‘Need to disempower patriarchy to let women be’

Hyderabad: Feminism today finds itself in a peculiar situation where the political class has overt hostility towards feminists, said Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All-India Progressive Women’s Association. Speaking on ‘Politics and Feminism in India’ at the opening session of Manthan Samvad, on Friday – the annual convention of Manthan, a platform of for public discourse – she suggested how feminists are often painted as antagonists by the mainstream political class.

“As a result, the social and political freedom of women today is in danger of vanishing...,” Krishnan said adding how, along with empowering and uplifting women, it is also important to “disempower patriarchy”. “Why do women always have to serve someone? Why can’t women just be without any agenda? That is an idea that the political class does not want to touch,” Krishnan said.

The Samvad started with a tribute to Ajay Gandhi, co-founder of Manthan, who passed away on September 23 while undergoing cancer treatment. Co-founder M Vikram, described Gandhi as a man who championed the cause of free speech and only came up with great ideas but worked extremely hard to ensure they were executed.