What is being a woman like? How to define a woman? Why do they exist at all, or does this world really need them? These are some of the questions which at present everyone needs to ask and introspect on, to understand where we are heading. A few would answer by saying that a woman is the epitome of love, nourishment, and kindness to all her near ones but still might think of these words as subduing and weakening for a woman’s essentiality.
The present is that she is scared, believed to be weak, helpless and yet expected to act with kindness and love, and in case she raises her voice, she is taught gruesome lessons to show her place in this world. Hence, what we really think of women, as men and women, is important to everyone.
This psyche in which women are taught to express less and listen more, to opine less and agree more, lead less and follow more, is the consequence of generations behind us who adopted this and taught the same to their future generations too. We have been asked to believe that one gender deserves more respect and life than the other. How could gender define the importance of a human being? It is a mindset which was seeded long ago in our brains that asked us to believe that one kind of human should be respected more over the other. Had it been stopped and questioned in the past, the present would have been different for us.
This comparison and a need to judge the better gender is the root of all the assaults and crimes that happen against women, and unfortunately, their gravity has been on the rise with time. As horrifying as Nirbhaya case which happened more than five years ago and shook the conscience of the entire nation, took so long to give justice. Kathua and Unnao cases which occurred more recently again took the country by storm and prove our failure in learning any lesson after Nirbhaya. If we look at records, then crimes against women have been only rising and our law has been unable to restrict them, keeping in mind the fact that only a few of the cases are reported. One may write several pages on the cruelty and brutality of these cases happening right in our surroundings. Still, the culprits are least scared and moving freely, fear exists only on the faces of the victim and their family.
Some would blame her for her dress, some for the time she was out, and if not that then maybe the way she looked, smiled or laughed, it must have been provocative in some way. We have to consider our clothes, place and time before moving out because we are not left with any other option except to restrict our freedom. Not because there is something wrong with us, but because we know that the society is wrong. It is insane to think that we are safe when we are all covered up, we are safe only when we are respected as humans.
The situation can be improved if women are thought to be individuals, not some gender that was born with a list of obligations and sacrifices it would have to make to keep others happy. Such attitude of, more importantly, women about themselves that they are somehow inferior must be finally put an end to.
The fear which a woman has to confront all her life must be transferred to the minds of criminals.
Ignorance is bliss but only to a certain level. All my life, I had thought that ignoring is better than fighting for a woman as it may throw you in unfamiliar circumstances, but it is clear now that our ignorance has not lessened the danger even a bit. Ignoring these incidents over and over have landed us in frightful situations.
It is the need of the hour that we stop considering ourselves as helpless and needy. Our fear had already served as the power booster to the criminals and they now say it proudly that a woman is responsible for her rape, no matter how weird and lame it sounds. If we have to end all this, then we have to end this fear and mindset that we are weak which we have been inheriting from our foremothers for centuries.
I would like to complete this by saying, “Dear ladies stop fearing, you gave birth to the humanity, and you are powerful enough to root out any inhumanity done to you.”