If you are a Hindu
woman, you are bestowed with a very important role, to take care of your
family. You are supposed to keep fast for karwa chauth for husband, ashtami
fast for children, tie rakhi to bhai for their well being. Is there any fast
for well being and longevity of wife, sister or mother? Or is this the
privilege exclusively available to the male community, again thanks to our
patriarchal society? Does this logic says that it is the male community which
needs protection?
Alas! statistics
says otherwise. Right from female foeticide to crime against women, it is the women who are vulnerable and need protection spell, if any. Going by that logic, in the contemporary
world, it should be the responsibility of man to keep their woman safe.
For those who dont
know karwa Chauth, it a North Indian festival in which married women will fast
from before sunrise till she can see the moon that night. And unfortunately, if
moon is not visible then the fast will continue the other day. Absolutely no
water or food is taken at this time.
Lets check the utility of this fast. If at all, it had some substance,
women dont need to divorce her husband if they develop hatred towards them.
They would just cheat while fasting to reduce his age. Or if a husband is
diagnosed with kidney failure or blood requirement, instead of arranging for
new kidney or blood, the wife can go for fasting. Jokes apart, as per
scientific studies, intermittent fasting can be disastrous for a woman's
hormones, causing things such as reproductive issues and may worsen other
pre-existing health conditions.
By not having a drop
of water, I am opening myself to dehydration. Without any food, I am stressing
my body. Does my husband's life carry more value than my own? I hope
its not. Moreover it totally defies logic and science. How would my eating less
will make my husband live longer. Though there is concept of one soul after
marriage(do jism ek jaan), yet the bodies would remain separate. And even if it works in some hypothetical
world, shouldn't it be the two way process? Isn't this tradition against the
concept of gender equality? Shouldn't husbands also show reciprocity?
Then there is
another kind of fast to get a good husband- Solah (16) Somvar, (as if there is no
need of a good wife). Again by logic, the sex ratio says otherwise. Increasingly, the average age of unmarried
boys is increasing because of skewed sex ratio. Bride money is taking the place
of dowry. Shouldn't the guys take note of this serious issue and start fasting?
Then, many of the
mothers keep fast of Asthami for their children's well being. Doesn't this also
goes against the common sense. Mother being more aged than her children needs
protection from health hazards and age hazards. Shouldn't children fast for their
mother?
Disclaimer: In
principle, I am not against any religion or associated faith of fasting. People
have different reasons behind fasting, including health reasons(cleansing of
toxics), family legacy and minimalistic living etc, and I respect them all. I am just against the
notion of stereotyping of the fasts against a particular section of society,
i.e., women.
