From: sgs@ucs.usl.edu (Sudhindranath SG)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Re: Changing role of women: A woman's perspective
Date: 24 Jul 92 16:11:23 GMT
Article-I.D.: usl.1992Jul24.161123.14482
Organization: Univ. of Southwestern La., Lafayette

In article <1992Jul24.025115.20991@sophia.smith.edu> smitra@sophia.smith.edu (Sramana Mitra) writes:
>
>>> Even though I don't feel threatened by the "new" Indian woman in 
>>> any way, I feel particularly discomfited by all this pre-marital
>>> and extra-marital stuff. I feel that this surely is one of the 
>>> undesirable areas where our women are trying to mimic the West. 
>>
>>I don't like the generalization you make. What makes you think that women
>>who have pre-marital/extra-marital relationships are doing it to mimic
>>anybody, whoever that is? How do you know, that they are not married to 
>                           ---------------------------------------------
>>sterio-typical men, with primitive convictions, who stifle their existence,
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>suffocate their creativity, and make them feel DEAD?
> ---------------------------------------------------
>
>>you feel DEAD, then get rid of him, divorce him. What is the point in
>>having him as a husband and at the same time getting involved in an
>>extra marital relationship ? Does not extra marital relationship display
>
>Yes, sounds fine. My main objection was to extra-marital relationships
>being due to a mimicry of the western women's lib movement. I think I made it
>clear in my post, that I do NOT support extra-marital relationships.
>All I am trying to say is, that, people may have their reasons... it's
>not as simple as mimicing some other culture.
>

Well, it was I who originated the discussion and am I happy to see that
it has so far _remained_ a discussion :-) (and that too, on SCI! ----
Indeed, wonders will never cease!).

As I said before, mainstream Indian women's lib movement _is_ a 
mimicry of the Western women's lib movement. This is clear 
when you look at the opinions of the many women "libbers" in 
India. There are frequent references to what is happening in
the West. IMO, indulging in pre-marital/extra-marital relationships 
is one such influence.  You may or may not agree with this. But no one 
can dispute that there is a Western influence. (I for one wouldn't
AT ALL be surprised if women "libbers" in India soon pick up the 
western woman's pro-abortion refrain of "the right over our bodies".
Again IMO, the _body_ becomes all-important when the _soul_ ceases
to have any importance, but I think I am digressing).

IMO, women's liberation movements, like revolutions or communism 
or even democracy, are not exportable/importable commodities.
However, there is no disputing the fact that India badly needs to 
have a women's liberation movement in order to rectify the injustices 
that exist in our society.

I am aware of an "indigenous" women's liberation movement in India 
which is more tuned to the needs of the society and less disruptive of
existing social structures but such movements generally are relegated 
to the background and it is the fire-brand Western-oriented women
"libbers" (Neena Gupta et. al.) who get the limelight. This state of 
affairs is truly unfortunate.


>Sramana
>

Regards,

--Sudhi.

-- 
                          Sira Gopinath Sudhindranath. 
email : sudhi@usl.edu, sgs@ucs.usl.edu           Phone : (318)-232-2198 (r), 
						         (318)-231-6539 (o)