Are you afraid of the dark?
Be it a yes or a no, today we live in a world where nobody is safe. Night time or daylight, male or female, none of us can roam the streets today with an absolute sense of safety. Why is that as soon as we step out of our homes, we walk into a world of insecurity, where we have to be careful about each and every move? Careful about whom we talk to, careful about how we dress, careful to avoid anyone whom we might ‘appeal’ to, just so we can go back home as safe and sound as we left it.
Being a woman, I have always been taught how to be safe, as I am sure that every other woman has been. But is that really the best thing to do? For example, the local news declares that there is a notorious robber in town – what do the town folk do? Do they abandon their lives in the town and hide in their homes? Or simply increase the security, alerting the police? Another scenario would be a rabid dog chasing a human. Now, would we simply contain the dog that is dangerous, or tell the human to ‘be safe around dogs’?
When we put things that way, the solution always seems quite obvious – which is not the case in real life. So what must we do to ensure the safety of our friends, family and everyone else?
Start at home.
Children are our future. Young minds should be taught to respect people, respect life and respect women. Talking to our families about the unpleasant experiences we have had – to help them understand that even what people consider mundane, might affect someone deeply. Removing the notions of sex being a taboo would also help our society. Blaming society is easy, but what we tend to forget is – WE are what make up the society.
Then shouldn’t WE be the change we want to see? Shouldn’t WE set examples for our children, for the lives they want to lead?
Start at home, start with yourself.
None of these might be immediate solutions to our age-old problem, but then again, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Being considerate and working together, WE have the power to create a world where no one ever has to be afraid for their wife, daughter, friend, sister or mother, or themselves – being outside, alone.