Book Review on Dr. Shweta Mishra’s What is a Woman?

Another  bunch  of feministic views  and  quite  depressing face  of  a  woman’s  status  in  our  society.  Nothing  new! Having a 21stcentury heart and soul, the format might not impress   too   many   youths   since   it   is   a   collection   of communication  with  God  (invisible  being).  Yet,  it  has  the potential  to  outrage  the  dominated  feelings  of  a  woman full     of     hatred     towards     the     so-called  ‘patriarchal community’. It might sound like a disagreement, but it has been an era of discussion over the same issue and we are still  to  reach  a  conclusion.  Shall  we  start  looking  at  the problem from a different perspective?

Are there  no  men  suffering  through,  if  not  same  then  at least,  similar  circumstances?  Only  because  certain  cases are not reported frequently, doesn’t they exist? Why don’t we  ever  think  of  writing  about  them?  Why  should  always women   be   the   filling   element   for   all   the   scope   of sympathy?   On  the  fairer  side,  why   should  we  always authorize the weaker section to the women? Usually, men are called ‘DOG’, which literally means loyal and faithful. Why do we stage a woman as victim in all occasions? Is it a fair game on their part?

Getting    raped?    Oh,    it    is    very    common    nowadays. Restricting  girls  from  late  night  parties,  wearing  western attires   and   mingling   up   with   boys   is   an   ancient   and consistent  matter  of  debate  now.  However,  have  anyone ever thought about marital rape? Here too, mostly we can only  imagine  the  female  counterpart  as  the  victim.  Is  it necessary   for   all   kind   of   intimidation   to   come   from muscular power? Food for thought!

There   are   always   two   fronts   to   everything.   Shape   of anything   depends   on   how   you   look   and   react   to   it. Prostitution  is  a  profession  unless  it  is  forced.  Rape  a  girl to  push  her  to  become  a  sex  worker  should  be  subject  to brutal  punishment.  What  the  author  missed  is  raping  a prostitute is also a sin and subject to penance.

Commodifying women through electronic media as well as print media is a huge matter of concern. But some way or the   other,   knowingly   or   unknowingly,   men   has   also commodified  themselves.  Human  figure  and  materialistic benefits has become more valuable than human emotions and  ethics.  Hence,  the  commodification  of  human  body should  be  questioned  rather  than  limiting  the  focus  to advertising female physique.

The  book  revolves around the  violence  and  ignorance towards  women  which  is  very  often  done.  Yet,  the  author might  have  missed  out  the  achievements  by  our  ideal female figures around the globe. Since the book is titled as ‘What is a woman’, I believe it should have comprised of all the phases and parts, a woman bags in her lifetime.

Author’s Bio

Author  Dr.  Shweta  Mishra  ‘shawryaa’ is   an   Assistant Professor  of  English  at  F.A.A.  Government  PG  College, Mahmudabad, Uttar Pradesh. ‘What is a Woman’ is her first  move as  a  creative writer.  This  volume  appears  to  be a feminist statement which she claims to be just a human being  who  would  raise  her  voice  on  any  issue  concerning ones who are suffering, exploited and are wronged. She is also  a  poet  and  believes  that  as  a  thinker  it  would  be  a useless  existence  if  she  is  not  able  to  make  a  slight difference  in  this  world  towards  knowledge,  light  and purity.

Title: What is a Woman?
Author: Shweta Mishra ‘shawryaa’
Publisher: Authors press
Available: Amazon

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