Last few weeks have been quite disturbing for me, reading about the shameful news and brutal crimes committed against girls and women across the country. It has filled every woman’s heart with a fear of “I could be the next” or “What if I was in her place?”. We have become even more concerned and protective towards our daughters, mothers, sisters and secretly hoping that nothing untoward happens when they step out of the house.
Meanwhile, the media is sharing old videos and photos of the Kathua victim which must be traumatising for her parents and family members. For your channel, it’s TRPs but for her family, it was their hearts which were crushed so brutally. Isn’t it inhuman on our part to act so selfishly?
Recently, I saw a post blaming a famous Bollywood actress for the revealing clothes she was wearing during a photoshoot. People, do you still think it’s about the clothes? If outfit choices have anything to do with rapes then women wearing sarees, suits or even hijabs would not be assaulted in bright daylight. And what about little kids? Are they exposing themselves to the paedophiles? They don’t even know the meaning of the word rape. And if you are still talking about clothing, can you please tell why we get to hear little boys being molested? YES, there have been such unfortunate cases too. In what way were they dressing up wrong? It’s not the clothes but the sick mentality of some people that needs to change.
Even worse, there have been posts about defending the accused with vindications offered like “It was a temple with regular visitors so how can she be kept hostage there?” and “How can a father ask his son to rape?” and other such utter nonsense. It became a blame game for religious groups and political parties. They can change currency overnight but can’t bring about a robust law for the safety of women and children? But what are we doing as individuals?
Instead of focusing on such futile matters, why don’t we start introspecting and do our bit for the society? We are shaken to the core, and our system does not seem to change, so it’s time for us to get up, protest and probe for our government to take action. It’s time we stop preaching our daughters on how to dress up, where and when to go, how to behave with the in-laws when to marry etc. It’s time we raise our voices against instances of molestation in public places. We should also equip our girls with self-defence techniques.
It’s time to stop treating pink as girly and blue as virile. We need to stop setting boundaries for our daughters. Your daughter-in-law may not be a Tarla Dalal, and your son could very whip up a meal if she comes late from work. It’s time not to tolerate any joke or statement that puts women down. It’s time we stop saying “Ultimately, Shadi hi karni hai kya karogi aur padh likh ke” and force our daughters to get married. It’s time to stop saying “Stop crying like a girl”. It’s time to break the stereotypes set by our society and introduce our sons to the household chores and kitchen. It’s time to make our sons understand that “NO is a NO”. It’s time to stop stating “Choodiyan pehen lo” as a sign of weakness or shame. I have seen many educated, well to do families differentiating between a girl and boy child. This should be stopped. The root cause of this monstrous disease is unfair and unequal “upbringing” which should be the same for both the genders.
Remember, learning starts at home only and the seeds of good morals are sown in the childhood. So, raise equally strong kids and don’t let your daughter feel in any way, that she’s lesser than your son, physically or mentally. I am using my pen to speak up against this injustice. I am doing my bit, are you?
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