Women issues beyond the security: But it depends on the Governments

Dr. Krishan Kumar (Political Sociologist)

On the morning of December 8, 2024, I was astounded to read an article by renowned columnist Tavleen Singh (IE, December 8, 2024) titled ‘Religiosity is sick, not secularism.’ In this article, Singh (Singh) discussed the conditions of women in India and Islamic countries—Afghanistan and Iran—and the comparative conditions of women in these two countries. Let me explain her arguments with critical approach.

Firstly, she took the foundations of the write-up when she wrote on ‘X’ that jihadist Islam is evil, and when it mixed with politics and governance in Afghanistan, it was used against women. She got a couple of opinions from the users of ’X’—some people added more and argued that Islam is a terrible religion. At the same time, another marked it as a warning for India also.  However, still a huge population do not use ‘X,’ therefore, these two opinions represent the opinion of all Indians.

Secondly, Singh argued that these jihadi Islamic countries (Afghanistan and Iran) have been making women second-class citizens, as she mentioned that the Taliban government closed the door of medical education for women and ISIS’s monsters were harassing a little girl because she could not recite the Quran correctly; on the other hand, recently in Iran a female student stripped to her underwear outside her university; it was her protest against the country’s strict Islamic dress code. she advocated that India must never be a country that can torture women and children for religion.

But what about the statement of RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, who motivated couples to have at least three children to ensure that Indian society continues to survive. This statement could be against the rights of women— ‘their bodies and their choice.’  Another thing is that when a girl chooses her life partner outside of religion and caste, she is harassed by family and society; even sometimes the descendants of such a couple have been harassed by society. Is it not a torture of women for religion and caste?

Thirdly, she compared the conditions of women in two unstable and undemocratic countries; both countries have authoritarian governments, in which there is minimum participation of the citizens. Citizens of these countries have been fighting for their security; there is no place for human dignity. The Indian constitution provides the right to life with dignity to all citizens. Even our constitution declared India is a secular country that accepts all religions equally, while both Afghanistan and Iran are Islamic countries. As India is the biggest democracy in the world, but unfortunately, poor people in slums have been murdered by some extremists on the suspicion that they had used beef.

However, as per my opinion regarding women—health, education, and their active participation in the institutions of India. We should compare Indian women with developed countries, as Ramesh Sarin (IE, November 27, 2024) consisted of the issue of ‘breast cancer.’ Her concern was that breast cancer accounts for 28.2 percent of all cancers that affect women—it’s the most common cancer that affects women. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, the five-year survival rate is 66.4 percent in India, while 90.2 percent in developed countries like the US. I cite these figures here because Singh had claimed that women are safer in India compared to Islamic countries. 

Before leaving these arguments among the intellectuals, I would appreciate her insights on the women issues in the era, when religious disharmony at its peak in South Asia., I agree that women are always the victims of the transition period of countries. But I want to mention here Karl Marx as he wrote in “Communist Manifesto” that we all know about the problem but the matter is that who would resolve it and how? The same thing has been applied to the issues of the security and dignity of women.

BY Dr. Krishan Kumar, Political Sociologist, Alumnus of  Panjab University,  Chandigarh

Email: krishankumar1794@gmail.com