Ashfaque Zaman sheds light on the politics behind the new F-word
Photographs By Rajib Dhar
In the 18th century, the word ‘bloody’ was considered a definitive expletive in England; a word that is now considered to be commonly exclaimed to signify anger or frustration. Throughout history, there have been many words that if uttered, would elicit a negative reaction. During the annual Dhaka Lit Fest, prominent feminists Shobhaa De, Jude Kelly, Tassafy Hossain and Urvashi Butalia debate upon the embodiment of the newly appointed f-word, ‘feminism.’ During their panel, Feminism: The Next F Word, these women discussed their ideas of feminism, their experiences of handling it, and informed the audience regarding the true meaning of this rather loaded word.
The Age of Enlightenment is heralded to be the dawn of feminism, and like all things with time, it has been translated and misconstrued into many different meanings. Urvashi Butalia expressed that the idea that feminists are home wreckers who hate men, needs to be debunked because, it is a cause for an equality that disregards gender.
However, many women, such as the CEO of Yahoo, Mariissa Mayer believe and have stated that, “Feminism has become, in many ways, a negative word.” An idea that Jude Kelly contributes is that the word, in corporate or other settings, would hint to the idea of hostility; she further elaborates that even during the panel, men were hesitant to ask their questions given that they were facing a panel of feminists. Many believe that when women have equal rights, it equates to them taking over. She answers, “I never said anything about women taking over but the fear is you’re talking about reversal. And that is not what we should be imagining.”
Shobhaa De postulates, “I hate of a world that is delineated into ‘I’m a man, I’m a woman.’ She emphasises the idea of equality declaring that “We have to work together as men and women; it is not men vs women, and it is not men and women opposed to each other. We have to work together in the interests of not only women but also men.” De believes that women would not be happier in a matriarchal society resultant of the fact that everything is about power structure. She speculates as to whether it is about matriarchy, patriarchy or power, saying that, “The minute you have power over family, property, money and how the family will be spending that money or inheriting that money, there is just one form of behaviour. Which is the bullying pattern and it doesn’t spare women either. You give most women power. Snatch it, grab it, get it. Be it exactly like the worst versions of men. They don’t even take the better attributes of men.”
There are a number of factors that alter the states of feminism to becoming a cause that root even from the governing system. As feminist Kamla Bhasin recently stated, “Capitalism and capitalist patriarchy are a major factor in the regression of equality.” An opinion that De completely agrees with, and adds by saying, “It is linked with those who have money at the end of the day. The person who has the money calls the shot.”
In light of the major constituents that map the cause of feminism, platforms such as the Lit Fest are essential in promoting women in literature. As the founder of the first feminist publishing house, Butalia firmly voices that there aren’t nearly enough women writing for the cause or the perspective of women in literature. She recollects that many male authors do not wish to be associated with her publishing house for fear of dismal commercial success and surprisingly how female authors also express similar concern. Butalia details, “One of the remarkable things about the festival is the way its centrality contains women. In the sense that there are women in every panel, where they are usually tagged on at the end; this ensures visibility and people don’t marginalise women. In panels like this people get to articulate their doubts and discuss it. They help remove the mystique about how terrible feminists are and how feminism is such a terrible thing, all of that.”
The panel itself was held in an open space, where people could listen as they pass by or stand and listen to the discussion. The Lit Fest as Tasaffy believes is an ideal setting for such a panel, because it would not confine the active debate. Tasaffy, a Dhaka based activist and the founder of V-Day, advised young girls who were watching the panel, to pursue their passion for equality. She says, “Feminism is not a career but my life. You have to find solutions to issues that will help to balance out men and women, women and women, and men and men. It is something that you have to notice in your life and take up. You have to realise it within yourself first, otherwise it won’t work out. It is about being a humanitarian.”