All of us seem to be concerned with the fact that ‘it’ might happen to our daughters. No one seems to be concerned with the fact that our sons might be the ones who do it.
Sexual abuse has been a reality of human civilization since its commencement. The ability of mankind to keep its primal needs in control has been oft-debated, which is a matter of great shame. However, I want to explore a different aspect of a similar argument.
It came to my notice that the alleged Instagram handle Bois locker room has inspired a lot of protests across the country, and the answer or solution that nearly most of them seem to provide is sex education. In other words, the popular suggestion seems to be that people need a healthy perception of sex or physical intimacy, and we are urging the government to introduce this reform in the education system.
Hold on, folks. There’s a big catch in here. These people see the aim and they seem to know the arrow but they are designating the role of shooting it to someone else. As usual, we are blaming it on the government, whereas we should be the ones blamed for it. To frame it differently, society has to change.
The solution is parenting. The indisputable solution is to raise citizens who are capable of distinguishing between right and wrong from an early age. This involves introducing them to sex, as parents. It requires a healthy conversation between this progeny and the next about topics that might otherwise seem comfortable. Above everything, it requires the ability to differentiate between right and wrong, a skill that is the duty of parents to instil. This solution won’t be hyped and I’m well aware of that. Our accusatory instincts are way higher than our instinct to claim responsibility.
We have played the blame game for several years. This should have been an obvious revelation by now: blaming is not very different from worrying. Let me tell you this: when you blame someone, it is almost an instant shift of responsibility and therefore, the feeling of guilt. When we’re free of guilt regarding our mistakes, we’re also free of the self-induced obligation of correcting our mistakes. The present world is one of self-reliance. Anyone who claims to deny that is denying obvious reality.
Let’s start today. Let’s not ignore it when we witness young boys asking their friends to stop being a girl while they’re weeping. Let’s intervene when a kid teases a girl because he claims to like her. Let’s intervene when people normalize having sexist standards. Let’s begin to intervene. If you’re afraid of being a victim of the same thing, let me tell you that these are infringements on civil liberties. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
If this article has impacted you in any way, kindly do not deem sexism as acceptable. I request all of you to come and play your parts in it. A nation will change the day its citizens do.