When we want to have a look at the picture of the woman change before the 25 or 30 years of Saraswatichandra or in the last 150 years in Gujarati fiction, then at the same time we also need to have a look at the social picture of Gujarat. What colours did life have in Gujarat? Did women's issues change with the time? Did the new issues come or they remained the same? If these things are changed it is natural that the writer is to mirror them. How the woman changed and to what extent the writers have got success in its representation it is necessary to provide you a sort of background.
The existence of a woman is almost as old as man. And in number even though she is almost equal to man, since the last two thousand years nobody has accepted her free existence. Until the near past she was limited to give birth to children and serve the husband and family. The scriptures denied her being and considered her an object only. She was considered a Satan, the root of sins, and ominous. She was denied preaching into a church, entrance into a mosque. If she took education she would be spoiled. Such decisive statements made by religion, culture and society influenced so deeply that she began to consider herself as the inferior one. She raised no question that why only women have been bound to sacrifice, ethics, and purity? Why no servitude of man against woman? Why does she have to observe certain rituals for husband and children? No such question she asked the society. Woman devoted to man is appreciated but man devoted to wife is criticised, and in such a criticism women are frontiers. How strange it is that the woman who is created from the rib of a man is believed to be inferior to man even after Darwin’s Law of Evolution! After examining various cultures, various religions, and history of many countries a question stands that though there are colourful cultures, plenty of saints and preachers, and a long history of mankind, why at all places and in all times there’s inequality between a man and a woman? It’s unbelievable equality in treating inequality to women. In the division of works, inheritance of property, reward of work, in all these things the male dominated society has given the subsidiary place to women. She has been seen not as a human but a woman. It’s natural that in literary works such a picture of woman is reflected.
In Greece, the Father country of Democracy, there was no voting right to a woman. Plato clearly said that women need men but men don't need women. A generation moves on with a son so a daughter is not important. Aristotle also clearly placed a woman inferior to a man in intellect and in morality. Because of this in Greek literature women are criticized again and again. In the trilogy of Ascilious, Apollo argues: “Mother is no parent of her child”. Though the matter is 2500 year old, the woman who bears the child for nine months and then feeds him for a long period the very children aren’t recognised by her name. Those who memorise names of grandparents of many generations hardly remember any more names than that of grandmother only.
In our country there was a theorem of man and nature equality. In the Vedic times man and woman had equal rights. The Rigveda there are references of women like Apala, Vishvawara, Gosha, Kaksivati, Ratri Bhardwaji, Sraddha Kamayani, Sachi Paulomi, Lopamudra, Surya, and Urvashi who were expert in knowledge and weapons. They were visionary too. This era witnessed the sons known by their mothers e.g., Aiitarey, and Jabal. The woman was free to choose her husband. She could marry who she loved. Widow marriage was possible. But after this Vedic period religious books and Smriti books considered her inferior. She was taken as an object or a thing. Draupadi was used for the dice game. In a Mahabharata story of Madhavi-Galav, Madhavi remained only a means to produce children and her husband’s ego satisfaction. Because of Smriti books child marriages began to take place. Widow marriage was forbidden. Woman was caged into four walls of the house. As a widow she had to observe very terrible, strict and rigid rules. She faced a social boycott that made her life dry. Rather than such a life won’t she think to sacrifice herself at the funeral pyre with all respect and honour. For her it was easy to burn once rather every day. One who wants to know how horrible widow life was should read Zaverchand Meghani’s stories like ‘Ladako Randapo’, and ‘Sadashiv Tapali’.
Woman wasn’t born weak but the ideals set for her by the male dominated society made her weak. The web of the ideals was set in such a way that a kind of cultural structure was set and she herself happily began to trap. (Nature did not intend women to be inferior to men but culture has quite often done so. Women all over the world are what men make them). The matter that a woman can have her identity, desires, and decision power was forgotten. She remained a means to produce children. Without any financial reward she became a devoted slave only. From morning to late night she worked and yet if anybody asked ‘what’s she doing?’ She always said ‘nothing’. Though life persisted only because of a woman, it is said ‘Woman is nothing but a womb’. Such words limited her life to the need of a womb. Our culture that has heavily sung the songs of motherly affection has always avoided a woman who becomes mother due to a rape. Even though the scientific truth is known, a woman is insulted as she gives birth to a female child or doesn’t give birth to any child. This is the reason that in our folk songs she ardently prays to the Goddess Randal, ‘Give me a child, the barren life is terrible...’ Even today her character is attached to her body not to her personality because how can a woman have it? Society never gave a different identity to a woman who is sometimes known merely by her soul or by body. She was always known in reference to a man – in society as well as in literature.
Most world fiction is written by man. Was there a condition that a woman can write? Virginia Woolfe wrote in her book ‘A Room of One’s Own’ that if a woman wants to be a writer she must have her own room and enough capital because poverty of pocket directly influences poverty of thoughts. Woolfe is absolutely right. Writing depends upon freedom of thoughts. Women since ages live in worse condition than that of Greek slaves. Woolfe rightly said, ‘Suppose she wrote, there won’t be her signature below her writing. They might have written like Currer Bell, George Elliot, George Sand. It was because it had become her nature to remain hidden. She hardly became a chief character in fiction written by men. Are the women in our women characters based works like ‘Kokila’, ‘Shobhana’, ‘Amrita’ at the centre? Or is there a man behind it? Even if they are at the center they are delineated with the reference to men and this is the case since ‘Gunsundarino Sansar’. How many women shall we find like Chanda of the novel ‘Janamtip’ who never compromises and lives according to her own terms and yet gives equal weightage to love and respect. If closely observed whether Govardhanram or the other they have addressed the readers as the males only. Adventure or romantic novels have remained as the moving force. Bright woman also considers it appropriate to bow down at a man's feet. e.g., all heroines of Munshi.in our childhood stories we have heard that the king always gifted princesses along with his half kingdom as the part of his reward. As if a woman is an object to be offered for a reward!
In all the family, social, political, legal, economic or religious matters the male dominated society placed her at the second position. Save for a few exceptions in literature too the same reflection came. We have to keep one thing in mind that the person who advocated for the first time that women should be given rights for voting, education, and a part in property was a man named J S Mill. Nora of ‘The Doll’s House’, a play by Ibsen said, ‘First of all I am a human being and then a wife and a mother’ and left the home. She was the first to make society accept a woman as a person. In 1879 this was the first utterance of woman liberty and its writer was a man Henry Ibsen. The meaning of woman liberty never stands against man. Real meaning of it is to oppose injustice and inequality and to have freedom of thoughts. To raise the woman up to the present condition men also have contributed as much as women. In our country there are great people like Raja Rammohan Roy, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, Keshav Chandra Sen, Acharya Karve, Mahatma Phoole, Justice Ranade, and Mahatma Gandhi who fought for women rights and their names immediately are remembered. In Gujarat before 150 years before on behalf all women Narnad had asked this:
‘Why shouldn’t we have an umbrella, and why shouldn’t we have footwear?
Why no marriage on arrival of sense, and why no marriage to a widow?’
This shows that women had no such rights. But for that the person who raised voice was a man. So when I am talking about the changing picture of women, instead of differentiating male or female writers, I will differentiate them on their good or bad writing. The male writers also have as much efficiently described the woman world as the female writers. The works of Meghani, Umashankar, Sundaram, Jayanti Dalal, Khatri or Harish Nagrecha,Vinesh Antani, Kirit Doodhat, or Ram Mori show that whether the writer is male or female on the ground of feeling the same sensibilities like women if one is able to enter the mind of a woman, then it becomes subsidiary whether one is male or a female. After this much clarification let me talk a bit about the present scenario. After 1970 many laws were formed for women rights protection and executed. Laws were enforced for dowry, child marriage, equal wages, abortion, pregnancy leaves, and violence on them. Amendments were made in the laws of property rights, rape cases. Because of this it’s not that the male dominated society changed, or the dominance of men or their ego came down. It hasn’t also happened that domestic violence stopped or doesn’t demand dowry. On the contrary the issue of women protection has become more terrible. Still the education of women had not been given much more importance than that of a marriage qualification. Now a girl child isn’t killed in childhood according to older custom but they are forbidden to take birth. The woman started taking education, and also started earning but the family responsibility has not come down. We have a man cooking at a restaurant or a hotel but he won’t cook at home. A peon offers water to his officer in the office but at home he demands the same to his wife. The answer of ‘Why this?’ can be found in the confession of the well known cold drink company CEO Indra Nooyi. With the news of her promotion she came home but her husband rather than congratulating says coldly, ‘Talk these things later on, first of all go and bring milk and then make tea for me.’ The husband who returned early may not make tea but can’t he at least help to bring milk? So this is the picture of our present society. With such things in my mind I’ll talk to you. On one side a statement of Simon de Beau ‘A woman is not born but made. Biology is not destiny.’ became the slogan for the women freedom movement. But on the other side, a survey regarding the position of women in public media advertisements shows a result that, ‘Woman is a beautiful object in advertising.’ Isn’t it a tragedy when her body becomes an object, a mean, or a thing? The other concern is that during IPL cricket matches the women's body makes an exuberance show.
Before Ideal with the changing picture of women in Gujarati fiction there are a couple of matters to think of. Which woman here in our country or foreign could write? The answer would be like this: one who could write came from a wealthy family, or was educated, crossed boundaries of the home, was mostly unmarried or whose husband was affectionate or the husband behaved like a friend, or whose children were grown up. How many examples can we have that a woman married at a young age, performed family responsibilities, and brought up three or four children and still she wrote? If we observe we shall in the initial stage find Vinodini Nilkanth, Sarojini or Saudamini Mehta, Lilavati Munshi, and labhuben Mehta. Expand the list and we find Kundanika Kapadiya, Saroj Pathak, Dhiruben Patel, Himanshi Shelat, Bindu Bhatt,Suvarna, Varsha Adalja, Ila arab Mehta, and still some more names like Arunaba Jadeja, Minal Dave, and Panna Trivedi. Save for a rare case, you hardly find a woman who is totally absorbed in family life and yet could create valuable creation? This may be a bitter thing but it’s reality. One clarification too I need to make that even feministic writing must be tested by the aesthetic standards. The writer should avoid propagandist attitudes. I will talk only of the works who have come through these aesthetic standards.
Till 1940-50 the woman in family life had no other status except a person who works in a home. The family was managed by a woman but as she didn’t earn, there was no her value. The home was run by man. A few examples will show that because of such a society what kind of image in literature she had! Narsinharao Bholanath Divetiya alludes in “Smaranamukur”. A merchant one day begins to talk about his family, “Bolanathbhai, I bring two bananas every day. One I eat, half I offer to my mother and the other half, I ask to mix it with dal. So all children and ‘rands’ prostitutes” get it. The man who says this doesn’t feel anything wrong he does. To use such a mean word for a woman wasn’t strange. At what extent the head man of the family used his power could be seen in an example from “Gunsundari no Gharsansar”. What authority Manchatur shows when he throws god images in a vessel and removes all the family out of the home. In Sumant Mehta’s autobiography we find that in the presence of elderly members of the family a husband could not talk to his children or wife. Gandhji too showed his husband authority over Kasturba. Narmad who advocated women liberty also told his wife Dahigauri that in marriage life she will have to bear troubles. In Nandshankar Mehta’s novel ‘Karanghelo’ the condition of a widow is described by a widow through Gunsudari hasn’t been changed even after 70-80 years. A Gunsundri prefers to burn after her husband’s death rather than living a widow life. This is found in the novel published in 1866. Madhavdas who wrote a book on remarriage in 1891, had already been married to a widow Dhankorben but a great author Govardhanram does not allow Saraswati Chandra marry a widow Kumud.
Women began to get education and came out of the home. Some change was found in her position after Gandhiji’s call to join Satyagrih Movement. That’s why rather than going into the Jail of the widow life, Meghani’s Bhadra of ‘Anantni Bahen’, prefers to go to the government jail. Like Faiba in ‘Ladko Randapo’, most widows or mother-in-laws had a kind of mentality that wives too bear similar conditions as they passed through. R.V Desai’s ‘Balhatya’ or Pitambar Patel’s ‘Aphrata’ show that during the partition of the country the women who become rape victims were hardly accepted in Gujarat. Our rotten psyche did not change even today, and this is found even in the works written in the last two decades.
In Gujarat, under the influence of the Women Liberation Movement the fiction related to women revolt came late but some pictures of women exploitation and such issues we find in the plays, novels, and stories of the initial period. Sometimes we find surprising revolts of women and sometimes we find her efforts for getting self-identity, sometimes her opposition against merely her bodily acceptance by her husband. Amongst women's beliefs of Munshi we find a rare example of a story ‘Ek Patra’ in which rather than like a pure Arya woman who pleads to god for her husband, ‘Give me the same husband in all the lives’. But there’s also the reference where she says, ‘Thank god, I got rid of him in this life. Never ever return me the same man’. We find such a woman who indeed is so depressed.
Dhumketu delineates most women as an image of affection, sacrifice, forgiving one, Goddess of home, and mother. His characters utter such kinds of things themselves. Dhumketu in the story ‘Bindu’ makes a statement, ‘A woman who is not a mother how can she be a woman’, and makes his character Bindu speak, ‘Education meant for getting Samskaras. As men use education to get a job, almost like that if women start such a cheap use of it then education will be found as the representative of the male society. Dwiref’s writing too shows a traditional woman picture but a woman named Khemi has come out with flying colours with her strong character and will. In the story ‘Saubhagyavati’ the heroine who belongs to the cultured society is unable to bear libido of her husband and dies early but she earns the title ‘Saubhagyavati’. Against such a character there is an uneducated woman Jivi who loves her husband but the man is unable to come out of his sensuality and leave her but she herself could leave her and can stay all alone. This shows that at the base of the revolt of women neither education nor money is important but what lies in her soul is important.
Many of Meghani stories reflect the ugly pictures of women exploitation of that period. In the stories ‘Vahu ane Ghodo’, ‘Morlidhar Paranyo’ reveals the woman’s low position, dependence and helplessness. In the story Vahu ane Ghodo the husband on the next morning of their honeymoon says to his wife, ‘Live properly, get qualified otherwise you’re lost. Women like you can easily be swept here in this home. Don’t you know it?’ In Meghani’s fiction there are the characters lashed by the contemporary social customs, as well as the characters who are by their own virtues trying to stand against such situations. Ganga’s decision of abortion in the story ‘Ganga Tane Shu Thay Chhe?’ or Bhadra’s revolt against widow life and preferring the British Jail in the Story ‘Anantni Bahen’ have found out solutions of their own. In ‘Ladko Randapo’ Faiba who exploits the widow of his son but the saviour to her is a man. During the 30s and 40s such a picture of woman exploitation, struggle and problems is not expressed by any except Meghani, not even by any woman writer. In Gujarat, where writers like Narmad, Karshandas Mulji who raise voice against women sexual exploitation at religious places and where Meghani could bring out a beautiful story like ‘Thakar lekha leshe’. Women who shut eyes become dancing dolls and that way exploited in Ashrams by so called Sadhus and saints. Have such cases come down? Gujarat is the state that gave a novel like ‘Jigar ane Amee’ and Gujarat is the same state where the women devouts run away from Ashrams and turn to domestic women. Though education and economic issues improved, burning issues of communities in the country, the Muslim woman is not still prepared come out of her black veil, that’s a reality. Since long, none talks about them. It should be asked to Gujarati writers why he did not aesthetically express the blasphemy and exploitation at religious places that have taken place since the last 50 years.
An ugly picture of woman exploitation is found in a Jayant Khatri story ‘Khichdi’. Hunger led woman Lakhadi succumbs to the passions of his Master. One can have great appreciation for the writer as he lets her sexual feelings be satiated sweetly and does not hide her natural desires. Basic passions and unsatisfied desires of mankind become symbols. In Khatri’s story ‘Tej, Gati and Dhwani’. Kastur is the symbol and such a woman that is not found at all in Gujarati fiction. The heroine of the story ‘Bandh Barana Pachhal’ written in 1939 reveals the confession that she herself satiated her sexual desires. Khatri describes a different sort of woman picture as that is seen in the story ‘Nag’ where physical passion and its satisfaction has been symbolised by snake’s tight gripping.
In a way changing picture of woman for the first time can be seen in a Jayanti Dalal story ‘Aa Gher Pele Gher’. Pannalal Patel’s Raju, Jivi or Champa has no doubt sharp personality, but that’s their natural innate strength. You can’t name it as their awareness or self realisation. In the autobiographies of Dhansukhlal Mehta, Ravishankar Raval it is not found that woman can have right to raise her voice. In the autobiographies of Sumant Mehta or Kanaiyalal Munshi the woman who are bright or bullish. It’s misfortunate that none in Gujarati literature has ever pictured women like them. The picture that was common was revealed. The picture that was distinct not was considered as special and was kept aside. In the mental struggle of Savita, the woman in Jayanti Dalal story ‘Aa Ghere Pele Ghere’ in her decision to leave the home, he very clearly show the picture of changing woman. Fiction helps to find out to what extent women have changed with the passing of time, growing education and under the influence of the women's liberation movement. Nearly 60-65 years later of Dalal is Dhiruben Patel’s story ‘Arundhati’ when the husband tells his wife that he is marrying another woman instead of crying and making a show she quietly permits him. To live alone she demands a new flat and a big amount for livelihood makes another explosive revelation, ‘‘Tell her, she married to the father of three children, so she also will have to be the mother of them.’’ Recently, around 2014, a story is written by Parul Desai named ‘Andar-Bahar’ in which the woman Seema too does not make any revolt when she comes to know her husband’s relation to another woman. She also doesn’t say to leave the house that is made after so much struggles with ease she removes him from her life. This quiet revolt is much more effective than the louder one.
In the stories of Sarojini Mehta, Vinodini Nilkanth, Labhuben Mehta, Saudamini Mehta written between 1940 to 1960 mostly contemporary problems and issues are described in louder tones as if they seem to be speeches. Some exceptional stories too are found from them. The pictures of women in such stories bring a happy surprise. E.g. Sarojini Mehta’s ‘Bindi’ or Vinodini Nilkanth’s ‘Jo Hu Vartani Nayika Hot to.....’
In Gujarati fiction from the seventh decade under the influence of the women liberation movement, efforts to delineate the picture of changed women have been noticed in most of the writers. The movement brought awareness and consciousness in women. On the realisation that she played roles that men wished, she made an adventure to come out of that play. She isn’t a means to carry on family hierarchy, not a slave unpaid, not having merely body or soul but possesses both of them. She began to express her voice of her wishes, desires and dissatisfaction. On necessity she raised voice against injustice. A serving woman, as she got financial support, she showed courage to throw away chains that male dominated society had tied around her neck. Women have changed. She has become conscious of her existence but the psyche of rigid society and man’s medieval attitude have almost remained the same as they had been earlier, and because of this conflict has grown. Now it has also been written what sort of problems a woman faces in the system of male dominated society when she steps out of her home.
The expression now we have, of the woman who let’s go of many things because of her natural instinct, and one who makes compromises. In addition to woman’s basic problems there are problems of rape, domestic violence, teasing, loneliness, insecurity, extra marital affairs - the little touched subjects too have been expressed now on literary merits by many writers.
The intelligent and proud woman who understood her mind preferred to live alone but her root nature is not accustomed to it. As it is her basic instinct she desires home, children, love and warmth, that gave way to extra marital relationships and which then grew. When we name love or affection, how can anyone predict when such a relation can take place or who can be the person ? But such a bond of love takes place to a married man, she has to sacrifice many things in society and she has to bear emotional issues. The stories delineate different perspectives of the complexity of extra marital relationships and because of it the agony a woman has to bear grew up after the 90s. Such agony of women is found in the story ‘Itara’ or ‘Avalamban’ by Himanshi Shealat and ‘Sttavish Varasani Chhokau’ by Vinesh Antani. She sacrifices everything in the relation that has no future while a man manages home and on finding opportunity maintains the relation. Socially unaccepted but her true love for a man puzzles her a lot. The chain of problems makes her weary. A woman can’t give pain or leave the man she loves. So on her part hardly she gets anything except only compromises, pain and different aspects of extra marital life is expressed in seven or eight stories written by Pravinsinh Chavda. It is true that Himanshi Shelat’s ‘Agiyarmo Patra’ or Harish Nagrecha’s ‘An Affair’ are such stories but have we found that sort of women described in them?
Kundanika Kapadiya’s ‘Sat Pagala Akashma’ has influenced much in changing the picture of woman at the social and literary levels in Gujarat. Though Ila Arab Mehta’s ‘Batris Putalini Vedana’ is superior in aesthetic standards ‘Sat Pagla Akashma’ remained influential. In the stories and novels Kundanika Kapadiya the tone of women liberation or revolt comes in a louder way. The narration, of such issues and problems have almost become flat and oratory type, and this type of writer’s wrath, doesn’t allow the work to reach to a high literary standard. It’s also true that in the works of Kundanika Kapadiya the things don’t end in the pictures of problems, in justice or exploitation. There are many women in her works who struggle to come out the problems, opposing the final male authority and on necessity stand against difficulties. In the novel ‘Batris Putalini Vedana’ almost all the facts related to the horrible condition of the woman made by the paternal society and religious authority, have been described. The man doesn’t need a woman writer Anuradha Gupta but he only wants a common woman who can manage the home prepare herself beautifully and move around him all the time. He has problems if she can have a different identity, or may earn more than himself and is respected among the people. With the collage of five to seven women’s problems and issues this novel is devoted and yet it has remained artistic.
With a keen observation of women's psyche Dhiruben Patel appropriately brings out hidden impulses in the deep recesses of their mind. The women of sensibilities are observed with a distinguished way by her and could neutrally delineate two forms of women: the mother of Kadampari and the mother in law. In ‘Andhali Gali’ Dhiruben Patel could read well the psyche of a woman who remained unmarried for a longer period. She could also in the novel ‘Hutashan’ bring out another extreme point of a mother in law suffering horribly by her son’s wife. In her fiction the woman’s picture isn’t one sided or one coloured. She has always rejected a woman’s traditional, prototype picture that is the woman is neither common nor distinct. She is as she should be with her personality and dignity. She is not a flag bearer of the women liberation movement and yet she could express such things with a difference. In her ‘Arundhati’ one can see how much a woman has changed with time but she isn’t at all found changed in ‘Dikarinu Dhan’. The issue of women exploitation observed in Dhiruben’s ‘Dikarinu Dhan’ Varsha Adalja’s ‘Ek Sanje’ and Harish Nagrecha’s ‘Khinti’ could be found in many of our houses. With the changes of time and with the growth of education these problems have gone to deeper levels. The income of an earning daughter is so much in need that her parents shut eyes to her growing age for marriage. Such a thing takes place only in the city isn’t the case is explained in a Navnit Jani story ‘Sthapan’.
As time goes on, and so women's problems charge, and that’s how the picture in literature too changes. Her education, talent, and economic independence helped not to compromise with the situations. Only as a solution of loneliness she does not accept to fit herself in a marriage to any man. For a woman, the career is more important than marriage is very clearly expressed in Harish Nagrecha’s story ‘Udan’. He says, for a woman, a man can be a need but not a husband. His stories have reflected such a picture in which a woman prefers to live alone if she does not find a suitable man. Such an example is found in the stories of ‘Gadh Umbar’ by Ramesh Dave, and ‘Sol Ane Sol Ane...’ by Kandarp Desai. They show the agony of elderly spinsters. Mavji Maheshwari’s story ‘Pavan’ impressively describes such an elderly spinster’s loneliness and horrible life. On the contrary is also found in Kandarp Desai’s story ‘Lot of Thanks’ in which at 62 a woman gets a caring man and her lonely life again becomes live. This picture is the result of the changing society.
In the stories of ‘Ganthe Bandhya Akash’ by Varsha Adalja, ‘Chacharat’ by Anil Vyas one finds women who have no life of their own while managing the family. Though they have lived a full life, lived like slaves, bore insults and neglect, but never got appreciation or affection. Even independence she gets after her husband’s death is puzzling as if she is habituated to the chains around her. But in Varsha Adalja’s story ‘Ganthe Bandhya Akash’ the heroine could get rid of all the shackles and find her own space. In the fiction of Varsha Adalja or Ila Arab Mehta, the woman does not believe that the end of marriage is the end of life. E.g., Ila Arab Mehta’s ‘Vistar’ and Varsha Adalja’s ‘Anuradha’. In the fiction of Varsha Adalja there is a woman who prefers to live alone, bearing a slap for disagreeing with the preference of a male child against that of a female one and complaining to the police for the husband’s violence against her. In her works too women have achieved their identity as if these women understood that the space and identity they have, need to be acquired by themselves only. In Varsha Adalja’s fiction women raise voice against their exploiters and make revolt but this sort of revolt is not destructive but a very cold one which is very much shocking to the readers. In their revolt there’s no wish to change the world or that it is her effort by her strong will, the other party accepts her existence, feeling and understands her problems. The woman who forgot to live her own life instead of bowing down to the situation, instead of making a compromise becomes courageous. With a strong decision, ‘It’s more than enough. No more now’ she reveals herself. The heroines of the stories ‘Ghanti’ ‘Shanti’, ‘Ganthe Bandhyu Akash’ or ‘Nam’ Nayna Rasik Mehta give a big shock to their exploiters with their easy denials or light opposition. For them such a denial or opposition was totally a matter out of the blue. A man is having great success in the outer world and all appreciate him but hardly he knows how his children grew up or what sort of sacrifice his wife made for them. The children too are attracted to the father’s status and money rather than the mother who is completely devoted to them. Such a thing appeared in nearly five stories of Varsha Adalja. Why are only sons named in a family tree? Why not a family tree of daughters and mothers ? Those who believe that a family does not move ahead with a daughter keeps a family tree of seven generations framed and hung at a wall of the house, but hardly has any information about his material grandaunts. This issue is taken on hand in the story ‘Mammino Ambo’. A woman often becomes a victim of physical or verbal mistreatment out of the home on the road or in an office. The heroine of Ila Arab Mehta’s story ‘Shamik Tu Shu Kaheshe ?’ knows that the solution of such problems should be found out by herself only.
Background or education has not made much difference in women exploitation and injustice. The base of opposition or revolt is dependent upon a particular woman’s self and the qualities she possesses within. In Kirit Doodhat’s story ‘Bayu’ the opposition is made by a simple and uneducated woman. A dalit - a backword class woman in Mohan Parmar’s story ‘Thali’ could teach a lesson to Kshatriya man of the village. But against such a case Harish Nagrecha’s story ‘Ae's educated and earning a serving woman is so much succumbed to the situation that without any opposition bears her husband’s violence. Asha of Manilal H. Patel’s story ‘Magan Somani Asha’ makes it a big thing that she revolts in the very society in which she lives. Because of the reservation policy a woman becomes the Head of a village but the administration is run by her husband or father in law. This is the reality of every village but the administration is run by her husband or father in law. This is the reality of every village but Kamalesh Patel’s educated heroine of the story ‘Sahi’ changes this reality. This is the changed picture. The day is not far when an educated woman will refuse to sign what her husband asks to do.
Today when life has changed personal and so social values have changed, it’s a question whether any change has come in the women's problems, and her exploitation? Has a woman really become independent? Can she do things according to her will? Beyond the acceptance of the body, is her existence accepted ? That a man’s ego, his authority over her, his medieval mind have not changed has become the subject in Harish Nagrecha’s stories ‘Fooldi’, ‘Catwalk’ and ‘Kubo’. In the beginning of the 21 Century too her existence has not been accepted and this is expressed in the story ‘Fooldi’. In communal violence still a woman’s body becomes a means for revenge. Himanshi Shelat’s story ‘Saja’ says that the woman sacrifices life for the family, spends all her earned money and yet in the same family to welcome her friend or to allow her stay for few days she has to know her husband’s wish and permission and if this is so how that home can be her own ? The issue described in the story ‘Kubo’ is not new at all and this problem has remained the same even today in the changed and reformed society. The question ‘Which is a woman’s home ?’ is found in Varsha Adalja’s story ‘Anuradha’ and Harish Nagrecha’s story ‘Catwalk’. These are the 21 Century stories that one has to remember. Sanjana of ‘Catwalk’ story, her would-be husband says in reference to her participation in a beauty contest. ‘It is your choice’ and then adds, ‘If you wish, do participate. In any case I will not be the loser! If you win you will be a supermodel of my textile mill and if you do not participate you will be my wife. Choice is yours.’ This is how he puts it. One can have realisation on his being elder that why the mother always told her daughter ‘I will ask your father and let you know.’ After 24 years, for the mother if the father’s home is not hers and yet the mother asks ‘Sanjana do whatever you like when you go to your home.’ A question is raised: Whether a woman can have a home or is she born to stay at someone’s home only? On behalf of her if others are to take decisions, what about her choice and decision power? The man’s affectionate behaviour changes as the woman begins to take decisions and stand against problems. Invisible chains have been already put around her neck in the name of duty and love. Till these shackles are not broken off that world of love and warmth stays but no sooner the woman breaks those chains her imagined world disappears. She faces illusions. She has to listen to the threat, ‘if you have to live in the house then...’ In this respect the society has not changed at all and so the picture of the woman too has not changed. After such a confession Kunj of the story ‘Kubo’ decides that in her daughter’s marriage she would give money to buy a house in her name rather than giving clothes and ornaments. This is a great relief that a woman at least has taken a decision.
It is not that one should consider it a problem if she is unhappy, insulted or exploited. But because she is a woman many problems at a deeper level trouble her and such depiction has slowly begun to appear in fiction. I will not consider it as the changing picture but would say that the writers have begun to pay attention to such problems. A woman, who has power to change others life but is unable to do the same for herself because after marriage she is unable to live in a different world with different responsibilities and with her own will. After marriage the responsibilities of children and family changes her. This is depicted in Anjali Khandwala’s ‘Shaktipat’ and Parul Desai’s ‘Bhankar’. Ravindra Parekh does it in a lighter vein in ‘Lat-hukam’. Though she gets good in laws her life changes completely is a reality. Bindu Bhatt’s ‘Aada Hathe Mukayelu Geet’, Pooja Tatsat’s ‘Tav’, Himanshi Shelat’s ‘Ekant’ these things do come as complaints but it has been shown that how many compromises a woman has to make when she has to shift from a family local to the another. The woman because of her nature and love has left many things behind her but it has been written in fiction now. That it gives a pain to a woman when some moments are lost and that loss is writhing.
In our society, most people do not accept that a woman can have a desire, choice, dissatisfaction in physical passions, pain of that dissatisfaction, or she can express her wish for a loving touch or refusal of such a thing. No doubt, with the changing time, her body and bodily passions have been accepted. e.g. Ramesh Dave’s ‘Shabvat’ and Harshad Trivedi’s ‘Aadh’. Bindu Bhatt takes on about the lesbian relationship in ‘Meera Yagnikni Diary’. So it can be said that where there is no social acceptance a writer with a liberal attitude accepts her desires, dissatisfaction and lesbian relationship. A wrath against female feticide, abortion and that way stopping a life is artistically expressed in Kandarp Desai’s story ‘Khali Frame’ or a bit in a louder way in Himanshi Shelat’s ‘Garbhgatha’.
The woman who starts the daily chores from the early morning to late night cannot expect any reward for the work but on the government papers it is always marked, ‘Doing nothing’. Ravindra Parekh in his novel ‘Lat-hukam’ described the issue in a lighter vein. Male dominated society always believed that domestic work is not important but if he has to do all those works he could come to know how a woman can cope up with them. In ‘Jaldurga’ (1984) Neel who believes woman’s body as a means to produce children only. Aabha does not hesitate to delete her womanhood and motherhood and makes a revolt against such beliefs of Neel and Pratik. Woman means body and nothing more, a belief accepted by these two men and for the same she takes a horrible way to revenge against them though she had to sacrifice but that way teaches them unforgettable lessons. In ‘Atikram’ (1984) a Ravindra Parekh novel he described the mental condition of a rape victim woman. The ration of rape cases may be down before 1980 or may it be that the women bore and did not complain? This is because of the stories of Kundanika Kapadiya, Varsha Adalja, Himanshi Shelat, Harish Nagrecha and a few others. Such rape victim women appeared after 1975-80. The heroine in Manohar Trivedi’s story ‘Jalamtip’ belongs to a low community but before her moral and physical courage even voluptuous men are bedimmed.
In Kundanika Kapadiya’s story, ‘To?’ pregnant Sujata -a multi-rape victim woman of Bangladesh war, thinks had her husband been alive, would have he been accepted? Mayuri of Varsha Adalja’s story ‘Balatkar’ has it that if an unknown man rapes, it becomes news but if her husband does it every day she has to keep mouth shut and bear it. The heroine of Bindu Bhatt’s story ‘Mangalsutra’ too knows such a fact. ‘Kirti Mandir’ the Vandna Bhatt story differently expresses the rape by her husband even today. The woman is helpless to do anything. Rape cases are increasing daily but not strong revolt takes place. Little opposition takes place in cities but rapes in villages, and dalit society hardly appears in the newspapers. The Heroine of Mohan Parmar story ‘Thali’ is somewhat different in this respect. In between the laughter of men and devilish silence of women though the revolt of the heroine of the story ‘Saja’ is fruitless but when the others turn weak or prefer to remain silent by will or by force, it’s really a sort of relief that a common woman does such a revolt. In the story ‘Khandiyer’ by Ramesh Dave, though the woman has not been raped she has to suffer. The sister in law who returned to her father’s home due to disputes with the husband does not allow her sister in law to touch anything in the kitchen. The father in law calls her ‘a broken utensil’. When one hears such a thing one begins to believe that a woman has nothing like character, personality but only a body. In an extra marital affair if a man goes to another woman he isn’t considered disgraced as a ‘broken utensil’ but the virtues of purity and impurity applies to a woman’s body only. Even today the matters of purity, honour, and broken vessels are applied to women. In such a matter the picture of women has not changed at all. Whether it is war or communal violence, Vietnam or Afghanistan, Bengal or Gujarat, physically or mentally those who suffer the most are women. Kamlaben Patel wrote in ‘Mool Sonta Ukhadela’. ‘‘Muslim and non-Muslim were not left behind any way for inhuman and mean violence upon women’’. R.V.Desai’s story ‘Bal-Hatya’ the woman who became mother due to a rape and kills the new born says to the justice in the court, ‘My Muslim name Khadija and Hindu name Parvati. One name is of a prophet’s wife and the other is of Mahadev’s wife and yet men of both religious raped her.’’ For this she kills the newborn. As if the judge takes favour of the society he says ‘she should too die’.After mental and physical harassment she gets punishment from the society too. The responsibility of social honour was upon the women till yesterday but it’s the same even today. It seems it won’t be changed tomorrow as well.
Our writer has come out not from depicting typical Indian Arya Woman and has accepted her distinct personality. Vishakha of Vinesh Antani story ‘Stree Name Vishakha’ after leaving her husband’s home, develops business and establishes identity with her own talent. After many years the husband needs her and calls back, but Vishakha responds, ‘you can come to my home, the doors of my home are open. I will not come.’ We now find such a woman who is now self-reliant. It is now past women used to be merely a teacher or a nurse. Chandrakant Bakshi’s Anar or Harish Nagrecha’s Gargi are in such higher positions that they have authority over men. They prefer to live alone if they do not find a suitable man. This is a glimpse of the approaching time. If it is observed that education is changing so quickly that in the near future of fifty years there will be more women like Anar and Gargi. But it is also true that there are innumerable elders who believe education is changing quickly. In the near future of fifty years there will be more women like Anar and Gargi. Women too have an attitude like these elders. In Dhirendra Mehta’s story ‘Ghau Vinati Streeo’ those women’s education is not considered important by these husbands. Painful issues of these educated women still prevail that a woman should get more education than that of her husband’s. If a girl is to be engaged she has to quit education on the way. Such pains are expressed in some of Manilal H. Patel stories. The woman who got education or understood her existence has either to live alone like Anar or may have problems like Harish Nagrecha’s Gargi. In the horrible search to find a husband Gargi Says, ‘If I do not get what I can do? Should I go to the market? She very clearly says, ‘Man merely as a husband I will not accept. I am an equal participant in life, not a means to have pleasure.... I am not a thing. First of all I have feelings, and next I have talent. Being a female comes last.’ It seems Gargi presents a picture of the time to come because even today hardly any woman shows so much courage.
Because of the male centered society and in consequence literature, the woman always being put into margin, things needed to be told came late but Gujarati fiction imbibes the charging picture with its different colour shades of the woman who has left the threshold and came out in the open world and stood amidst the male dominated fields. The husband whose earning is less than his wife’s is unable to bear the wife and this becomes the issue in Himanshi Shelat’s story ‘Nayakbhed’ or Ila Arab Mehta’s novel ‘Batris Putalini Vedana’. The man cannot bear his wife’s more earning, her promotion too gives pain. In the story ‘Sutarne Tantane’ by Varsha Adalja the husband like Charu’s husband in ‘Nayakbhed’ takes his wife’s promotion with a mean doubt on her character. How many ways still a woman has to nourish her husband’s ego! A woman on behalf of her husband has to take care of family, relatives and friends. She has to make a compromise. So that peace and harmony in the home prevails. Such an issue is taken on hand in Harish Nagrech’s story ‘Ae’ and ‘An Affair.’
During the Independence Movement in our country Gujarati women had come out in larger numbers than any other Gujarati women who picketed bravely, and bore lathicharge in Dharasna Satyagrah. But what happened to this quiet, simple, non-violent, honourable Gujarati woman that she actively participated in 2002 communal violence? This changed attitude has been described by Himanshi Shelat in ‘Saja’. Many laws came but some of women's problems remained unchanged e.g. the issue of honour killing in Himanshi Shelat’s story ‘Nagar Dhindhora’. Why none raise their voice against such abuses that allude to a woman's womb? How would women bear such insults? Himanshi Shelat deals with this issue in the story ‘Gomtistrot’. The body gives a lot of troubles to all sorts of women whether educated or uneducated. Any passerby or any man on his wish touches the woman's body and goes away. Relatives, teachers, known ones, in the name of affection move their hands on women's bodies. Woman means only body and nothing else? This question is asked to the society by Himanshi Shelat and Harish Nagrecha and others.
In Parul Desai’s story ‘Ariso’ an extremely fair woman Nirali could not get it in her childhood why her dark hued aunt burnt herself but in her maturity she found that the man does not count talent or courage but for him beauty is the important thing. We believe that society has changed but in reality it has not. The mirror that reflects her image is enough for a man, more than her beauty he does not want to see anything. This is as true today as it was yesterday. Her talent will not be seen but for a man her beauty will be important.
The talks and movements of women's liberation and rights have remained limited only to educated and city people in the past as well as in present. But the heroine of Mohan Parmar’s story ‘Thali’, Chanchalna of Kirit Doodhat’s story ‘Bayu’ Girja of Himanshi Shelat’s story ‘Mutthima’ could cope up to the man but that was their own ability, without any need of women's liberation talks. The heroine of ‘Mutthima’ let’s go of all those things to nourish her husband’s ego as she believes that it was necessary to do. In the collection ‘Mahotu’ Ram Mori describes that society, where even today the woman has to manage the house, produce children and stay at the in-law's house even after regular thrashings of the husband. This much limited sense that society possesses and hence it is necessary to study in which society the picture of the woman changed.
The life of prostitutes has little bit remained untouched with the changed time or society. In their lives no change is visible. Each prostitute is first of all a woman and her being a prostitute is her helplessness, but this fact is never ever accepted by the society. That’s why this picture has remained the same from Manto to Himanshi Shelat. The latter one deals with this issue in her stories ‘Kimat’, ‘Kharidi’ etc.
In a way, due to co-operative societies, NGOs, women circles, the women of far off places have slowly been getting awareness but these things hardly have appeared in literature. What would be her agony of that woman who pushes her drunkard husband away but after earning hard for livelihood she returns home, brings back that drunkard husband and then feeds him! Such delineation is awaiting. These women who prepare biris, papad, leaf-dishes, sow sugarcane and paddy; working at high rise building construction; selling liquor do not know anything about women liberation or woman independence. Mahendra Parmar through a story ‘Polytechnique’ drew our attention to one more women problem and that was known to us always but was neglected always. The wrath of women who become double victims of social exploitation of her family work and her professional service has not been revealed at any level. What shall we do for those women who have feelings of bodily insecurity even though they are having economic independence, bright careers, and better talent than men? Why does a woman search for a husband superior to her? Why is a woman exploited more and more though she earns more and gets more education than the husbands? This is found in ‘Ae’ a Harish Nagrecha story and Ilaben’s ‘Batris Putalini Vedna’. The woman is trapped into the social media and world markets and the direction in which she is moving with her transparent clothes, tight figure, dancing and jumping bodies, mean dances and participation in T.V. shows have understood this meaning of independence? or does she think anything about it ? This needs to be written. A good earning woman and an authority over men, feels insecurity in going out alone at night.
Suppose her anger is delineated would the society be changed? A generation of woman after 2010 finds a picture in the stories of Abhimanyu Acharya. These women study, makes parties, remain busy on social media like WhatsApp, Face-book, and Instagram. Living in such a world they secretly smoke, drink wine and keep sexual relationship. They do not think them as any kind of a barrier. The writer wrote about them because there must be such women. Such a turn in the women's liberation movement was never thought of, cannot be so even today. It is a matter to worry what sort of inheritance these women would pass on to their next generation. This is an alarming picture.
In the last 20 to 25 years the way the electronic media exposed women's bodies, and brought out sexuality from bedrooms to drawing rooms that it reached to the street ends and college campuses and because of it the great danger to women's security came before us. Many stories have reflected this issue. But the issue of rape victim in a different way has been put by Himanshi Shelat in the story ‘Mrutyu-dand’ and Minal Dave’s ‘Bhunsi Nakhyu Ek Nam’. Or may it be 1947 or 2002..... Woman body was a means to take revenge at that time and no change was found even today. Himanshi Shelat dealt with this issue in ‘Saja’ and ‘Satamo Mahino’.
In my discussion mostly I dealt with the women depicted in novels yet I want to discuss few writers. The period, in which Meghani wrote, there’s a character Bhabhu in ‘Vevishal’ novel that quite surprises us. Childless Bhabhu bears the beating of her husband as she insists her brother in law's daughter Sushila’s marriage take place according to Sushila’s own wish. She puts the matter among the community elders and even though her husband separates from her the firmly she stands with Sushila and family members. In this period a 35 year woman could stand against a Kathiawar Community, can go against her husband are such matters beyond imagination but Meghani brings such a woman picture. A picture like that of Chanda by Ishwar Petlikar is matchless. We could not find another woman like her who could live according to her own terms. Raghuvir Chaurhary’s Kanku, Heti, Shanta, Jaimini, Reva etc women are magnanimous. As far as possible they never think ill of others and they are dauntless as well. Raghuvir Chaudhary who could create a character like Takhat, writes about Chaula in ‘Somtirth’ and that way helped to develop women consciousness. In Chinu Modi novels the pictures of woman are abnormal in such an extent and such an abnormal statements are found that a question could be raised against him! Could he ever think so seriously regarding women problems? e.g.
- For a man to have sexual intercourse with another woman is an ego satisfaction programme (Chukado P-92)
- Each ambitious woman takes so much interest in bringing down a man’s ego. (Chukado - 105)
- For a man to produce a child becomes the issue of his manliness. (Ibld - 110)
- For a woman to bear a man is easy but the man does it is so rare (Ibid - 48)
In Eva Dev’s story ‘Mishra Lohi’ because of the daughter’s intra-country marriage she gives birth to a hybrid child and then abandons him but the mother of an earlier generation brings up the child. The educated generation retreats but Manju of the older generation proves herself more sensible. Ashokpuri Goswami’s Dariya of ‘Kuvo’ establishes herself a highly valued person with her qualities of wisdom, fight for her honour, efficiency to cope up any situation, a skill to find out a way without losing courage in any difficulty where a man submits to a difficulty. Such a woman stands as a lone warrior.
Rupa of Varsha Adalja novel ‘Ansar’ could win her own self after initial cries. After many years Varsha Adalja portrayed the women characters and showed their innate strength in ‘Cross Road’ and in parallel showed ugly picture of women exploitation. A woman crushed under the medieval system is also found here as well as the woman who stands against may with her sickle. All three novels of Ravindra Parekh novels directly touch women's problems. Kanchanba of Bindu Bhatt novel ‘Akhepatar’ shows a completely new and healthy woman picture. Even though every thing’s gone, become a rape victim, she survives for children and later on gives birth to a child. This woman who does not know whether the child is the result of her husband’s love or the rape she suffered, does not kill the new born. She shines with her own light and firmly stands against the problems of the society and family members.
In the last 25-30 years the novelist Dhruv Bhatt brings the readers back to the form but heroines of his fiction seem to belong in one category only whether she is Aval of ‘Samudrantike’, or Sansai of ‘Akupar’. They seem normal as well as distinguished ones. All of them are superior to males. They turn heroes to them and their worlds. They seem to be perennial. They have concern with contemporary issues but she does not anywhere seem to be like us and so there is no any meaning to talk about them in reference to changing pictures of women.
Till 1960-70 in the society for the troubles and problems the woman herself was more responsible than man and hence such a picture too is found in literature. Gradually the common families broke up, women got education, superiority of mother in law and paternal sisters came down and after this a woman’s free image came into fiction. What a tragedy that the psyche the male dominated society shaped became a great obstacle to her!
Woman writer often becomes superior to her male counterpart in expressing the finer domestic life sensibilities, complex social relationship, and understanding the mind and soul of women. It can be said that they gave more justice to the problems of teasing, rapes, mean comments, cheap fun, beating by family members, and extra-marital affairs and that way of exposing writhing pains they have.
Ram Mori, and Abhimanyu Acharya’s stories are being written in the second decade of the 21st Century. If we accept the fact that a woman is living with two opposite extremes in the same time frame, we would be able to accept the picture of the woman with two ends.
References:
- Shatrupa : Sharifa Vijaliwala
- Sahitya : Samajano Aayano - Minal Dave.