Why are we disrobing Draupadi even today?

Choosing Draupadi as the symbol of the crimes committed against women from time immemorial was a perfect idea. Especially so on International Women's Day. I agree with everything you have said in the post.

However, even though this is a site meant for women, I think it should recognize the humiliations heaped on men too. And very often, it would be women in power torturing men. I am familiar with a great many real life examples which I shall not share with anyone. But if I were to tell you about them, you would almost surely add a long post script to your post.

Once again, this was a well written post and Draupadi does stand out.

All the best.

oj-da

 

Dear SR,

That was a wonderful piece...a perfect call on Womens' day.

After a long break, I came to snippets forum today and yours was the first piece I chose to read..maybe drawn towards it more form the title but you never let me down. Each sentence and word are sharp and clear. The comparison was too good.

Seeing these news daily makes us paranoid that too with respect to our daughters.We are not sure about wolf in a lamb's garb...Most of the time women are blamed when these atrocities take place like her way of dressing, late night, her atitude etc. There are women who are the main enemies for women.

Leave alone all these in a family too a women is ill treated..mil treats a DIL shabbily, dil treating a mil badly...these are one or the other form of atrocities on women. When do we get out of these women clutches itself? Now the main business of TV sops is havig a female villain/vamp. No serial is there without a vamp plotting and scheeming agaisnt another women.

We need to fight against injustice meted against a women by women themselves! Which Krishna paratma can save us from these new gen vamps? These New Gen vamps are the Kaliyug Dushyashana.

Do Check the FP forum for this nomination.

 

Dear Shail
a very apt analysis of draupadi & behaviour of society towords women in modern time or you may call KALYUG.

But the ironic situation with draupadi was that to start with it was a woman KUNTI who ask her to be wife of all five pandavs & this is true today also that women help in molestation of dignity of women may it be MIL or SIL or someone else.

 

Thanks Shail for creating awareness on this sensitive issue. In <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">India</st1lace></st1:country-region>, women’s rights and freedom exists more in paper than in practice. Recent Ruchika’s case is an example. How much struggle a woman has to face to assert her right?


Chief Justice of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">India</st1lace></st1:country-region> has recently mooted a idea of compensatory fund for rape victims.


Chief Justice of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">India</st1lace></st1:country-region> has also suggested that the rape victim’s desire to marry the rapist must also be considered while deciding the case. Social activists have protested that a rape doesn't cease to be a crime if a rapist marries the victim.


These are just two examples to show how the punishment for a crime is sought to diluted on flimsy grounds,


And Yet we ‘talk’ of women’s rights, freedom etc…..?

 

Hi !
A co-incidence. Over the past weekend, I had opportunity to attend a book appreciation meet where Chitra Bannerji Divakarun's "Palace of Illusions", (which is presented as Draupadi's version of the Mahabharata) was discussed ; and to watch a dance drama titled "Panchali's Daughters" ( relating the Modern Eve's travails to Draupadi's). And here in Snippets, I meet Draupadi again ! She seems to be the flavour of the Woman's Day Season !

Reading your well presented article reminded me of this quotation. The Impressionist Painter Elio Carletti described "Beauty" as " the summation of the parts working together in such a way that nothing is needed to be added, taken away or altered" Your article is Beautiful and I need add, take away or alter nothing !:thumbsup

Though its a modern trend to think of D. as a fiery, strong Woman of Substance, I can see her only as a creature of circumstance, verily, a puppet manipulated by others and who did not try to overcome or rise above the "fate" chosen for her by others. In this , she has many clones in the modern era too. And just as it is in today's society, her first enemies were women - Kunti who doomed her to polyandry , Gandhari, who did not rein in her sons, and the princesses like Chitrangada, Uloopi etc. who lured away her husbands.

When a successful woman faces humiliating slurs of having "made it on her back", the barbs almost always originates from another woman's mouth. When urban girls are harassed and molested, it is the less-urban women who first declare that " exposed meat attracts flies". Rape victims are victimised by their own mothers. Such being the shabby bonds within the sorority, is it any wonder that The Male feels no hesitation in treating women without respect ? Boys are raised by Mothers who feed them the germs of Gender Inequality with casual references like " dont ( whatever) like a girl !" As though, a girl is a distinct, inferior species.
Women need to be educated ; by education I don't mean merely the degree earning info.stuffing process. I mean total, all round personality development. An educated Woman educates a whole generation, which includes the sons.

I wonder if you have noticed, the more traditional Male Bastions are invaded by us, women, the more we achieve, the more confident we become, the more are the atrocities rained on us. ( Crime rates are only increasing by the year)The only reason for this, that I can see is that Men start feeling threatened and the only way they can face facts is by going into denial and asserting by violence ( physical and psychological) .A subtext in Mahabharata says that D. invited trouble for herself by daring to be independent minded enough to flout traditional docility and openly make fun of Duryodhana's slip-up. Treta Yuga, Dwapara yuga or Kali Yuga, Men react the same way ! And like the worthy men in that epic Court, today's men too look the other way when a dalit woman is beaten and paraded naked. Gratification by proxy.

( BTW, If I have to select an Icon from the Bharata, I'd much rather take Amba. Dumped, scorned and subjected to gross mental agony, she reinvented herself as an androgynous personality to attain her goal. We see such Ambas today too, women shattering gender fences to chart out territories for themselves under the Sun.)

There is despair and frustration when one thinks of our present state of affairs. But I have hope that all our "immature boys" will one day become Real Men.