A few months back, I wrote a blog post questioning why women are not allowed to lit pyres during funerals in the Hindu religion? That time I never imagined that I would see a revolutionary step taken in this direction so soon. When I saw the daughter of the Late Mr. Gopinath Mundhe, Pankaja, lighting a pyre during his cremation, I was really impressed by her courage and conviction. She stood firm on her convictions and defied all traditions and superstitions that too during such a tragic and emotional event when most of us surrender to pressure just because of the delicate nature of the situation. Her actions deserve praise and applause from all sections of society. It is a very bold and courageous step. This might sound like blowing this news out of proportion, but seriously, when was the last time anyone heard or saw a woman lighting a pyre at cremation in India? At least I have never seen this happening so far, even for people who don't have a son some other male family member performs these rights just because it is believed that this particular ritual has to be performed by some male relative.
I always believed that not allowing females to participate during cremation proceedings is a socially accepted form of gender discrimination in India. It is unfair that they are barred from these proceedings just because of their gender. Historically there might have been some reasons to do this but as those reasons don't apply anymore this practice should have been abolished but it still exists. It is protected and practiced under the name of tradition and culture. Most people practice it without questioning its relevance and validity. Still, people are hesitant to challenge such traditions, I don't know what stops them from doing it, but Pankaja did it so effortlessly that's why she deserves all the praise. The image of her performing the last rights of her father should be a lesson for everyone who thinks that women should not be allowed to perform such rituals. I don't believe in these rituals but many religious people perform them because of social obligation or thinking it will give peace to a dead person's soul. So, if people want to follow these rituals, then why not do it in a gender-unbiased way. Why to allow only males to perform this task? This is why Pankaja's action is very significant as it challenged this age-old belief and shattered it. I hope this incident gets highlighted in the news and media well enough so that many people can learn something from it. No doubt there will be some who are against change and they will criticize her actions, they will blame her for breaking tradition and insulting the so-called culture but these individuals shout no matter what you do, so it's better to ignore them. I hope this will give courage to many other women and families who were hesitant to take this step because of social pressure or because of the burden of outdated culture and traditions. This should give them the required courage to break that barrier. This is a very crucial incident and I hope this sets a new precedence in our society.
I always believed that not allowing females to participate during cremation proceedings is a socially accepted form of gender discrimination in India. It is unfair that they are barred from these proceedings just because of their gender. Historically there might have been some reasons to do this but as those reasons don't apply anymore this practice should have been abolished but it still exists. It is protected and practiced under the name of tradition and culture. Most people practice it without questioning its relevance and validity. Still, people are hesitant to challenge such traditions, I don't know what stops them from doing it, but Pankaja did it so effortlessly that's why she deserves all the praise. The image of her performing the last rights of her father should be a lesson for everyone who thinks that women should not be allowed to perform such rituals. I don't believe in these rituals but many religious people perform them because of social obligation or thinking it will give peace to a dead person's soul. So, if people want to follow these rituals, then why not do it in a gender-unbiased way. Why to allow only males to perform this task? This is why Pankaja's action is very significant as it challenged this age-old belief and shattered it. I hope this incident gets highlighted in the news and media well enough so that many people can learn something from it. No doubt there will be some who are against change and they will criticize her actions, they will blame her for breaking tradition and insulting the so-called culture but these individuals shout no matter what you do, so it's better to ignore them. I hope this will give courage to many other women and families who were hesitant to take this step because of social pressure or because of the burden of outdated culture and traditions. This should give them the required courage to break that barrier. This is a very crucial incident and I hope this sets a new precedence in our society.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
Links:
1. Why women are not allowed to lit pyre during cremation?
Links:
1. Why women are not allowed to lit pyre during cremation?
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