Is Feminism Relevant in 21st Century IndiaIn its effort to empower the women post the Nirbhaya mob protest, the government has put the males of the so called patriarchal society in grave danger of pain, punishment, or worse; embarrassment, at the hands of the newly empowered ladies of the country. As a regular commuter of the Delhi Metro, the Delhites would have seen, more often than not, a guy, who has not been proved guilty of any sexual harassment, being subjected to annoyance, physical harassment and violence by the physically weaker sex- the females. Let us, at the onset, meet these metro commuters. 1. A girl enters a crowded general compartment of Delhi metro and, on her way to a seat, her private parts brush past the hands/ body parts of a guy. *SLAP* *SLAP* Tune mujhe chhooaa kaise, the girl in her late 20s would shout at a guy in her late 40s or early 50s, embarrassing him. As soon as the guy would try to say something in defense, another swing of arm would hit him on the cheek that has not already become red by the previous blow. I, on behalf of all the gentlemen travelling in metro, want to convey a simple message: Ladies, dont make issues out of nothing. If a man accidentally touches you, it doesnt always mean he is trying to molest you. Public transports are crowded. There will be people standing on every inch of every space and whether you like it or not, there will be some sort of physical contact and theres nothing we can do about it. We know it can be uncomfortable, but it is so even for us, not just you. Know that not all men, in fact most men dont board trains and buses and metros to molest. If a mans bag just grazes against your back for a moment, its not molestation. Nobody enjoys banging into anyone randomly every now and then, regardless of how pretty you may be. He probably doesnt even know it is happening. And theres possibly no pleasure his bag is getting out of touching you. So, calm down. Know that it hurts when you accidentally step on our feet. Stop falling on people.2. A girl enters a general compartment of Delhi metro and shouts at the men standing there, Bhaiya, yahan jagah kam hai. Aap thorha dur kharhe hoyein zara. Hello maam! You are not the sole travellers. You do realize that you, for the sake of your comfort, are causing discomfort to others. Yes, we understand your speculations. But asking for that level of comfort from such a cheap and over-crowded mode of public transport is a tad too far-fetched. 3. A girl enters a general compartment of Delhi metro and asks a guy, who has been doing physical labour all day long and is very tired, to vacate the seat. These ladies, like the buys they shout at, must try and offer these seats to people who are in need of the seat more than them. It would be nice to see you get up and offer your reserved seat to the young guy whos not feeling well or the old man whos finding it hard to stand in the crowd.4. And then there are others who enter metro with their kids and/or husbands/ boyfriends and first take a normal seat, asking a guy to show some chivalry. Then they ask the accompanying male(s) to sit on their seats and find themselves more seats, because- Hello! How can you question a woman asking for a seat? Isnt she always in need of the seat more than you? Sorry maam, I beg to differ.5. The multi-tasking, super-talented women in the Delhi Metro are next in line. Youll find them feeding, knitting, pleading, cribbing, bitching, breastfeeding and shouting at the same time. Aji sunte ho! Munne k doodh ka tame (time) ho gya hai. Humre saamne kharhe ho jao, hum zara munne ko doodh pila dein. And then to everyones horror, comes out one breast and enters the kids mouth. As much as rude it may sound, but ladies, regardless of the mens love for boobs, everyone abhors this sight, especially in public places and public modes of transport.6. The next most entertaining (read annoying) class is of the hackneyed, oh-so-tired ladies. I am talking about those aunty jis who push you back into the metro when you are trying to de-board and then give you a death stare as if all of this was your fault. But when they want to sit and they dont get a seat theyll portray themselves as the most amiable people in the whole metro by saying Beta ji thoda thoda shift ho jao or Beta ji, bauhaut thak gayi hun. Seat de do. And then, there are those aunties who start looking for their metro token/card in their blouses when a freaking long line of people is waiting behind them to exit. 7. Another class akin to the above is the highly flexible class of ladies. When there is no reserved seat available, they would try asking the men and women to squeeze in to make a little space for them. But they are highly sensitive of their space bubble, often asking for a school-assembly-line-like one arm distance radially for their comfort. Maam, men seek comfort too. When you ask us to squeeze in, you make half a dozen people uncomfortable in the process. And then, another problem men face is due to the long hair of these ladies. It can get very annoying when that gets in our faces, on our clothes, everywhere, especially when the metro is already crowded. Come on, ladies (and men) with long hair. At least tie them up. Nobody wants to be gagged with some strangers hair on their way to work.8. Another annoying class is the bunch of loquacious, jabber-mouths. They might be too tired to stand, but are always full of energy to talk. They can go on from Huda City Center to Jahangirpuri, and perhaps further ahead in a bus up to Chandigarh. Ladies! What can I treat you to in order to stop your idiot box (mouth blabbering useless stuff)? 9. The next class is of the rebellions. Suwar k bacchhon! In aurton k liye reserved seaton pe mat baithna! These ladies are always shouting- How dare you sit on Ladies Only seats? How dare you come close to me? How dare Oh wait! Maam, if you would stop shouting at the daredevils of Delhi and simply request politely, that might actually work. But they chose otherwise. Such a statement is often followed by- Tum apni maa behen k saath bhi aisa karte? Sorry, but I ask my sister/ mother to take the ladies compartment while I chose to enter a general compartment. And perhaps if you too had not been seat-greedy and entered a ladies compartment instead of thinking of an assured seat out of chivalry from the Humans of Delhi in the general compartment, both you and I would have had a much easier life.10. Still another is the class of hypocrites. These are the lovely ladies who would give lectures on chivalry and metro rules when they want a seat, but would not care about the rules themselves. They would take the seats for the old/ physically handicapped, often asking the elderly males to vacate a seat for them, or would not follow other rules. You might find them listening to music without earphones out loud, or eating inside the metro, taking selfies, or even sitting on the metro floor. Hello! Arent rules made for everyone? 11. The last class is of the logical/silent/innocent ladies who do not disturb others. They are busy reading, listening to music, or simply resting. Some of them would even get up to offer seat to some elderly or some injured person who is in more need of the seat than her. God bless you! At least some of you are in their correct senses. Now let us get back to the topic- Relevance of Feminism.The reason why I included the aforementioned categories of women is not to show hatred or disrespect to the fairer sex, rather to point out the way in which the facilities and powers given to women are being misused. Wikipedia describes feminism as a range of movements and ideologies that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve equal political, economic, cultural, personal, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of women. Therefore, feminism must advocate equality and not undue rights and advantages.While the first two waves of feminism were focused on the promotion of equal contract, marriage, parenting, sexual, reproductive, economic, property, and voting rights for women; the third wave, however, debates upon the existence of sexual differences in nature and science. Some ardent supporters of feminism during the third wave went a step ahead to form the currently misunderstood form of feminism that is, in its true sense, the antithesis of equality, which is the premise of the feminism movements. Some of the noteworthy 3rd Wave Feminist actions in modern India1. Reservation of females in IIMs and other educational institutions, jobs, politics, etc.2. Female only compartments in Delhi Metro, Mumbai local, etc.3. Seats reserved for ladies in general compartments of metro, buses, etc.4. Pink autos in GurgaonWhile these are portrayed as actions for women empowerment and women safety, it wont be an exaggeration to say that these actions are sexist in nature. Supporters of feminism often confuse feminism with sexism and chivalry. You would often hear a sophisticated woman cry out, Show some chivalry, man. Get up! Give the poor lady a seat. Well, sorry to feel differently maam, but chivalry doesnt quote such an act as chivalrous. Chivalry, primarily, is based on the following 6 premises:i. Loyaltyii. Libertyiii. Forbearanceiv. Honourv. Hardihoodvi. Ethics- protection for the weak and helpless, respect for widows and orphans, and opposition to the cruel and unjust.The hypocrites of the world claim women and men to be equally competent and talk of equal status and stature for the two, and then on other occasions ask for special privileges for the weaker sex. I understand that woman safety is a major issue. India and many other developing or underdeveloped nations also face issues like female feticide, female infanticide, sati, sexual harassment, physical abuse, and restrictions on grounds of so-called culture, society, and religion. But on course to safeguard the fairer sex (I hate to call them weaker sex) one cannot take actions that have adverse effects on the males of the society. In light of the same, I would like to add that feminism movements of the past have, to a great extent, proved useful to bring about equality. The same must be withheld without further extension. Hence, feminism is relevant, and might always be, but there is no dire need for more feminist movements or actions.