Rescued by a Feminist : An Indian fairy tale of equality and other myths: An Indian tale of equality and other myths

by Saloni Chopra

Imagine a scenario where as soon as you (a man) were born, society gave you four apples, but when I was born, they gave me just two apples, even though neither of us did anything to deserve less or more. However, we go on to live our lives happily together, oblivious of what these apples are even for, let alone each other’s unfair apple division. One day, I finally realise that you have more apples than me, and I want the same amount as well because it turns out that having fewer apples from the day I was born makes my life so much harder and far more restricted than yours, and I demand it because I deserve the same things as you. When you were younger, you thought so too, but we grew up with completely different lives and now you’re not so sure anymore. But some sections of our society fight to make a new rule: you must share just one of your apples with me in order to have fairness. I am then suddenly a threat to you and your apples, aren’t I? If you have to let go of something that’s been only yours and share it with me, that’s a threat to your power, your ownership, isn’t it? My demand for equal rights is a threat to you because so many of the privileges you were simply born with are being taken away/shared with others. It’s normal for you to feel momentarily attacked because you’ve been so used to living life with more apples than me, but should I be sorry for demanding the same equality as you? No. Should I give up? No. Should I be violent or arrogant? No. Is it your...