Tuesday 24 April 2012

between the lines


woman, local train, between bandra and cst, mumbai, april 2012
just a theory:

looking at middle class and gender woman have a good position. equal position. you see them in a lot of high positions, even or above all politics are overflown with woman. why? that is a different question. but it is there.

they are going to work, taking the same public transport, earning the same money. are going home. a lot of them are actually not married by the time they are in there mid twenties, they are self confident. they are dressing modern. some of them, not all. depends. individually assigned.

a good female movement.

leg, local train, between bandra and cst, mumbai, april 2012
wall, local train, between bandra and cst, mumbai, april 2012

the strange thing is. getting to know them on a social scale, watching their life and they way they are treated, judges messured there they have a very backward position. not being able to stand up for their opinion going out alone and above all not thinking is described to them.

last week i met a journlaist. he was helping me with one project. we talked. in the bus. on my way to the train station. topic was woman, relationships, love.

'i can understand parents. they are just worried about woman having relationships before marriage. just imagine when the parents are away, or whatever. a lot of things can happen. and the parents just want to secure them.'

he is married, has a wife, a child. works with woman, works with me. talks with me.

tradition sometimes overtakes own thinking process. being cought up in a certain lifestyle certain ideas are not being reasked, to self explanative and intergrated are those ideas.

' i understand but do you not think woman can think for themselves, make decision about their life. do you not think they wanna have a career, instead of family.'

a bit of trust maybe in the fact that people can use their brain.

but i understand. it is not in a mean way. it is just being scared, worried. things such as parents have to do. parents not guys maybe.

view1, local train, between bandra and cst, mumbai, april 2012
view2, local train, between bandra and cst, mumbai, april 2012
view3, local train, between bandra and cst, mumbai, april 2012
woman are annoyed about it. certainly. above all because of the discrepancy. how many i do not know. a lot of them i talk to, in the train, bus. lot of spaces, but just woman who wanna talk to me and can. so just a selection. i know.

a girl, talked to me, in the train, about different compartents, about man not being able to not touch them on their body parts when they come to close. the idea that complains are useless and the fact that it is ok as it is. giving up.

meeting woman in the public is always interesting. guys always talk with me when they eet me. they have no interested in considering your interest, they are not aware of privacy. they love their picture being taken. they ask for it. thats a generalisation. i know.

the woman i meet are most of them quiet, they look, smile, some of them talk. if it comes up with cameras they run away.

girl, local train, between bandra and cst, mumbai, april 2012
girl, local train, between bandra and cst, mumbai, april 2012
in germany at the end of the 60s till the end of the 80s they were fighting. for equality in work, in privacy. the right to decide what they want. a log fight.

i always took equality for granted, got a bit bored in my course talking about it. now i understand. it was a fight. a brave fight, above all because it was ok, before. but not ideal.

women departments, family members protecting them, man giving them a lift home is ok. a good compromise, way out of making change. old establishments are staying, just niches got established for resting moments.

still the woman are annoyed, but it is ok, at least we have women departments.

train, local train, between bandra and cst, mumbai, april 2012


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