Feminism is a social movement which struggles to achieve equality between all citizens. However, its particular focus has always been on women who have historically been treated unequally than their male counterparts. As a result, they have become victims of atrocious stereotypes like ‘inferior’, ‘stupid’, ‘tender’, ‘weak’ etc. thereby justifying feminism’s demand for equality in all its spheres: the social, the political and the economic (Brunell & Brukett, 2024). Socially, it wants to perceive equality between all genders in the society at large. Politically, it claims that women have an equal right to participate in the state machinery and represent themselves in all leadership positions. Economically, it claims that in the arenas of work in terms of quality and wages, women should be treated equally as men. In short, what feminism argues for is that women ought to have equal rights and opportunities along with men. Though this is a general definition, it is also applicable in the country that we live in, where many prejudices and cliches against women have been prevalent. In making India a fertile ground for a substantial feminist struggle as has been recorded, both in history and the present (“Feminism in India”, n.d). 

Feminism and motherhood are both interrelated. Motherhood is the pristine feeling women can undergo to be able to conceive, give birth, nurture and care for a child, making motherhood intricate to the experience of womanhood itself. However, becoming a mother is entirely up to the choice of women, unlike when they become mothers under the obligation of their families. Such cases make motherhood a designated role for a woman. Based on these ideas, some radical feminist reformers have felt that this role of ‘motherhood’ itself is oppression by a male-centric society, making women vulnerable. For radical feminists, ‘motherhood’ itself must be repealed (Westervelt, n.d). I believe that when this argument extends, one could also claim that motherhood completely prevents women, as mothers, from uniting themselves to fight against the appalling social customs prevalent in society. Alongside this radical thinking, there have been other feminist philosophers who have valued motherhood for its attributes of rendering care and nurture (“Maternal Feminism”, n.d). Such that women who choose to be mothers could be deemed as powerful as opposed to it being a vulnerability. So, we can say that feminism recognises and values all the decisions women make regarding motherhood—accepting the role of a mother, pursuing their careers, or managing a combination of the two.

The question of value and choice concerning motherhood is one tangent of the feminist thinking about the issue. The other tangent is about motherhood and a woman’s choice to pursue a career, which has been one of the problems dealt with by the various waves of feminism. Firstly, it targets the idea that women should have less paid jobs because, in time, they could leave to become mothers (Ries, 2018). Contrarily, feminists argue that women are worthy of being provided with a similar salary and the same quality of work as men, regardless of the biological possibility of motherhood. Secondly, their argument claims that it is the responsibility of employers to acknowledge the possibility of female employees becoming mothers and provide proper facilities, like a fully paid maternity leave, enabling them to take care of the child (Sengupta, 2022).  

On this topic of motherhood, I believe that it is difficult for a mother to both take care of her child and simultaneously continue with the work she is doing for the betterment of society. Therefore, instead of pessimistically demotivating women, we should encourage them to showcase their full potential as women and human beings. 

In conclusion, I intend to argue that both feminism and motherhood help in the formation of a community.  However, the utmost relation between the two is about women having the liberty to make their own decisions without anyone’s interference. Therefore, as fellow humans, we should encourage women to perform to their full potential and be part of the struggle to acquire equal rights as an ally.

References:-

Brunell, L., & Burkett, E. (2024, February 28 ). Feminism. In Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism

Feminism in India. (n.d). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism_in_India

Maternal Feminism. (n.d). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maternal_feminism

Ries. (2018, October 21). Women, Work, and the Facade of Choice. Medium. Retrieved March 22, 2024, from https://medium.com/@gigiries/women-work-and-the-facade-of-choice-f1c033a826b4

Sengupta, S. (2022, May 27). Maternity Benefit Laws: Loopholes, Gender Roles And ‘Girl Boss’ Hustle Culture. Feminism in India. Retrieved https://feminisminindia.com/2022/05/27/maternity-benefits-at-work-law-gender-roles-hustle-culture/

Takševa, T. (2018). Motherhood Studies and Feminist Theory: Elisions and Intersections. Journal of the Motherhood Initiative Vol 9, No 1 (2018), 177–194.

Westervelt, A. (n.d.). Is motherhood the unfinished work of feminism? The Guardian. Retrieved March 22, 2024, from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/26/is-motherhood-the-unfinished-work-of-feminism