A
nineteen-year old girl goes to a market. Two men in their twenties follow the
girl and attempt to molest her. The girl summons her courage and slaps the men.
In return, she gets thrashed by the two men in a crowded marketplace of
Karauli’s Hindaun city. 16 December, 2012, a girl is brutally raped and
abandoned in the heart of my nation in place that had many onlookers but no one
to aid. Had she been taken to the hospital on time, she would have been
continuing her medical studies. Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun district- two girls are
raped and hanged on a mango tree. Their corpses keep suspending on the mango
tree for hours in a state that can send shivers down your spine. Yes, those
spectators were present there too who were clicking photographs, recording
videos and circulating them. Outraged? Well, I pity such people.
Now let us cogitate on the aftermath of such events. First, such incidents manage to gather copious of commiseration. People express their compassion and sorrow at such occurrences and then, turn their backs. Second, some extend funds to the affected families. I utterly fail to understand that how can monetary support ameliorate those wounded hearts. Can this help get the dignity of their daughters back? Third, the media talks about such episodes. Discussions and debates are held, and the moment they get a different masala they forget this piece of reporting. Fifth, the platform of social media comes into play. People deplore the rules and regulations, the laws and authorities. Such non-participants then in the evening switch on their televisions and sympathize with the victims. Others, overturn the pages of their newspapers, feel apoplectic, pause and turn the page. They leave it all on the pillars of our democracy and believe in passing the buck because they are mere spectators. In the end, everybody goes home happy except the woman. These viewers belong to those set of individuals who react, but seldom act. They think that everybody and everything is responsible for everything happening in the nation. This thought is intellectually lazy, morally cynical and politically incorrect. Let me tell you that the morals of anyone cannot be improved by law-making bodies. Our legal framework is taking very possible step to protect woman by introducing the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013 and Justice Verma Committee Report. Did this immaculate those unclean eyes even up to an iota?
For protecting the dignity of women, depending on legal safeguards won’t help. Even after the puissant legislations, nothing has changed even up to a fraction. The law is more vigilant now, but is it being implemented? This points out to a fact that besides the laws and authorities, there is something that calls for a drastic variation. It is the attitude of the civilians that needs to be changed if we are to see any decline in the injustice to women both inside and outside the home. I wish people had been more active in helping Nirbhaya get the needed-medical-aid than they were at lighting candles after her sad demise. There has been enough rambling, let’s today conduct a scrupulous discussion- a debate that leads to a solution.
Instead of shirking our work on the officialdom, let us today take charge of the savagery and humiliation the women have been bracing. Let us not waste time mulling over the nasty comments of our politicians. Such callous comments reflect the male chauvinist mentality that prevails in our country and also rein this threat. Resolutionize to consider the dignity of every woman in high regard. There is an abundance of rape and violence against woman in this country and earth, because violence transgresses nationality, but not gender.
Education is a powerful tool that can curb, if not halt, such incidents. The learned people should reach out to the downtrodden and make them tune in to the rights they uphold. The legal system has been doing its labor, but today’s need of the hour is that every prudent civilian too must chip in their contributions. Such incidents mutilate the honor of the nation as a whole. The people committing such heinous crimes are amongst us, they reflect our mentality too. This is not a nation, our forefathers dreamt of. India, where every woman is respected and looked up to is not utopian. The fear of castigation needs to be instilled in the hearts of people who even think of attempting such abominable crime. The seethe in our hearts needs to turn into flames, and it must not stand to be a taproot, but a rhizome that is ready to spring anywhere.
A period of change is a period of turbulence. Let us not wait for the bolt from the blue to dawn upon us. Equip yourself and resolve that next time you see someone assaulting or harassing a woman- you are not going to condole but reach out to help her. Any discrepancy against women, indifferent to the intensity, must not be considered lackadaisically. I urge upon each one of you to commence this to be an ongoing debate. The bias towards changing the scenario must be infectious. Enough of mollycoddling your boys, it is time you shepherd them into gentlemen and make them the harbingers of change in this scenario. Do not adulate women falsely as goddesses and blame everything and everyone for their woes. Can India not protect their daughters from a lustful male’s slaughter?
Now let us cogitate on the aftermath of such events. First, such incidents manage to gather copious of commiseration. People express their compassion and sorrow at such occurrences and then, turn their backs. Second, some extend funds to the affected families. I utterly fail to understand that how can monetary support ameliorate those wounded hearts. Can this help get the dignity of their daughters back? Third, the media talks about such episodes. Discussions and debates are held, and the moment they get a different masala they forget this piece of reporting. Fifth, the platform of social media comes into play. People deplore the rules and regulations, the laws and authorities. Such non-participants then in the evening switch on their televisions and sympathize with the victims. Others, overturn the pages of their newspapers, feel apoplectic, pause and turn the page. They leave it all on the pillars of our democracy and believe in passing the buck because they are mere spectators. In the end, everybody goes home happy except the woman. These viewers belong to those set of individuals who react, but seldom act. They think that everybody and everything is responsible for everything happening in the nation. This thought is intellectually lazy, morally cynical and politically incorrect. Let me tell you that the morals of anyone cannot be improved by law-making bodies. Our legal framework is taking very possible step to protect woman by introducing the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013 and Justice Verma Committee Report. Did this immaculate those unclean eyes even up to an iota?
For protecting the dignity of women, depending on legal safeguards won’t help. Even after the puissant legislations, nothing has changed even up to a fraction. The law is more vigilant now, but is it being implemented? This points out to a fact that besides the laws and authorities, there is something that calls for a drastic variation. It is the attitude of the civilians that needs to be changed if we are to see any decline in the injustice to women both inside and outside the home. I wish people had been more active in helping Nirbhaya get the needed-medical-aid than they were at lighting candles after her sad demise. There has been enough rambling, let’s today conduct a scrupulous discussion- a debate that leads to a solution.
Instead of shirking our work on the officialdom, let us today take charge of the savagery and humiliation the women have been bracing. Let us not waste time mulling over the nasty comments of our politicians. Such callous comments reflect the male chauvinist mentality that prevails in our country and also rein this threat. Resolutionize to consider the dignity of every woman in high regard. There is an abundance of rape and violence against woman in this country and earth, because violence transgresses nationality, but not gender.
Education is a powerful tool that can curb, if not halt, such incidents. The learned people should reach out to the downtrodden and make them tune in to the rights they uphold. The legal system has been doing its labor, but today’s need of the hour is that every prudent civilian too must chip in their contributions. Such incidents mutilate the honor of the nation as a whole. The people committing such heinous crimes are amongst us, they reflect our mentality too. This is not a nation, our forefathers dreamt of. India, where every woman is respected and looked up to is not utopian. The fear of castigation needs to be instilled in the hearts of people who even think of attempting such abominable crime. The seethe in our hearts needs to turn into flames, and it must not stand to be a taproot, but a rhizome that is ready to spring anywhere.
A period of change is a period of turbulence. Let us not wait for the bolt from the blue to dawn upon us. Equip yourself and resolve that next time you see someone assaulting or harassing a woman- you are not going to condole but reach out to help her. Any discrepancy against women, indifferent to the intensity, must not be considered lackadaisically. I urge upon each one of you to commence this to be an ongoing debate. The bias towards changing the scenario must be infectious. Enough of mollycoddling your boys, it is time you shepherd them into gentlemen and make them the harbingers of change in this scenario. Do not adulate women falsely as goddesses and blame everything and everyone for their woes. Can India not protect their daughters from a lustful male’s slaughter?
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