Musician and Director of Gender, Justice and Diversity (GJD) and Preventing Violence Against Women Initiative at Brac Nobonita Chowdhury said that feminism is not matriarchy, nor is it about girls getting more, rather it is actually about equality.
She made the remarks at a session titled “Patriarchy vs Patriarchy” on the fourth and last day of Dhaka Lit Fest on Sunday.
The discussion began with actor Iresh Zaker who said: “As a man, my behaviour, expression, speech is developed from this society. That's why we have to have such a discussion. But I think this discussion is sad.”
Moderator Banya Mirza said: “For many years the term patriarchy has been used in Dhaka or other parts of the country. Maybe it is said to highlight the issue of male dominance. However, I would focus on father's dominance rather than male dominance.”
Maheen Sultan, visiting fellow and the head of the Gender Studies Cluster and the coordinator of the Centre for Gender and Social Transformation (CGST) at Brac Institute of Governance and Development, Brac University, said: “Patriarchy is a social ideology. For ages it has been established that men will take charge, that all authority in the family will be in their hands. Others will be under them. It is not a single structure created by any man, but the entire social system.”
“This doesn't mean that since a system like this has been going on that it should stay like this. We are social creatures, society is changing. So, these ideas also need to change,” she added.
Saeed Ahmed, chief executive officer of the Institute of Informatics Development, said: “If we talk about social reality, it becomes much easier to assert masculinity when there is a patriarchy. Being a man comes with many benefits. The reality is, men can do without pretending to be manly. They get all opportunities starting from land.”
Nobonita Chowdhury believes that politics is also strong in patriarchy. She said in this regard: “There is politics in the establishment of patriarchy. The biggest politics is who gets more.”
Taqbir Huda, Advocacy Lead for Brac's Gender Justice and Diversity Program, said: “Various steps have been taken to establish and protect the rights of women. But it cannot really touch the reality.”
“Even when more women have started coming out, it was revealed that 90% became victims of sexual harassment. In this regard, separate buses were assigned for women but with higher fare. Again, once the initiative was taken for preventive measures against harassment of women in the workplace. But how many offices have that arrangement?” he added.
Lawyer Tasaffy Hossain said: “I have seen from my childhood that men are considered as strong. That's why many girls want to be men when they are young. Because she thinks that if she is a man, she will have freedom, she will be able to move around as she wants.”
When the actress Azmeri Haque Badhon was asked about gender issues in casting couch in showbiz and pay disparity, she said: “Changes are seen on the surface but things are still the same inside. And not only girls but also boys are victims of casting couch. There is discrimination in women's pay, not just in media, but everywhere.”