COVID-19 and Vaccine Hesitancy in India

 

I am writing this while the potential danger of the third wave of COVID-19 is looming over our heads with the news of the OMICRON variant. We all felt the impact of this pandemic at a very personal level during the second wave of COVID-19 in India. I don’t want to recall the deadly pictures of that time as it refreshes the painful memories of the loss of our loved ones and shared grief.

During the second wave, much blame was put on the government policies that resulted in the low level of vaccination of adults especially in the age group of 18-45 years. However, soon afterward much attention and effort were diverted to ensure the wide coverage of the population belonging to this age group. Still, a large number of people are not vaccinated in India even though it is free of cost.  We all know someone or another person who does not wish to take the jab. What are possible reasons for hesitation of people to go for vaccination even when it is available free of cost?

Herein I am going to share the three cases of persons (X, Y, Z) who do not wish to get themselves vaccinated and the reasons they attribute to it.

The first one, X, is a research scholar at a Central University in Delhi. He is approximately 30 years old and belongs to a middle-class family. He stays in a university hostel and has his family living in Bihar. He shared with me that he does not want to take the jab because he was never vaccinated against any disease since his childhood. He was unsure how his body and immune system would respond to the COVID vaccine. He told me that he would not require to take the jab if most of the people were vaccinated, (pun intended).

The second one, Y, is a sexagenarian who works as a sweeper in my locality in Delhi. She confided in me that she was not going to take the vaccine even if the government makes it mandatory. As per her, she has already seen her lifetime and if it is time for her to die, she will happily accept it as her fate or the god’s calling. She believes that it is the conspiracy of the government and big companies to gain profit from the situation and eliminate the poor. She shared that many poor people lost their lives and their family members were not even given the chance to visit in the hospital and perform their last rites. She believed that it was a big organ trafficking business run by the hospitals. As no one cares for the lives of poor in this country.

The third case, Z, is my friend's father and works in a PSU in Rajasthan. He does not want to take the vaccine shot as he believes it is ineffective and one may die even after taking the shot. He thinks that there is a government conspiracy, He does not support the central government and Prime Minister. So, to mark his resistance, he will not take the jab. Moreover, his wife recovered from COVID during the second wave and he believes that all their family members have acquired immunity against the COVID virus now.

Safety concerns, lack of trust, belief in conspiracy theories, and political issues are some of the reasons that contribute to the vaccine hesitancy in India. These are real-life cases that I came across. And I am sure you might also be knowing such persons who hesitate to take the vaccine shot. Have you taken the jab, if not WHY? I would like to read your stories and reflections on this. Also do the factors of caste, class, age, gender, religion, ethnicity, and so on have any effect on this vaccine hesitancy behavior? Keep reading my blog to know the answer.

 

 

मन से आजाद ‘महिला’..?

 

 

स्वतंत्रता जो प्रत्येक प्राणी मात्र का प्राकृतिक अधिकार है, और मानव के लिए उतना ही आवश्यक है जितना कोयल के लिए मधुर ध्वनि। जैसे व्यक्तित्व के विकास के लिए स्वतंत्रता अति आवश्यक है, ठीक वैसे  मनुष्यता-विकास के लिए मनुष्यों का सार्वभौमिक स्वतंत्र होना अत्यंत आवश्यक है। सार्वभौमिक स्वतंत्रा से आशय मात्र इतना है कि “एक मनुष्य दूसरे मनुष्य से  लिंग विशेष,भाषा, स्वरूप  का होने के नाते प्रतिबंधित न किया करे, कोई भी मनुष्य अपने इक्छा और सामर्थ के अनुरूप अपने विशिष्टता को प्राप्त कर सके  और ऐसा करने हेतु उसे किसी के द्वारा प्रतिबंधित न किया जाए”। पुरुषवादी समाज ने महिलाओं के साथ सदैव द्वितीयक व्यवहार किया तथा उनके शरीर पर नियंत्रण के साथ ही महिलाओं के मन को भी स्क्छंद नहीं रहने दिया। आज हमने ज्ञान-विज्ञान के क्षेत्र में कुछ तरक्की करके यह मान लिया है कि हम विकसित समाज हो गए हैं, वास्तव में महिला के सर्वांगीण विकास बिना अब तक का विकास अपूर्ण है 

अंतरराष्ट्रिय महिला दिवस पर महिला विकास और प्राप्त होने वाले अवसरो पर पुनः मंथन अत्यंत आवश्यक है। और ये प्रश्नीय है कि क्या कागजों और क़ानूनों में वर्णित सारे अधिकार महिलाओं को सहजतता से प्राप्त हैं ? यदि है भी तो कितने प्रतिशत महिलाओं को ? इससे भी अहम प्रश्न यह है कि उनके लिए विशेष कानून या विशेष अधिकार देने कि आवश्यता ही क्यों पड़ी ? तो अहमतः हमें पुरुष समाज ही दोषी दिखेगा जो विचारणीय है।  जॉन स्टुआर्ट मिल कहते हैं कि “स्त्रीयों की पराधीनता ऐसी विश्वजनीन प्रथा बन गई है कि जब कहीं स्त्री के वर्चस्व का कोई संकेत मिलता है तो वह अस्वाभाविक प्रतीत होता है।            

स्वतंत्रता हेतु मौलिक अधिकारों की  कानूनी रूप से प्राप्ति होते हुए भी  समाज का आधा भाग हमेसा से द्वयम दर्जे का ही अधिकारी रहा है चाहे वो प्राचीन काल हो या आज की 21 वीं शदी। न सिर्फ भारत बल्कि दुनियां के हर हिस्से में यह अपराध हो रहा है । कई शताब्दी बाद भी अरस्तू का महिलाओं को  संपत्ति मानना,स्त्री दास है और वह पुरुषों के अधीन रहे, यह विचार आज भी जीवंत देखने को मिलता है। मध्य एसिया में आज भी महिलाओं के साथ कैसा व्यवहार हो रहा है ये सब जानते हैं वहाँ आज भी पति के इजाजत के बिना कोई भी स्त्री घर के बाहर नहीं जा सकती अधिकार तो दूर की बात है। आज भी हमारे देश में यह सोच जिंदा है कि ‘बेटियों को दूसरे के घर जाना है वो दूसरे की अमानता हैं’अब एक बात समझ में नहीं आती कि एक ही माता-पिता के दो संतानों में एक उनका अपना दूसरी पराई कैसे हो गई। इस तरह की सोच बच्चियों के मन में आरंभ से ही अनेक कुन्ठाओं को जन्म देता है। उत्तर आधुनिक युग होने के बाद भी आज स्त्री कुटुंब से लेकर बाजार तक कहीं भी सुरक्षित नहीं हैं यही हमारे समाज की उपलब्धि है। जीवन से जुड़े प्रत्येक स्थान पर उनके साथ भेद- भाव किया जाता है चाहे वो माँ-बाप का घर हो या विद्यालय या दफ्तर हो या फिर शादी के बाद पति का घर। आज भी महिलाओं को सिर्फ संवैधानिक समानता प्राप्त हुई है सामाजिक और धार्मिक नहीं। समाज में महिलाओं के मानवअधिकारों का हनन सिर्फ हिंसा के माध्यम से ही नहीं किया जाता वरन मानसिक प्रताड़ना और भेदभाव के माध्यम से भी उनके साथ हिंसा होता रहता है। महिलाओं के साथ भेदभाव पर जब वे  प्रतिरोध करती हैं तो उनको समझा दिया जाता है कि ऐसा इसलिए है कि तुम लड़की हो और वो लड़का है, ‘तुम स्त्री हो इसलिए चुप रहो’ धीरे-धीरे यह प्रतिरोध दबा दिया जाता है और स्त्री उसे ही अपनी किस्मत मान लेती हैं । एक मनुष्य से स्त्री बनने का सफर यातना, दमन, भेदभाव, शोषण, परतंत्रता, हिंसा से भरा होता है ।

 ‘महिलाएं पैदा नहीं होतीं हैं, बल्कि बनाई जाती है’ साइमन द बुआ ने सेकेंड सेक्स पुस्तक से जनमानस में क्रांतिक विचार पैदा करते हैं। स्तर दर स्तर  महिलाएं सामाजिक  हिंसाओं से घिरी हुई हैं  चाहे वो निजी जीवन हो या सामाजिक, अंतर बस इतना है कि निजी जीवन से जुड़ीं समस्याएँ लोग देख नहीं पाते, क्योंकि चेहरे पर झूठी मुस्कान रखना महिलाओं की मजबूरी बन गई है। महिलाओं के साथ होने वाले हिंसा में न सिर्फ पुरुष बल्कि महिलाओं का भी उतना ही योगदान रहता है जिसमे सौतेली माँ, सास, जेठानी और ननद जैसे किरदार अहम रोल रखते हैं। इसके बाद सौतेला पिता, पति और ससुर का नंबर आता है ये सब घरेलू हिंसा के स्वरूप हैं।

“अहमदाबाद की आयशा” इन यतनाओं की ज्वलंत उदाहरण है। क्यों आयशा घर में पिटे, क्यों आयशा माइके से पैसे लाकर दे, क्यों आयशा पति के पास रहने के लिए मिन्नते करे, क्यों आयशा आत्महत्या करे, क्यों आयशा अपने अंत का प्रमाण दे और क्यों आयशा ही चरित्रहीन बनाई जाए, इन सब का जिम्मेदार कौन है ? 

यद्यपि की भारतीय महिलाओं को सुरक्षा प्रदान करने और उनके लिए स्वास्थ्य वातावरण के निर्माण के लिए तमाम कानून बनाए गए हैं उनमें मानव तस्करी अधिनियम 1956, दहेज प्रतिषेध अधिनियम 1961, कुटुंब न्यायालय अधिनियम 1984, महिलाओं का अशिष्ट रूपण प्रतिषेध अधिनियम, बाल विवाह प्रतिषेध अधिनियम, घरेलू हिंसा से महिलाओं का संरक्षण अधिनियम, कार्य स्थल पर महिलाओं के साथ लैंगिक उत्पीड़न प्रतिषेध अधिनियम आदि प्रमुख हैं।  इसके बाद भी भारत में हर दिन महिलाओं के साथ हिंसा होता रहता है ।समाज में कुछ महिलाओं के आगे बढ़ने से पूरा महिला समाज आगे नहीं बढ़ जाता, समूचे मानव समाज की यह ज़िम्मेदारी है कि वे महिलाओं को सम्पूर्ण विकास करने और  पूर्ण क्षमता का उपयोग कर सकने के काबिल बनने में उनकी मदत करे। स्त्री सशक्तिकरण के लिए नए सिरे से समूचे संसार में एक आंदोलन की आवश्यकता है, ताकि महिला अपने स्वतंत्र मन से दुनियां को अपने रचनात्मक कार्य, ज्ञान, शक्ति, संघर्ष और सृजनात्मकता से सिंचित करें । विषम परिस्थितियों के उपरांत महिलाएं आज सेना से लेकर चांद तारों तक का सफर तय कर रही हैं । आज भी महिलाओं के समक्ष शिक्षा, स्वास्थ्य, सुरक्षा, समानता, स्वतंत्रता जैसे परंपरागत चुनौतियाँ हैं। इसके साथ ही इस  युग में महिलाओं की प्रमुख समस्या-महिला स्मिता और सामाजिक संघर्ष की है। सामाजिक समानता हो अथवा धार्मिक समानता सभी स्थानों पर महिलाओं को समानता की आवश्यकता है। महिला मन स्वतंत्र रहेगा तो विश्व नए उचाइयों को प्राप्त कर सकेगा। 

लेखक परिचय :

1.  अम्बुज शुक्ल (शोधार्थी),  म. गा. अ. हिंदी विश्वविद्यालय, वर्धा, महाराष्ट्र

2.  स्तुति धर (लेखक), म. गा. अ. हिंदी विश्वविद्यालय, वर्धा, महाराष्ट्र

3.  डॉ. अरुण कुमार (युवा वैज्ञानिक), म. गा. अ. हिंदी विश्वविद्यालय, वर्धा, महाराष्ट्र

 

Purpose of Education

 

Recently I received my Ph.D. degree in convocation ceremony. But I could not feel any kind of emotion while I was on the stage receiving the degree certificate. The act lasted just for a moment and it was nothing closer to what I dreamed for years. Obviously the congratulatory messages from the family and friends later on helped to sink in the special feeling of big achievement.

On this occasion, I could not help but wonder that I had spent almost 27 years (from age 3 to 30) receiving formal education in institutional settings ranging from schools, college and later on university. I had spent a major part of my life pursuing my education. But this brings us to the question - what is the purpose of education in an individual’s life? Why spend so much time on something? A question I was asked many times by my friends and relatives during my Ph.D. years was that “how long will you keep studying?” If only I had a definite answer to that.

Therefore in this blog, I attempt to enlist the purposes or final outcomes of education as understood in our society.

The first purpose of education as we listen growing up is to secure a job in our competitive world. This is to ensure that we become a functional part of this capitalist economic system. The most famous saying I heard during childhood is “padhoge likhoge banoge nawaab, kheloge kudooge hoge kharab” (meaning you will prosper if you study but you will be spoilt if you waste your time playing). Students are advised to pursue certain kind of courses which are in high demand in market to ensure their employability. I had seen some of my friends going for a MBA degree from IIMs after doing B.Tech. from IITs just to fit in the profile of a suitable candidate for marketplace. So the main purpose of education as understood generally is to get an employment and if you fail to get one then your education is waste. But if we look around the scenario is that even Ph.D.s cannot find the well deserving jobs (in terms of their qualification). The sad reality is that many Ph.D. apply for a government job of Class IV employee. This is not to undermine any job but to depict the sorry state of affairs in our country when our education system and employment opportunities are not in sync.

The second purpose of education is believed to get a decent rishta or matrimonial alliance (marital offer in case of arrange marriage set up). Obviously no one (girl/boy) would prefer to marry an illiterate person. Boys are encouraged to study so that they secure a job as soon as possible as it is a primary condition to fulfill in order to get married. One of my friend (man) wished to get married since his graduation days but his wish still remain unfulfilled as he could not get a decent job. It is considered necessary for men to be able to become financially sufficient before getting married.

But in case of girls this focus on education for marriage purpose becomes paradoxical as they are encouraged to get just a graduation or at most post-graduation degree in order to become eligible for matrimony. Higher education for girls beyond this is frowned upon as families find it difficult to find suitable grooms who are equally educated as their daughters. Women pursuing or completed higher education are seen as too much "opiniated" and "career oriented". So education up to a certain level is encouraged but beyond that it becomes a abomination.

From above discussion we see that purpose of education is often linked or associated with an individual’s job and marriage prospects. But is this the only purpose of education in our lives? The main purpose of education is to develop the ability of critical thinking in my viewpoint.  

I return to the original question that why do we need education? Obviously to gain knowledge but then the next question comes up, i.e. how do we intend to use this acquired knowledge in our day to day life- in our professional and personal lives? In my personal viewpoint learning is a life-long process and the entire world is our school. The process of learning is not limited to just formalized institutions but it extends beyond that and it continues as long as one has the desire to learn in the pursuit of one's dreams and hopes. 

PS: see this article to know more about purpose of education. 

https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/whats-purpose-education-public-doesnt-agree-answer

 

 

 

 

 

Understanding the Concept of Father

Generally the notion of “biological” father is associated with understanding the concept of father in a layman’s term. But Kinship studies in Social Anthropology makes a distinction between the biological father (Genitor) and sociological father (Pater). I found this distinction interesting as Todas (a tribe of Nilgiri Hills which practices polyandry) has the prevalence of ceremonial rituals to determine the sociological father of unborn child. The biological father of the child may be different from the socially accepted father of the child. In our own society we have the concept of adoption wherein the society acknowledges and provides the same status to the adopted child even if he/she is not biologically related to the adopting parents. So we see that there might by distinction between genitor and pater.

Recently I was listening to a Ted talk episode on YouTube by Otto Kelly. He pointed out that most of the sociological problems which are prevalent in the present society like drug abuse, delinquency, alcoholism, child abuse, rape and violence, teenage pregnancy etc. can be attributed to the absence of strong father figure in an individual’s early life. His main observation was that the childhood wounds of absence of fathers either physically or emotionally or both may have long term impacts on the overall development of the individual. He called upon the men to take up the charge and fulfill their responsibility of committed father to their daughters and sons.

But I was wondering what happens in case of children coming from separated/ divorced/ widow parents? Renuka Sahane in an episode of Behensplaining on the release of her recent movie Tribhanga (available on Netflix) spoke how she had to face discrimination growing up as she was coming from a separated family. Other children refrained from playing with her and she was looked down as if touching her would lead to break in their own families. This is important to note as our society treats these children (coming from divorced/ single parents) differently and a stigma (using Goffman's term) is attached to these children.   

Bollywood has celebrated the notion of ideal families (movies like Hum Sath Sath Hain) but Tribhanga tries to explore the so called “flawed” families wherein it depicts the lives of three generation of women in search of their aspirations and dreams. The issue of absence of father in one's life is highlighted through the character of Anuradha (played by Kajol). She always blames her mother Nayantara for the absence of her father. Later on Nayan’s second husband starts physically abusing her daughter (Kajol) and the movie shows its ramifications for Kajol as well as the entire family. Kajol’s daughter Masha (played by Mithila) does not want to repeat the “mistakes” of her mother as well grandmother and settles in a traditional family wherein she even goes for sex detection of her unborn child in order to ensure that the baby is not a girl.

I have used the example of of Bollywood movie here but real life situation is not very different. Young children especially the girls face lots of challenges in the absence of father in our society. This is not to undermine the role of mothers in child rearing and upbringing. But to also acknowledge the role of father in a child’s life. 

Role of Education for Gender Inclusive Society

Yesterday I listened to a lecture by an eminent professor on the need of gender inclusive education so that children can be sensitized about gender from early age. Personally I did not had a clear cut understanding of gender till my graduation. When I studied the paper Anthropology of Gender during Masters course then only I started thinking critically about the gender related issues prevalent around me. 

The Prof. spoke that gender is a very problematic concept. An individual is required to fill his/her/their gender in all kind of forms- whether belonging to male/female/transgender category. But gender is a social construct. What does it implies? Very often people confuse gender with sex but these are not synonym terms. Sex is biologically determined while Gender is socially determined. Gender being a “social construct” implies that social norms, values and ideas shape the understanding of the individual’s gender. From a very early age, girls are encouraged to participate in the household chores while boys are encouraged to play outside. Girls are cheered for developing the feminine traits of care and nurture. For example, I saw at a construction site, a girl of 5-6 years old kept carrying her baby brother (almost 6 months old) while her mother was busy in work. Another example is that a young boy (about 5-6 years old) is encouraged and sent along with his 11/12 years old sister in order to protect her. So from a very early age our children learn the gender roles and the differential treatment accorded to them by their parents and society. But what is considered ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ traits differ from one culture to another culture. The much celebrated study (Sex and Temperament in three Primitive Societies, 1935) by Margaret Mead (famous anthropologist) focusing on New Guinea native tribes-Mundugumor, Arapesh and Tchambuli pointed out that cultural conditioning determines the masculine and feminine characteristics. She observed that both male and females were gentle, responsive and cooperative among Arapesh. For Mundugumor, both males and females  were violent and aggressive. While among Tchambuli, woman were dominant, aggressive and managerial and men were less responsible and more emotionally dependent.

According to the Prof., children require an gender inclusive curriculum since the very early stage rather than having a separate paper on gender. It should be incorporated into the syllabus of every subject. This is a very welcome step. 

The main concern today is the safety of our girls/ women while we read the heart wrenching news of rapes (one rape reported every 16 minutes as per 2019 data in India). But safety concerns from whom? Obviously from the men or the boys of our own society. The very incidences of increasing rape cases indicate that we have failed as society to raise our boys/ men who understand and respect the opposite gender. This is a very important and the New Education Policy (NEP) also talks about the importance of gender inclusive education.

But is classroom education enough to build the moral character of our children who can realize the gender based discrimination and can raise their voice for making a just and equitable society? My argument is that children spend far more time in their homes and society as compared to the time spent in the  respective classroom. Home is the very first center of learning for the child. The role of education is limited in order to bring the gender awareness among the children if they witness the gender based violence and discrimination in their homes and in the society (in case of larger perspective). I have seen grown up well educated men (even having PhDs also in some of the cases) with no change in their way of thinking. These men do not loose a single point to make you realize that you are a woman and no matter what it is the responsibility of women to manage the household (not concerned with how well you are earning or managing your career). This stress on managing the household become more pronounced when the topic of ‘Who cooks the food’ surfaces up. This is a high time that we realize doing household chores is life surviving skills and irrespective of the gender every individual  should learn these. What we need is to have more gender inclusive spaces at homes, offices, and society so that learning of the concept “gender” is not limited to the classroom. For this we need to start from our very homes.

Woman Body as a Display Site of her Marital Status

 

I am writing this as netizens are currently busy applauding Dhanashree Verma who shared a video of her dance while adorning sindoor and red bangles. She is a famous YouTuber and recently tied the wedding knot with Indian cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal. She is being appreciated as she has choosen to amalagate the traditional values of Hindu culture with modern culture. I have nothing against her and I respect her personal choices. But my question is why our society judge women continuously and why this hullabaloo about her choice of wearing bangles and sindoor?

A woman is prepared for her marriage since her childhood in our society. But being married is not enough. A woman is also required to look married essentially in her day to day life. She is required to put sindoor, bindi, mangalsutra, bangles, and other accessories that mark her status of being married. All these are considered the symbols of her marriage and she needs to put all these in order to ensure her suhaag lives long. From her forehead, nose, ear, neck, fingers, wrists, ankle and toes she is adorned with jewelry and accessories to indicate her marital status. All these become the symbols or markers to convey her marital status to the society. Her body becomes a site of display of her marital status.

Are there any such accessories or markers worn by the male counterparts in our society to announce their marital status that are visible even from a distance? Well as expected the answer is a big NO. There are wedding rings but men are not necessarily required to put those in order to show their love and affection to their wives. They are also not required to wear these so that their life partners can be blessed with a long and lengthy lifespan.

Why this hypocrisy and why only women are subjected to the display of their marital status in our society? Many of my Hindu women friends who are married and they do not put neither sindoor nor bindi on their foreheads by their own choice in day to day life. But the point here is that they are living in a urban metro setting where this can be taken as a case of modernity. However not all of them are free to follow such kind of practices. One of my friend’s family (they stayed in NCR region) insisted her to put bindi and sindoor even though she was visiting the department. She did not like to put bindi while she was in the campus and used to remove it as soon as she entered the department. She was cautious to put it back while returning to her home.

My point is that it should be the choice of the woman just like the men. She should be free to decide whether she is willing to put all or any of these accessories or not rather than forced to do so by her husband or family or society in the larger context. On a personal note, I love to dress up and put bindi on my forehead on certain occasions but it is my personal choice. And I certainly do not wish to put bindi on my forehead each and every day.