That there exists a deep gender divide will be agreed upon by everybody. But majority explain it away thus : “that is natural (i.e. biological and immutable), that it was always so and will be always so.” Many even argue that there is no reason to complain. The woman is as well off as the man. Now, we know that this is not true. A woman occupies an inferior position. She is exploited, burdened with work, subjected to sex harassment and assaults, denied of opportunities to participate, kept invisible. To say that there are no reasons for them to complain show high level of insensitivity. Further this has not been always so. There is ample evidence to show that this gender divide came into existence at some point in history. Of course not at the same time in all societies. There exists, even now, societies where this has not yet set in. There is, also, a sort of a general agreement that the ‘woman’s fall’, the oppressive gender divide began with the evolution of “family and private property.”

The purpose of this note is not to trace the history of woman’s degradation from then to the present but to enquire about the role of family, under present conditions, in inflicting such indignities on her. Even today every discussion on the “liberation of women” ultimately end up in the “family” – whether as girl child or as wife she is subjected to a second position. There are many misconceptions which people take as obvious truth.

Only women conceive and carry babies. Only she has a womb. Only she can deliver and breast feed the child. But what about washing the child, feeding the child after wearing, putting the child to sleep, nursing the child when it is sick? Can’t men do it? Of course, yes, with a few days of training. As well as women. Then why don’t they do it. Can’t men cook, draw water, hew firewood, wash vessels, sweep the floor, wash clothes. Yes, of course they can. Then, why don’t they do it? Today everybody agrees that women can be teachers, doctors, nurses, sales people, advocates and many others. But can’t they climb coconut trees? Plow the field, do black smithy, tinsmithy, carpentery, masonry, concrete work, machine work and so on? There are isolated cases of women doing these jobs. Still they are considered as ‘manly jobs!’ Why? As a girl child what earthly reason is there to discriminate her against boys? Absolutely nothing.