FULFILLMENT OF 'NEW WOMEN' IN INDIA IS A MYTH.

INTRODUCTION
14 year old Abhi was not satisfied with his teacher's statement on ''new women in India is a reality''. He
felt that women empowerment which led to new women is restricted only to a very few. Even though his
teacher gave him examples of 'new women' who now get involved in every activity, Abhi was not satisfied
with that answer because one could not come to the conclusion by seeing the best and leaving the rest.
The concept of ‘new woman’ is an ideal that originated within feminism nearly a century ago. It was an
ideal that profoundly expressed its need for women to live an independent life, who had a control on their
own lives and who was to challenge a male dominated society. This started off with women going to
universities and subsequently who went on to become lawyers, doctors and professions of their choice.
Realising “new women” in India is a distant dream even in the 21st century.
The root cause which impediments the upward mobility of women lies in the differential treatment of
women from the pre-independence era. Be it education, social awareness, exposure, work, decent living;
women were deprived of all these.
HAS THE SITUATION IMPROVED?
In recent times, if we ask the question “has the situation improved?” the answer is a yes and a no. It is a
yes because we have few women who form a part of the working force in different spheres of life. On the
other hand, it is a no because women are still seen as a burden, still face safety issues and many more.
According to schemes like the Nirbhaya fund, headed by the Ministry of women and child development,
utilization of the funds allocated by different states to make sure safety is not compromised is worrisome.
Women are conquering different milestones. Women have been conquering different sectors of
education, politics, sports, corporates, science etc. This idea of aspirations represents new women in
India. ​New women indicate a framework of equal access to economic opportunities, bring ​balance to
decision making and power with purpose, creativity and compassion​.

Days of seeing women as homemakers have gone, we have to see women as nation builders​.
WOMEN IN POLITICS:
Currently, there is no reservation in the Indian parliament for women due to which, the percentage of
women parliamentarians is less than the global average of 24.6%. The percentage share stands at
14.39%. In the state legislatures, only 9 states had an average share of more than 10% women in state
legislative assemblies between 2008 and 2018. These data is indicative of the nature of trends we have
set for ourselves in the global scenario.
WOMEN HARASSMENT:
India is a country where women are given the status of a goddess. However, the problems they have to
face just show the opposite of this concept. On hand they worship them as goddesses and on the other,
they abuse them endlessly and consider them inferior. Even at workplaces, the male workforce harassing
the female staff is not a new thing. Bosses commanding sexual favors from their female counterparts
often instill fear and women don’t take up the courage to speak up against such harassment.
Domestic violence or harassment of women in their households, demanding dowry from married women,
passing lewd comments and molesting women – all these are illegal and are serious crimes and
offences.
MARRIAGE INSTITUTIONS:
Even though we live in the 21st century we live with the mindset of patriarchy, considering girls as
‘paraya dhan’.
Marriage is a social norm prevalent almost everywhere that daughters ultimately need to be married off to
their husbands in the future and that is where their future belongs to. ​It is as though a woman is blessed
with some super powers to manage everything in the house single handedly. This happens even before
the girl gets married off to her husband’s home. Mindsets may have been changed today, but the arrival
of a male baby is more joyous t​o many families, when compared with the arrival of a female baby. A
woman is expected to leave her job and take care of her in-laws, husband and children.
FEMALE INFANTICIDE AND FOETICIDE:
Talking about the problem of female foeticide (selective killing of foetus even before giving birth), the
sample registration system records show that female foeticide has significantly increased between the
years 2013 and 2018. Sex ratio at birth in the year 2013 stood at 909 female for every 1000 male
whereas in the year 2018, the ratio was 896 female for every male. In an era where we talk about
development and modernization, the actual data speaks of a different reality altogether.
WOMEN IN SPORTS:
Yes, women too play sports and participate in athletics and achieve a lot. But, do we consider a woman
playing sports and a man playing equal? Absolutely no.
Eg: Lower audience towards female cricketers of India than male cricketers. If we were to name 10 male
and female cricketers, we would easily remember males than females.
WOMEN EDUCATION:
If we go to rural households, we can still find that many girls, as young as five find it difficult to venture out
of their house to achieve a good education for themselves. Parents fear going against the society and
see their daughters as nothing more than an object that needs to be married off after sometime.Educated
women in urban locales find it difficult to manage both work and home, though women by nature are
considered to be excellent multi-taskers.​When we talk about the trend of education and work, again there
is a disparity. The number of girls enrolled in graduate studies and the number of women who work, is
astonishingly low. Most girls are still required to complete a degree just to be later involved with familial
obligations. Very few find themselves out of the shell and lead an independent life. This too comes with a
heavy price through bureaucratic hindrance, discrimination from the family and society.

So, where are the ‘new women’ actually enjoying her life, it is only a myth to say that the
scenario has changed. There has been sufficient scope for women empowerment today, yet at the
grassroots level, things remain much the same and not ready to be altered.
CONCLUSION:
Realising ‘new woman’, does seem to remain as a myth as of now. But it may cease to remain in due
course of time. The fate of the ideal becoming a reality lies with the government being able to implement
its laws and also with society being able to accept the change. It is ​possible only if women change up
their mind ,stand up for their rights and start believing themselves ​that they have equal rights and
opportunities.