“One is not born a woman but becomes one” – Simone de Beauvoir What do you understand by this statement, keeping the situations faced by women in past, in mind? Do you agree? Do you think that this ...
The frequency of earthquakes in the subcontinent indeed raises concerns about preparedness of the country to mitigate their toll. Even as much is being done, many gaps remain. Infrastructure: Much of India's infrastructure, particularly in its rural areas, was not built to withstand seismic activityRead more
The frequency of earthquakes in the subcontinent indeed raises concerns about preparedness of the country to mitigate their toll. Even as much is being done, many gaps remain.
Infrastructure: Much of India’s infrastructure, particularly in its rural areas, was not built to withstand seismic activity. Ensuring that older buildings can be retrofitted and new constructions adhere to earthquake-resistant codes would be the biggest challenge ahead.
Urban Planning: Rapid Urbanization in the absence of proper planning enhances the risk. High population density and unplanned settlement in seismic zones enhance vulnerability.
Early Warning Systems: Early warning systems in India are far from satisfactory. Though it has improved over time, timely dissemination of information and effective channels of communication become very important for reducing casualties.
Public Awareness: The public is not aware and sensitized about earthquake preparedness. Periodic drills, information campaigns amongst people, and community participation would help enhance response at the time of emergency.
Policy and Implementation: The policies need to be more robust, and their implementation has to be stricter. This will help a lot in building preparedness toward facing any future eventuality through coordination between different agencies of the government with timely availability of resources and strict adherence to the safety regulations.
Inbuilt efficiency of the emergency response mechanisms through trained personnel and adequate resources is necessary in itself for immediate relief and recovery efforts post-disaster.
Such gaps should be appropriately taken on board to significantly improve the resilience of India to earthquakes, resulting in saved lives and economic losses.
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Simon De Beauvoir was a French philosopher and feminist. Beauvoir mentions this quote in her Magnum Opus book 'The 'Second Sex' published in 1949. The work discusses the myriad of women-centric issues, inspiring equality and liberation of women from the shackles of economic dependency. Beauvoir tracRead more
Simon De Beauvoir was a French philosopher and feminist. Beauvoir mentions this quote in her Magnum Opus book ‘The ‘Second Sex’ published in 1949. The work discusses the myriad of women-centric issues, inspiring equality and liberation of women from the shackles of economic dependency.
See lessBeauvoir traces the status of women from beginning till modern times through the methods of historical materialism and research. This refers to the influence of social and economic conditions on shaping the history and fortunes of women. The statement stands as the most historic argument for challenging the patriarchal code. By claiming “One is not born a woman; one becomes a woman, she argues that a woman is not born; she is gradually shaped by social and cultural factors. Her upbringing in certain parameters leads her to the process of ‘becoming’ a woman. Women acquire their roles from men and other members of society; biology has no role in this. Hence, womanhood is something that is attained by a woman rather than something innate.
Beauvior’s stance also contributes to gender studies in questioning the construction of gender identity. The main issue lies in the social and physiological conditioning of women, which psychologically forces her to subscribe to her assigned ‘role’ as a woman.
Physiological and social conditioning, both classical and operant, leads to changes in behavioural alterations in one’s identity. A woman is conditioned by her physiology, by virtue of her ability to bear children and by society. This is determined by conglomeration of external and internal agents, such as her father and teacher, in her milieu. She is also conditioned by societal expectations, rules, and treatment by institutions in both favorable and unfavorable ways. The expectations of society, regulations, and the favorable and negative treatment she receives from institutional or structural entities all condition her. This obligation leads to internalization of patriarchy by women further enhancing female subjugation. In present times, where women have united in raising their voice against all kinds of patriarchal-structural violences, it stands as a relevant argument to decipher the process of women’s identity formation, who are now dismantling the traditional norms and standards.