognise, as women, involved in the Feminist movement, our privileges and work effectively so that women who are not as privileged can acquire similar opportunities.                                                              

The concept of Pseudo feminism differs from that of feminism and so both the terms should not be used interchangeably. People should realise the importance of feminists’ movement and understand the struggles and lack of privileges that women hold in their lives. Various feminist movement and principles have evolved over the years, representing different aims and viewpoints. Some theories are criticized while others are actively supported. Despite this, the basic idea of feminism of achieving equality is widely supported and has emerged as a very important movement in the history of many countries.

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