The poem "The Girl in Kitchen" depicts the suppression of women in a male-dominated society, where a young girl is confined to domestic duties and longing to be rescued. The poem shows how women are viewed as weak and not expected to challenge gender inequality. While women are respected in religious texts, in practice they face exploitation, abuse, and gender discrimination. Women suffer from lack of acceptance, poor health, and overwork despite their role in childbearing.

3. Vaidehi’s poem “The Girl in Kitchen” captures the harsh reality of a male
dominated society where women are suppressed and ruled upon.

4. The poem is a heartfelt plea for freedom by a young girl
who is shackled to the kitchen and sings of her longing to
be rescued by a knight in shining armour from the drudgery
of cooking and tradition-bound activities.

5. The poem portrays
how women are
considered as weak,
fragile and brittle as
they are not expected
to revolt or defend a
just cause, like gender
equality, in any
manner. This
highlights the
hierarchy of authority
prevailing in society
where social
expectations often put
women in positions of
lower level power.

6. At the one hand, women are
considered in the Indian
religious scriptures as
respectable and worthy of
worship
And on the other hand they
are, in practice, they are
exploited, tortured and
humiliated.

7. Gender discrimination and injustice is widely practiced in the society. Because of the
lack of acceptance from the male dominant society, Indian women suffer immensely.
Women are responsible for bearing children, yet they are malnourished and in
poor health. Women are also overworked in the field and complete all of the
domestic work.

8. The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia.
From equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to the
promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful.
The position of women in society has revolutionized when it is compared to a hundred years ago
all over the world. Years and years ago, women were considered to be responsible for only their
house, but now they have more active role in society. With the changing world, they have been
altering. Women become more conscious about their status in society. As time passed, women
have made progress in view of family rights and business life. Earlier, a woman’s duty at home
was just cooking meal, cleaning the house, taking care of children and many things like these but
today, with the guarantee of the laws which were made in that time, women gained the rights they
deserved in both family and business space.

9. They become equal to men in
every area owing to the
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Women in India now
participate fully in areas such
as education, sports, politics,
media, art and culture, service
sectors, science and technology,
etc. Indira Gandhi, who served
as Prime Minister of India for
an aggregate period of fifteen
years, is the world's longest
serving woman Prime Minister.

10. However, women in India
continue to face
atrocities such as rape,
acid throwing, dowry
killings while young girls
are forced into
prostitution; as of late
rape has seen a sharp
increase following
several high profile
cases of young girls
brutally raped in public
areas.
While we see a
change in the
roles a woman
plays in modern
society, old
traditions and
practises have still
not changed.

11. There still
prevail gender
differences
based on
social
influence, but
not because
of nature or
biological
difference
but because
of the roles
that people
play in
society.
Men tend
to be
relegated
to
positions
of greater
authority.
Again,
these are
social
expectatio
ns, not
biological
functions.