TEEJ
Sabitri
Pathak
Teej
is one of the most popular and highly observed festivals of Hindu women of
Nepal. Mostly married women celebrate this festival with great joy. There are
both negative and positive effects of Teej on women empowerment.
1)
Positive
a)
Refreshment: Teej can be called as golden opportunity for
married women to enjoy. Women on this day gather with their family and
colleagues and dance all day long. They forget the pain and hardship they face
daily at their husband's house. Women dance with such high spirits on an empty
stomach whether sung live by a group of women or backed up by commercial songs
on loudspeakers dancing to its tunes seems to keep women under some kinds of
charm, busying minds even to remember hunger.
b)
Women Right:
Festivals of Teej prioritizes women and encourage women right. Women needs and
demands are usually supported and fulfilled in the family on the occasion of
Teej. Usually other male members in the family do not interrupt women to
celebrate this festival on their own way. Women can act freely on this day.
c)
Awareness:
During Teej, women gather together to sing a song about hardships and share
their sorrows. Beside this, nowadays women sing different songs on women
violence and demand for their rights. They highlight women violence and demand
their rights and security. It is a best time to aware all women including
uneducated too to be conscious about their rights.
d)
Positive
relation with husband: Women take fast for a
whole day for the sake of their husband's prosperous and long life. At night,
husband feed them with delicious food. This develops good relationship between
husband and wife. Husband can ensure the women right and provide all the
facilities that they want or should get. Due to these reasons Teej helps in women
empowerment.
2)
Negative
a)
Priority to men
(husband): though Teej is the main festival of women
men are prioritize directly. Women take fast for their husband's long life. On
this day, they treat their husband as a god. They are ready to obey their
husband's command and never be ready to go against them even if they are
unfair. They believe in their paths. But it's actually unfair while women are
expected to prove their commitment, there's no effort from the husband's side.
This negativity hinders women empowerment.
b)
Health related
problem: women take fast for a whole day. They do not
even drink a drop of water. Despite of their hunger, they dance with full
passion and devotion. They do not care about their health and long term
consequences of taking fast. They may face problem of gastric and low blood
pressure. Beside, dehydration can even cause dry skin and many health ailments.
c)
Discrimination
against widows: Teej is a religious festival. It is
blindly believed and practiced that widow women are not allowed to celebrate
teej like other women. Widow women are totally isolated and humiliated by the
family and society. Such activities threat their sentiment and make them feel
weak. This discourages them to take part in community works and hence, cannot
be empowered.
d)
Encourage
religious orthodoxies: Teej is celebrated
according to Hindu myth. Hindu religion states that women should always treat
their husband as god. Women should be limited in house hold works only. They
should take care of their family members. Celebrating Teej encourages people to
be more cultural and religious. They prefer to follow every epic belief. Due to
this civilization of woman is very slow.
Thus,
Teej is our cultural and religious festival. So the way of celebrating Teej
should meet the need of women empowerment in order to preserve festival as well
as empower the women in Nepal.
👍
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