21st Century Feminism

From the Times of India:

"Some women adopt their husband’s name because they want to. But many elect to retain their maiden name or hyphenate it with the husband’s surname. The irony is that both decisions invite criticism. Women who change their surnames are accused of giving up a ‘feminist right’. Those who don’t change their names are criticized for departing from established practice. Clearly, several decades after feminism breached many barriers around the world, Indian women are still denied the unchallenged right to choose. Even urban educated women are plagued by self-doubt and confusion over the choices allowed to them.

So too domestic responsibilities, which remain the same for housewives and women who work outside the home. Looking after the children and the house are considered the woman’s responsibility even though she may work the same hours as her husband. It is a form of subordination.

These mixed messages add to the confusion women feel as they make personal choices. Is feminism at war with feminity? Are western clothes, for example, a sign of modernity and feminism? Or do they sexualize a woman and make her a traitor to the cause? "