I
write on behalf of the million voices that have been speaking up against the
brutality faced by women in our Country - via media, social media – in the form
of harsh words, protests, candle light marches, discussions on news channels
and so on. And being a part of that very clan I write to just vent out the
same frustration caused due to the high incidence of such crimes against women.
But
it is evident that all of this is in vain, since there is no response from the
concerned authorities in the form of some amendments that our law needs to
make.
I've
contributed to all these voices in the form of flimsy statuses and flimsier
tweets that go unnoticed by people who need to work on it the most. I see no
point in going for all these candle light marches; while it stands for the
peace of mind that we need from all such acts, what we only get is a repetition
of it. Probably, the wax that melts and returns to its original form has been mistaken
far too much by the concerned authorities to be a trait of our existence, too.
We melt with the wax when such incidents occur and cool down as soon as it
does. I don’t intend to make the analogy take over the point, but why should we
only melt when there’s fire? Why can’t we let the candles be? It’s vexing
enough. (Sorry for the pun, but wordplay is one thing I can safely claim to have
some command at). And then again, I’ve never been to any of these protests, most
often than not covered by news channels. Why should I? What difference did it
make when it happened eight months back, what difference will it make eight
months after?
What
principles are we working on? When, according to the Indian tradition, women
are supposed to wear “decent clothes/traditional clothes”, does the violation
of the definition of “decent clothes/traditional clothes” give liberty to men to
rape them? Is that justified? Is there an Act that gives them the right to be
barbaric?
A
girl who goes out with a colleague for some official work, and a girl who was
returning with her friend, at people-friendly time are raped. And there are a
few cases that come to our notice and are candle-marched. What about the ones
that go unnoticed? If we were to count them in, too, we should all perhaps walk
with a box of candle daily and light it after every half an hour. I don’t propose
to demean those who go for these marches but just highlighting its frequency.
Even
if these criminals are hanged till death, what is to be done about the girl’s
psyche post the incident? The nightmares she’ll have every night, the scars
left on her soul, the touches that she’ll fear, the repulsion that place will
hold for the rest of her life, the looks that she’ll come across. What about
that? How is one to cure all of that? No amount of sessions with the
psychologist will be able to heal it. Throwing acid on women is another
concern. We’re all aware of what’s happening around us. Why is it not on the
top of our mind? Whatever happened to priorities?
And
is not stepping out of our homes the way to get rid of such incidents? So have
we not come across incidents where young girls have been raped by their own
brothers and father and any other relative? Really now… we need to step out of
the zone where we’ve limited our thoughts to and fence our girls better. And by
fencing, I don’t mean limiting them. With fencing, I mean allowing them the
right to go wherever they want to, whatever they wish to do and whatever they want
to wear without the fear of being groped at.
Kindly
excuse me for bombarding so many questions. The rhetorical ones are taunts and
statements by many of our esteemed Politicians and the ones to be answered,
well, need to be answered.
According
to what little I observe as an inside outsider, I believe that it is lack of
fear amongst all these individuals that forces them to take such steps. No
amount of education can civilize people; we know the distinction between the
two, don’t we? There have been cases of many who are well to do and but don’t
do quite well. (The Acid incident by an Event Management Company owner, if I’m
not wrong)
I write
this at a time when I strongly feel for it. I was supposed to put up another status
on this matter and I thought, before commenting on anything, I need to do my
bit. I’m sure you’re doing your bit well, but we need to ensure that the bit coming
in from each one of us contributes positively towards the society’s well-being
at large.
For many mumbled voices will not be able to do what a man in power
can. Thus, while most of our ministers strut their words with their foot in
mouth, will the real Minister unzip his lip(s)?
