From the 2007 movement against the Rana regime in Nepal, women have direct and indirect participation and support in every movement till now. But women's political roles are still curtailed in republican states.
There is a saying of late Mahadevi Burma, a well-known writer of India - 'A man's life begins with struggle and a woman with surrender.' There is a deep meaning hidden in this statement. Since the age of nomads and hunter-gatherers, it is natural for women to give birth, nurture and care for children due to physical and biological reasons. Men struggled with tasks such as hunting and gathering.
Even now, men are more busy with work outside the home and women are busy with domestic work. However, women can work in the same profession as men. However, the role of women in care and household management is more visible.
Since the early stages of human development, women have been lagging behind men in every stage of social development, while family and social aspects have been separating the effects of the biological roles between women and men. But facing the challenges, women are also fighting against discrimination.
Over time, women began to feel like second-class human beings. Women began to raise their voices in the world system, where the role of women was seen as low in the development of the state, electoral system, personal property, etc. Women also played an important role in the First World War, the Second World War and the Industrial Revolution.
We can learn from the history of female leaders including Clara Zetkin that women have contributed to moving from war to peace. But despite this, women's various issues, education, employment, health, self-determination and freedom are being ignored by the male-dominated world society. In this perspective, since the 19th century, women have launched feminist concepts and movements for justice and equality.
The first wave of feminism emerged in the mid-19th century. A second wave in the 1960s and 70s addressed issues such as reproductive rights and gender roles. The third wave, which began in the 1990s, also pushed the issue of intersectionality and diverse identities forward.
In Nepal, various organizations are conducting various programs incorporating feminist concepts. Feminist concept should be developed by analyzing the society and the customs, class, ethnicity, religion etc. adopted by that society and the condition of women. The negative aspects of biological diversity, women's education, culture and values in women's lives should also be addressed by the feminist concept.
Feminism addresses broad issues related to gender inequality and oppression of women. This includes violence, discrimination and lack of representation in various sectors. Feminism addresses issues of domestic violence, sexual abuse and all forms of gender-based violence. Women's participation in the decision-making level of the state is also part of the slogan of feminism.
Feminism also raises the issue of reproductive health services, reproductive rights, access to family planning tools. Feminism also advocates women's right to choose to break out of archaic gender roles.
Feminism also works against practices such as child marriage and child labor existing in society which harm girls and women. Addressing problems such as unequal distribution of wealth and resources, inequality in wages and salaries is also part of the agenda of feminism.
More specifically, feminism advocates for broader social justice movements. In which the rights of marginalized communities, caste discrimination, racism, people with disabilities, the voice of the rights of gender and sexual minority communities are also included in the work of feminism.
The first-wave feminist movement took place throughout the Western world during the 19th and 20th centuries. This movement was particularly focused on legal issues. Mainly for voting rights.
The concept of cultural feminism believes that since the root of exploitation in culture is embedded in patriarchy, getting women out of it and giving them equal rights is the justice for culturally oppressed women.
It seems that feminism has not yet grasped the various religious and cultural values. While some people are adopting cultural backwardness and superstition, it is also found that they remain silent about women's personal freedom. Feminism has to work even in cultures that push women backwards.
Women's deep faith and superstitions have been rooted in our religion and culture. When mental health is being affected due to various reasons, they are trying to promote it under the guise of superstition rather than solving it. It seems that the reference to women's progressive and scientific way of life should also be included in the agenda of feminism.
In Nepal, women have direct and indirect participation and support in every movement since 2007 against the Rana regime. But women's political roles are still curtailed in republican states. Social, cultural and religious values also play a big role in this. Many types of practices targeting women, witch practices, dowry practices, chaupadi practices are still there. These issues are indeed social and cultural issues.
The next feminist movement should move forward on the values that are hindering the cultural transformation of women. Taking into account all the bad culture, injustice and discrimination that exist in the patriarchal society, future feminism should bring the concept of a just and beautiful society.
