Deepa Mehta Film - Water

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The third of the five faces is Powerlessness. According to Young, the powerless are those over whom power is exercised. They are situated so that they must take orders, and are not given respect (Shaw 2012). An example of this from Water is when Kalyani bumps into a villager while chasing after Chuyia and her dog Kaalu. The woman scolds Kalyani, “Widows shouldn’t run around like unmarried girls. You’ve polluted me, I have to bathe again. (Mehta 2005)” This scene demonstrates that the townspeople had no respect for the widows, and even viewed them as unclean. While seemingly small, instances like these build up over time to create social structures within a society. The fourth face is Cultural Imperialism, which Young defines as the universalization of a dominant group’s experiences and culture, rendering the experiences and cultures of subordinate groups invisible (Shaw 2012). An example of this from Water was when Rabindra couldn’t do as Rayaran asked and imagine himself as a widow with no freedom and no rights. Rabindra simply sat back in his chair and sipped some wine, because it is not the social norm to consider the experiences of subordinate groups like the widows.

The last of the five faces is Violence, which according to Young is when members of the subordinate group live with the threat of violence (Shaw 2012). This was absolutely true for the widows in Water. Although Kalyani and Chuyia could be punished by Madhu Didi, the ultimate threat of violence to the widows was the wrath of God. This “wrath of God” was a tactic used by all members of Indian society, including Madhu Didi, to force the widows into a state of social death. According the the Laws of Manu, a woman who is unfaithful to her husband is reborn in the womb of a jackal (Mehta 2005). I’m sure that even to this day, Indians in favor of imprisoning widows cling to that verse of the Laws of Manu just like biblical literalists cling to the verses from Leviticus labelling homosexual behavior as a sin.

At the time period Water was set in, India was rampant with sexism and violence against women caused by dangerous religion-fueled social norms. It’s 2016 now, so I believe it’s worth examining the current state of women’s rights in India to see if perhaps some progress has been made. In an October 2015 About News article, distinguished Indian-born feminist writer Sarojina Sahoo talked about the current state of gender politics in India. According to Sahoo, arranged marriages are still vastly preferred in India, and “love marriages” are viewed as a shameful social sin (Lowen 2015). Indians in favor of arranged marriages point to the divorce rates in the West, arguing that real love flows from a properly arranged union between two individuals. Dowry, payment brought to a husband by a wife on the date of their marriage, is still the norm in India. Dowries usually consist of large amounts of money, jewelry, and in some cases even houses (Lowen 2015). In terms of religious rights, females are banned from all worship, and in Kerala females aren’t allowed into the Ayeppa temples (Lowen 2015). In politics, all the political parties in India have “promised” in their manifesto to reserve 33% of legislative seats for women, but the male-dominated parties oppose this bill so it could be rejected (Lowen 2015).

In labor, women are allowed to work outside of the home but are still fully expected to do all of the cooking for their families. According to Sahoo, in India even if a man sits at home all day he will not cook for his family because that’s seen as against the laws of manhood (Lowen 2015). In terms of crime, India still has a long way to go. The 2012 fatal gang rape of Jyoti Singh brought widespread attention to sex crimes in India, but according to a 2013 New York Times article there were 24,000 sexual violence-related cases piled up in India’s Supreme Court at the time the article was written (Bagri 2013). Government has made some progress in the past few years by making voyeurism, stalking, and acid attacks punishable by law, but the fact that all those things, especially acid attacks, were perfectly legal for so long makes me hesitate to get up and congratulate India all the sudden. In addition, the Indian Government’s stand against sex crimes notably did not address the issues of marital rape and acts of rape committed by armed forces individuals (Bagri 2013).

The problems plaguing India cannot to solved simply through protests or new legislation, although both those things are very good news when they happen. What must be changed are men’s underlying attitudes towards women. In a country like India where the power divide between men and women is strongly engrained into nearly every aspect of their society, this is no simple task, but it can and must be done. I believe that Patricia Hill Collins’ strategies for defeated systems of oppression would go a long way towards fighting oppression in India (Shaw 2012). Her strategy of building coalition can be used to help the women in India unite around their shared histories of institutional and individual oppression. Her strategy of building empathy can be used by the men in India who are willing to examine their own privilege. Building empathy among the men in India will be more difficult because they are the dominant group, but as we saw in Water, when prominent men in society like Rayaran stand up for equality they can make a difference, like he did for Chuyia. India is not inherently a bad country at all. There are so many expressions of Indian culture that are peaceful and beautiful, but any traditions involving sexism and oppression have no place in modern civilization.

REFERENCES:

Water. Dir. Deepa Mehta. Perf. Lisa Ray and John Abraham. Mongrel Media, 2005. DVD.

Lowen, Linda. "Why Feminism Is Different in India." About.com News & Issues. N.p., 26 Oct. 2015. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Bagri, Neha Thirani. "Where Is India's Feminist Movement Headed?" India Ink Where Is Indias Feminist Movement Headed Comments. N.p., 8 Mar. 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Shaw, Susan M., and Janet Lee. Women's Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.