Date:         Thu, 05 Dec 96 14:50:52 EST
From: diditi <MITRA-AT-VM.TEMPLE.EDU>
Subject:      Re:  Harvard dowry conference -- some comments


i completely agree with rinita. the private-public dichotomy is a critial
issue for women's movement. for women, in an odd way there is no such
dichotomy. women work outside and inside. equating increasing employment in the
formal labor force with women's progress has been a major flaw of the
movement. this is especially a view developed within the western framework.
working outside the home is an important aspect but breaking the basic
expectations of patriarchy by challenging the notions of masculinity and
feminity and thus, challenging the role expectations of men and women is the
critical issue in the movement. unless, those expectations are challenged,
women will never progress.

i am sick and tired of meeting women on a daily basis from the subcontinent
who work outside, acquire education but when it comes to challenging those
assumptions they are clueless. they have assumed women's progress as going to
clubs, drinking, wearing western clothing, listening of western music and yet
still conform to those basic role expectations. being able to work outside and
have access to education is a facade. it is crucial that we challenged the
expectations of men and women in everyday life and in the process challenge
the sexual division of labor which continues to exist (even in the west).