Bollywood Movies are Finally Acknowledging Lack of Education Among Women

It has been a joyous year for feminist movie goers. Every couple of months, we are being treated to movies which bring to us sweet and sour struggles of being a woman. This week, we have Vidya Balan, who plays a homemaker who aspires to earn her own moolah in Tumhari Sulu. The movie has a something more which is common with films like Secret Superstar and Lipstick Under My Burkha. All these three films show the struggles of under-educated homemakers.

The difference being, lack of education makes these women less vocal about their desires. There is a sense of inferiority, which is mostly rubbed in the face by spouses in front of children and relatives. We have seen it being depicted very cleverly in English Vinglsih (2012), where the entire family casually humiliates Shashi's (Sridevi) poor knowledge of English. Her husband, despite being a loving one, leads the pack. This observation is not far from reality.

Many men deliberately berate their spouses in public, just to keep their confidence levels down. It stems from deep-rooted insecurity and inferiority complex within themselves. Moreover, they fear that their wives might one day start feeling that they are better off without them. Add to that the constant sense of masculine superiority hammered into their heads from a young age. But it isn't just husbands who shame poorly-educated homemakers.

Privileged women are also guilty of judging and making fun of them. We take a special pride in our educational skills, forgetting the fact that not everyone is fortunate enough to have a liberal upbringing or not all us excel in academics.

However, it never occurs to us why these women could not pursue their careers. Was it only her lack of interest in studies? Or was it her family, which shunned her from pursuing higher education, due to financial or social constraints?

It is easy to talk about feminism when you have qualifications and a support system to back you. But it is way more important to root for the women who get out of their houses and set out to conquer to world purely via their skills. These women have no support system or educational background. Yet they struggle every day to prove their mettle to the world. They are the true essence of feminism. Their stories are meant to be celebrated by all of us.

Picture credits: indiatimes

Also Read: Are Our Female Politicians Failing to Stand Up for Us?

Dr Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section.  The views expressed are author’s own.