THE DARK SIDE OF FEMINISM

A project report by-

Frienz and CO. (FYBAF)

Group Members.
 Sahil Mir R.N.- 28
 Ishu Asrani R.N.- 6
 Ashish Nagdev R.N.- 30
 Anish Lund R.N.- 24
 Dipin Lokwani R.N.- 23

Department:
FYBAF 2019-20

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 Preface

As a part of our today’s session and to deepen the knowledge

about the evil side of feminism, we have prepared a project report
on the following.
The reason we chose this topic was to inculcate and revert the
youngsters some specific information which may help someone of
you.
The following project will help you with some information
regarding feminism. As we all know, in today’s society women
empowerment is touching miles… but at the same time some of
them uses the concept of feminism for their own righteousness
which is to all extent similar to commit a crime

By Sahil Mir
(Frienz & CO.)

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I , SAHIL MIR , on behalf of the whole team “Frienz And CO.” very
warmly thanks our RESPECTED AND BELOVED Ma’am and THIS
WONDERFUL COLLEGE OF “OURS” , for giving us all this graceful
opportunity which will help us all overcome our own restrictions
and boost our morale as well as self-confidence for a better,
responsible, smart as well as an accountable personality in future,
by allotting us all with some or the other activities like today’s
“project and presentation”. I (WE) will ensure you that this
opportunity will not be wasted. THANKS ONCE AGAIN FOR
PROVIDING US ALL THIS ACTIVITY.

-By Sahil Mir

Group Leader
(Frienz And CO.)

What is Feminism?
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  Feminism is basically a set of ideologies, social movements as
well as political movements which are known for sharing a common
motive i.e. to create, believe as well as achieve equal economic,
cultural, social, political, personal and professional social rights and
authorities for women as enjoyed by men from all over the globe.
Feminism incorporates the position that societies prioritize the
male point of view and that women are treated unfairly within this
society.
Some forms of feminism have been harmful in that they have
built an ideological foundation that is antimale. Apparently,
misogyny is reprehensible and evil but misandry is virtuous and
laudable. In the world of academic feminism, the knowledge of
venerable scientific fields is suspect if not incomplete because men
have been the major contributors in these fields.

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The Two Sides of Feminism:
True Feminism:
The word “Feminism” was coming into existence when the
repressed and abused women came out together to fight for their
equal rights and get the same amount of respect and dignity within
our society. Although, some people may consider it as women taking
advantage of their weakness and proving the society as being
unequal to them. However, there is a fair amount of truth which
shows that this is actually a part of our reality which most people
would refrain from accepting. This brings us to the true side of
Feminism which helps those affected women to gain back what they
been denied.

Dark Feminism:
Being a Feminist is not a sin, however, using it for your own
selfish reasons against innocent people is one of the dark effects of
feminism. This dark side of feminism could vary in different forms
which could even lean towards crime.
To inculcate ourselves more about the effects of the dark side
of a great movement of gender equality, let us dive deep into the
roots of its existence.
Feminism comes with its own set of positives and negatives
effects on the society. While the positives have always been a
highlight of this great movement, some people fail to see the dark
side of it.
So, these are listed some of the negative effects which has
impacted our society.
 Feminism is often considered an influence of western culture.

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 Feminism has majorly supported the women of industrial areas,
spreading to rural areas gradually.
 Some women have gained inappropriate forwardness in the
society making them undermine the traditional values, and
power of women’s rights.
 Child-birth has suffered as a result of women’s employment or
career interest. Women have even incorporated various habits
from the society like smoking, alcohol consumption, etc because
of which the health issues with child-bearing capacity of women
have been affected. Lack of education is the biggest hindrance in
this aspect.
 It has led to a mixed understanding of segregating men and
women, conforming to the thought of men being dominant in the
society.
 It has hampered the traditional ways of living in families,
affecting women personally. It may be considered that some
families have suffered or are suffering chaos in their handling and
management because of equal rights for men and women and
the children stand as sufferers.

Feminism was indeed needed in a developing country like ours. It has

surely worked positively for the women’s rights. However, some
examples have shown its misuse as well. Thus, legislation needs to
play its critical role in the right aspect.

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Misuse of Feminism:

Below are some of the common examples where the concept

of “Gender-Equality” also known as “Feminism” taking place in
everyday life.

 Women these days demand seats. Its harsh when men (old,
tired) have to stand, and women get to sit, just because they
are women. It is a privilege not a right.
 Women using feminism to hate men. Some women turn
feminists after a bad breakup/ such incident. In this phase,
some turn to man hating, and construe it with twisted
notions of feminism. That, is a dangerous thing.

 Misuse of Laws, which are there for the betterment of women.

There are many laws for the betterment of women, which
slightly tend to be on the side of women. especially rape laws,
dowry laws, and such. Many women, and am very ashamed to
say this, misuse these. That is a step back for all the feminists.
Men are supposed to be the helping hands in this mission, but
events like these, turn them against feminists, and feminism.

 By hating feminism. Many women claim to hate feminism and

feminists, as if that is the cool thing to do. All are entitled to
have their opinions, but if your opinion means the genders are
not equal, then nope.
 Using feminism only when it suits them.

These are the kind of double faces pseudo feminists.

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 Characteristics:
Hardcore feminist. Believes in Equality, but:
o Loves a guy, doesn't ask him out. Because, hey, the
man should ask. Equality? What? Where?
o He should pay. Should I pay? No. Nada. Zilch.
o He wears Pink. He is Gayyyy. <Equality of gender, men
should wear whatever they feel like>
o Dragging your boyfriend just to carry the shopping
bag, and his credit card too, when you are equally
strong financially.

 Using Feminism to spread their Propaganda:

        I see people exclaiming, "Oh! You are a feminist, are

you against make-up? Waxing and Grooming?"
People forget the basic funda, that feminism is all about
choice. The freedom to choose. If you love make-up? Sure,
go for it. But just because society dictates norms, you
needn't follow it.

 Last, but not the least, by not knowing about Feminism.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Having half

-baked knowledge about feminism, and going gaga
for/against it, doesn't make sense. Study it, learn about it,
and then, you can hate it.

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Misuse of Women- Protecting Laws:

Over the last 60 years many policies have been instituted in the
country in the name of women’s liberation and empowerment.
Special laws have been passed specifically in the name of women’s
protection such as IPC Section 498A (law against marital cruelty and
dowry harassment) and
Domestic Violence Law.
Unfortunately, there are no
safeguards to prevent misuse of
these protective provisions.
These “women-protection laws”,
which are in essence wife-
protection laws, assume that
wives are always honest victims
and would never jeopardize their
own family life by making false claims of abuse. The draconian law,
IPC Section 498A, in particular, allows the arrest of the husband and
his male and female relatives, irrespective of their age, marital status
or even health condition, solely on the basis of allegations of a wife,
without any evidence or investigation.
Owing to this blind assumption and due to the absence of inherent
checks and balances to prevent misuse of the laws, many innocent
mothers-in-law, sisters-in-law and other female relatives of husbands
are arrested and harassed through long-drawn trials that last several
years.
Several authorities have noted that in close to 98% of cases filed
under Section 498A, the accusations are false and that the
complaints were only filed with ulterior motives.
Nevertheless, minor girls, pregnant women, married and unmarried
sisters, ailing mothers and even aged grandmothers have been sent

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behind bars and prosecuted based on mere allegations. Young
mothers are either torn away from their children or imprisoned
along with them leaving indelible scars on the minds of the mothers
and the children.
Many mothers and sisters are heart-broken to see their sons and
brothers lose their youth, their health, their jobs, all their earnings,
and sometimes even their lives, as they are mercilessly tortured by
their estranged wives, aided by lawyers, police and the judiciary.
Some women have ended their lives unable to bear the humiliation
of being accused and arrested, and the trauma of making endless
trips around the courts.
Noted activist Madhu Kishwar acknowledged that IPC Section 498A is
heavily misused, and that a significant proportion of individuals who
approach “Manushi” these days are mothers-in-law and husbands
who are falsely accused.
Renowned IPS officer Kiran Bedi admitted that many poor and
illiterate mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, who are falsely charged
under IPC Section 498A are languishing in prison every year.
The Supreme Court of India has labelled the misuse of IPC Section
498A as “legal terrorism”. The Delhi High Court recently stated that
IPC Section 498A is the most abused provision. The World Health
Organization, in its report on India clearly cited Section 498A as one
of the major reasons for the “Increasing Abuse of the Elderly in
India”.
Recently, the National Human Rights Commission noted that the
Tihar jail is overflowing with people falsely accused under dowry
cases. A look at the crime records shows that every 20 minutes an
innocent woman is arrested under IPC Section 498A.
In addition to penalizing innocent women, a large backlog of false
cases in our highly corrupt and inefficient legal system prevents
genuine victims of abuse from obtaining justice. Through IPC Section
498A the police and the legal fraternity are protecting those women
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who indulge in perjury, blackmail, extortion and harassment of their
husbands and in-laws.
Despite having such compelling evidence that more harm than good
is being done to women through IPC Section 498A, none of the
leading women’s organizations, law makers nor the Ministry for
Women and Child Welfare have taken any measures to arrest misuse
of this law.
All the warnings, requests, recommendations and demands from
several quarters to amend IPC Section 498A have fallen on deaf ears.
Even before fixing the flaws in IPC Section 498A the Domestic
Violence Law was introduced in 2006 with similar loopholes and
without public discussion. Misuse of the Domestic Violence law
began very soon after its introduction, and under its provisions a
number of elderly mothers-in-law have been thrown out of their
own homes by their daughters-in-law.

It is customary for women’s

organizations to trivialize the extent of
misuse of these laws by women and to
exaggerate statistics of dowry
harassment, dowry death and domestic
abuse. It is also customary for women’s
rights activists to deny domestic abuse
against our fathers, brothers and sons.
However, recent data from the National
Crime Bureau indicates that nearly twice
as many married men, compared to
married women, commit suicide every
year, unable to withstand verbal, emotional, economic and physical
abuse and legal harassment. While every death of a young married
woman is converted into a case of dowry death leading to immediate
arrest of the husband and in-laws, large-scale suicides of men do not
cause any outrage in the society.
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Is the pain of a mother who lost a son to domestic abuse or legal
terrorism any less than that of a mother who lost a daughter? How
many more mothers and sisters should lose their sons and brothers
before measures are taken to alleviate their sufferings?
Aren’t mothers and sisters’ women? Don’t they deserve a life of
dignity and respect? Does penalizing innocent mothers and sisters
under false cases bring justice to genuinely abused women? Does
women’s empowerment mean destroying family harmony and
creating a fatherless society?
Is protection of women’s rights synonymous with gross violation of
basic human rights? Is legal terrorism the solution to all women’s
problems?
These are some questions that we should ask the public, women’s
organizations, police, legal fraternity, bureaucrats and politicians in
order to grasp the true line which separates the truth of women
equality from the criminalization and misuse of same women rights.

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Conclusion:
Feminism, its loudest proponents vow, is about fighting for equality.
The man-hating label is either a smear or a misunderstanding. Yet a
lot of feminist rhetoric today does cross the line from attacks on
sexism into attacks on men, with a strong focus on personal
behaviour: the way they talk, the way they approach relationships,
even the way they sit on public transit. Male faults are stated as
sweeping condemnations; objecting to such generalizations is taken
as a sign of complicity. This gender antagonism does nothing to
advance the unfinished business of equality.

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