In the beginning, or even almost upto the middle of the previous century, women were bound everywhere in so many ways. The family rules were different for boys and girls. They were not allowed to freely even education, especially higher education. There was little say in marriage, almost negligible in jobs, certainly not in the higher jobs. They were largely economically dependent on men, who could use this as a leverage for licentiousness, while women were not allowed to travel outside their town. All these were common things in the fifties. Their work was largely to manage their home, bear and raise children and do household work, mainly cooking. The list is endless. Now they walk equal to men, shoulder to shoulder in every sphere, including military and space, spirituality and profession, home as well as outside, from education and sports to all other activities. Basically, women and men should have equal opportunity to grow and progress in every sphere and this is what is happening today already.
Through all this change, Nature is striving to evolve not just a society free of gender biases but actually genderless in the deepest sense. It means the emergence of a new type of humanity where the gender difference will be primarily psychological and spiritual, a masculine and feminine type that supports the play of the Divine in each other as complementary beings, one passive and ideative, intellectually creative, the other active and dynamic, vitally creative. What outer form this new type will take can only be spoken in symbolic ways, but one thing is certain. It will mean the gradual shrinking and dropping off of secondary sexual characteristics and the emergence of a new, beautiful and luminous body. It is too much into the future, so we can leave it here.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
