The writer examines the idea of feminism and the perceived benefits that it has generatedin favor of women. While feminism was supposed to emancipate modern women and render her lives less constrained than those of the women of yester-years the situation has more or less remained the same. Politicians, employers and the society in general have taken the advantage of feminism as a platform to pursue power and wealth at the expense of women. The meaning of the notion feminism is often flipped to fit the needs and expediency of the moment. In this regard, it assumes different meaning in different times and circumstances.

The writer demonstrates how politician rode on crest of feminism to wage war on Afghanistan and Iraq. The world was convinced that the system in both countries was oppressive to women and therefore need to be annihilated. However women who were supposedly being emancipated have ended up suffering worse consequences of the war. The writer also portrays the contradictions brought about by deliberate misinterpretation of feminism by describing the hijab fiasco. On one hand freedom of choice is one of the rallying points of feminism, but when Muslim girls choose to wear hijabs they are banished. The argument is that, wearing of these garments is a sign oppression of women by men. A legislation to outlaw the garment is quickly crafted to punish them. The end result is that a woman who is deemed oppressed is punished for being oppressed. In the view of the author, the outcry against hijab is a capitalistic ploy, where women are required to expose their body to appeal to the market trend. Hijab according to the market forces has nothing to do with decency but an obstacle to positioning of products. The market therefore has devised its own meaning of feminism where the exposed body is part of the product's package and those who opt to conceal their bodies need to be made to tow the line.

While the number of women working in offices and other establishment has increased, the author is convinced that nothing has changed in as far as improving of women is concerned. A woman has been working all her life at the domestic front and once she has ventured in to the formal employment the labor market has changed to accommodate her. The change is manipulated not to fit and benefit her but to mold her fit to what the labor market perceive of her. There are certain jobs that are assumed to be the preserve of women. Women are socialized to believe that they posses some inherent traits that fits certain categories of jobs such as secretaries. The jobs are low paying and do little to improve the woman lot. At work place a woman suffers a myriad of problems such as discrimination due to pregnancy. Employers are not ready to shoulder the loss of productivity which comes with pregnancy, after all this is a personal choice. They are paid less than their male counter part even when the responsibility is the same.

The author looks at the feminization of labor both in terms of more women in work place and also in the nature of jobs. The term is not used solely to describe a positive transformation where women are able to access formal job, but is also used to qualify the perceived notion that they have spoiled the work place. They are not only seen to have taken up positions at the expense of men but the nature of work has turned 'female'. The woman is first looked upon as a mother first and then as a worker second. This view comes with prejudice regarding the kind of work that is suitable for women. The argument is that it is not that women have professionally grown but the market trend today is feminist in nature. The traits that are valuable in the place of work are feministic. It appears that the labor market has conveniently adopted feminism not to the benefit of women but to fulfill the market requirements.

Feminism has also been hijacked by the corporate world to make a kill. Through visual and print media, a liberated woman is assigned particular body shapes, clothes and lifestyle. This has sent women in a frenzy of consumption to fit the description and feel liberated. This however has had the opposite effects with women becoming slaves of those who dictate how the ideal liberated woman should look like. The notion of feminism therefore has become a market brand rather than a concerted effort to free women from historical prejudice. Contemporary feminism is at a cross road, with women and the society at loss with what exactly is feminism. It takes different forms and meaning depending on who is using it. One thing is however consistent about the modern feminism it is a one sided-affair where real change does not occur. The individual women have not yet defined her stand and aggressively demand what is rightly hers. Instead they have stood as observers while other players have taken advantage of feminism to further their economic and political agendas.In the past years feminism provoked real serious thoughts of emancipation and not merely individual identity.

This one dimensional approach has little impact in the life of women. While there is a prevailing illusion of things changing for the better, the underlying structural make up of the society still remains the same. The women have to contend with working harder than men and being paid less. They get discriminated on the basis of their biological make up and used as marketing tools. The contemporary feminism portrays a successive woman as one who has a good job, a car and some other trivial earthly possession without any care what she had to go through to get them.

References

Nina Power, (2009). One-dimensional woman. Washington DC: Digitak book Print