Session sparks debate on patriarchy, social media

Mysuru: Senior theatre artiste Prof. Lakshmi Chandrashekar expressed concern that social media, instead of empowering women, is increasingly being used to target and undermine them.

Speaking at Kannada panel at Mysuru Literature Festival (MLF) on the topic ‘From a Woman’s Perspective: Literature, Culture, Society,’ she responded to the question, “Social media: Boon or bane for women?” by acknowledging that while digital platforms offer opportunities, they also pose serious risks.

Prof. Chandrashekar said that social media can be a powerful tool for women to exchange ideas and amplify their voices. However, she observed that it is often misused to defame women.

“If a woman is portrayed negatively on social media, people assume there must be some truth behind it. Families, friends and even relatives begin to doubt her and that suspicion alone can destroy her life,” she said.

She stressed that campaigns promoting women’s dignity and equality should not remain symbolic but must be sustained over time. Equality, she added, should begin within families, where parents must stop discriminating between sons and daughters.

‘Reading a form of struggle’

Retired Professor of Akkamahadevi Women’s University, Prof. Sabiha Bhoomigowda, said that when women are discouraged from participating in public life, reading and writing themselves become acts of resistance. “Writing is capital for rebellion and reading is a form of struggle,” he said.

She urged women writers to move beyond family-centred narratives and explore wider themes such as society and the environment. Marriage, he said, should be based on companionship rather than power and women must have the freedom to choose their life partners.

Bhoomigowda also pointed to the persistence of patriarchal attitudes within households, noting that women who challenge imposed authority are often subjected to ridicule, ostracism and harassment.

Household patriarchy

Author Prof. R. Sunandamma observed that patriarchy continues to shape women’s lives even within their own families. “Marriage uproots women into another family, weakening their identity. Proverbs such as ‘Like mother, like daughter’ or ‘Judge the woman by her mother’ impose cultural burdens on women,” she said.

She added that nearly 80 percent of women in India continue to live within patriarchal structures, growing up under their fathers’ authority before becoming part of their husbands’ households after marriage.

“We are seen as carriers of culture, but rarely acknowledged as individuals nurtured by our mothers,” she remarked.

The session was moderated by Shantha Jayanand.