The Delhi gang rape has shocked the nation’s conscience and the people have responded, with anger, with indignation, with horror. While the opposition has urged for death penalty, the social media has demanded every possible punishment from castration to death by stoning. The wave of wrath has been felt across the length and breadth of the nation, on the streets, in the parliament. The fingers have been pointed at everyone; the police, the government, the Chief Minister, the judiciary, the laws…everyone but ourselves. Along with the blaming the system, let us not forget that it is also the time for introspection, into our society, into our families, into our lives. Why do we create a young generation who behave like animals? Why do the men of this country refuse to respect its women? Why is there something rotting in the very core of the minds of the youth, the future of this country?
The questions are many and look no further for the answer lies within us. In the toddler who grows up watching his father hit his mother. In the young boy who is treated in superiority to his sister. In the kids who learns the mode of violence through video games and TV shows. In the adolescent who is introduced to porn sites and blue films on the net. In the student who takes obscene shots of his classmate in his phone camera. In the young suitor who rejects tens of prospective brides. In the husband who expects to be served by his wife. In the father who loves his son more than his daughter. In the society who believe men to be powerful than the women in every facet of its being. In the hearts, in the souls, in the everyday lives of each one of us where we sow the seeds of dominance in the mind of the men. So, the next time you see discrimination against women, however small, however petty, in your life, in your family, in the streets, stand up to it and send a message not just to the rapists and abusers but also to the young boy who is watching you, that each and every women should be and must be treated with dignity, equality and honour.