E-Paper
Guest Column:Tradition vs Modernity
Breaking barriers, she stepped out, surmounted hurdles and attained unprecedented heights. Armed with academic excellence, career opportunities opened up for her. Society offered her professions like teaching, nursing, etc. To put it succinctly, roles which were more or less extension of her traditional role as a caregiver, nurture, affectionate being.
Since time immemorial, across the globe, tradition has earmarked man as the breadwinner and woman as homemaker.
Men traversed the world in quest of greener pastures while women were confined to the four walls, rearing and nurturing. Traditionally men donned the robes connoting power and authority while women the docile, gentle ones. Perpetuation of tradition, culture and moral values continues to be her prime responsibility till date.
Education opened new vistas for women. Breaking barriers, she stepped out, surmounted hurdles and attained unprecedented heights. Armed with academic excellence, career opportunities opened up for her. Society offered her professions like teaching, nursing, etc. To put it succinctly, roles which were more or less extension of her traditional role as a caregiver, nurture, affectionate being.
Women took up careers that would not affect her household responsibilities. Slowly but surely she conquered uncharted terrains and excelled in the fields of mechanics, aviation, space, armed forces. In fact all career options under the sun.
In their pursuit of these very careers, women donned a dual role. While she climbed up the vocational ladder her apron strings were securely tied around her. Homemaker is still her primary identity. She may be the boss in her office but at home she has to manage everything. Women have managed to balance home and career with aplomb. She has been confidently handling both.
In earlier times she had a man constantly handling her affairs, her father/brother dropping her to schools, husbands to her work place. Her salary too was handled for her, savings, investments all. Men earned the bread butter, her the jam, or supplement income in direct words.
Contemporary Indian society is witnessing a paradigm shift. In this transitional phase, women are making a stronghold in academics, career and are financially independent.
Modern women are shedding the weak image and no longer require a chaperone. But somewhere in the crusade we have left our men behind. While we are bringing up our daughters/sisters with a broader mindset, opening new horizons for them, we have left our men behind. We have not updated their bringing up and mindset. When teaching our daughters economic independence and driving their own vehicle, we have not taught our sons the nuances of kitchen and running a household. Home and hearth are still a women’s domain. Maternity and childbearing are undisputedly nature’s greatest gift bestowed on her, yet men who are heirs apparent, who carry forward lineage seldom pitch in rearing their offspring.
While women have made their mark breaking gender stereotypes, it is high time we included men to attain a modern society in the true essence. The matrilineal society of Vedic era made a gradual shift to patrilineal over the years. The need of the hour is to develop more fluid boundaries of tradition and modernity.
