Why Don’t Women Like Kanakadurga Get Support of Their Families?

Video Editors: Abhishek Sharma and Sandeep Suman

Majaz Lakhnavi sahab had famously said:

“Tere maathe par ye anchal bohot hi khoob hai, lekin is anchal se tu ek parcham bana leti to accha tha (The veil over your head looks beautiful but it would look better if turned into a flag.)”

Well, it did NOT look better because when someone like Kanakadurga raised her voice and tried to put forward her opinion she faced backlash from society and family and remains shackled by tradition. This as true in the 19th year of the 21st century as it was in the 19th century.

Kanakadurga, A Symbol of Hope, Defeated by Her Own Family

By entering the Sabarimala temple Kanakadurga became a symbol of women's empowerment. She became a symbol of hope for many silenced voices.

She stood her ground against threats from Hindutva-based organisations. She didn’t budge even when political parties like the BJP held protests against her. However, while she fought bravely against strangers, Kanakadurga was defeated by her own family.

Recently, it was reported that Kanakadurga was beaten up by her mother-in-law. The reason? For entering Sabarimala temple without the ‘permission’ of her family members.

Consider this, a woman who is ready to fight against the whole world by relying on her willpower becomes helpless inside the four walls of her house.

‘Purification’ of Temple vs ‘Purification’ of Thought Process

After Kanakadurga and her friend visited the inner sanctum of the temple, it was ‘purified’. But what about the purification of the mental state of the family?

This is the thought process that leads to khap panchayat-endorsed murders of daughters. That forces a girl to sacrifice her love to maintain the fake 'honour’ of her family. This is the thought process that leads a country’s general to think that women are incapable of serving in conflict.

Let us look at some stats. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2016, 3,38,954 crimes were committed against women. Out of these, 38,947 were rapes.

It has been over 10 years since the Domestic Violence Act came into force. But domestic violence against women has only increased, not decreased. According to NCRB, between 2005 to 2015, at an average, 22 women were killed per day over dowry.

The attack on Kanakadurga wasn’t on just one individual. After this incident we don’t know how many potential Lt Bhavna Kasturis, PV Sindhus, Indira Nooyis or Kalpana Chawlas will give their dreams a silent death and become dependent on this male chauvinist society.

(The video was originally published on Quint Hindi and has been translated by Anubhav Mishra)