Amidst following the normal routine of day-to-day life, an
unpleasant incident took place in Delhi a week ago and shook the whole country
within no time. The shameless act of sadism has hurt the sentiments of the
people and the nationwide discontent among the masses has made a point this
time. It has raised the questions on safety of a woman in the society. People are
in desperate angst to seek severe punishments for the devils of such blatant
acts. All are demanding for death penalties replacing 7 year lenient punishment
on the grounds of ravishing a woman in the constitution. But if you contemplate
on this issue do you think one change in law would make a difference in
criminal records?
If you trace a
criminal’s mind you would find that he never takes the punishment in cognizance
while doing a certain crime. His entire mind is focused only on accomplishment
of his cruel intentions. Unless his intentions are suppressed he doesn’t give a
single thought to anything else; not even the fear punishment. Article 302
states death sentence or life imprisonment against the charge of murder but
still there are serious assassinations, slaughtering and slaying prevalent in
the country. Thus, a mere death sentence or life imprisonment for the rapists
is not the sole solution. There have been analogous assaults against woman
since decades followed by similar protests by NGO’s and Women empowerment group
but nothing changed. If you take a look at statistics you will find a
negligible change in the pattern of such crimes.
The main reason behind this stagnancy is that the issue is
never being seen in a broader prospect. We are just emphasizing on safeguarding
a woman’s milieu but there are other dimensions too which are subsets of women
exploitation. She is still killed before being born, she is still harmed for
dowry demands, she is still deprived of her freedom; and she is still dominated
by men and society right from selecting a top to marrying a man of his choice.
Why she is still playing a second fiddle in the society? All the atrocities on
women collectively puts question on one dimension as a whole, the existence of
women in the society.
By looking at one aspect of molestation alone we cannot
solve the remaining subsets because all the elements together form one vicious
circle whose center point is always neglected by the society. Her existence
seems dominant from above when we see women in forefront of every sector and activity
but some layers down we all know how she is perceived in the society. The
discontent prevailing among the masses today is simply a nine days wonder. The
same society which is supporting the Delhi victim will fail to accept her as a
daughter-in-law after her recovery. The truth may sound harsh but it’s a fact
that we have forgotten the real existence of women in our world. She is our mother, wife, sister, daughter,
friend and not just a feminine gender!
Nowadays, we say men and women should be equal. Equal
education, equal rights, equal opportunities, equal status etc. but can we
raise a girl with the same propensity the way we nurture a boy? The day she
turns from child to a girl she is bounded by the social barriers. The society
develops a different outlook when she wishes to wear the clothes she desires. In
seconds of a chronometer the skepticism enters in her life when she asks to go
out for outdoor picnics, birthday parties, etc. No sooner does she ask for her freedom
than her right to equality comes under shadows. The question is not about her
competition with men for her fundamental right of equality; it’s about giving
her a desired life. And the mishaps such as that happened in Delhi puts cages
around her freedom.
Whom should we blame; society, culture or lifestyle? Every
factor contributes in constructing those cages. What image does a boy have of a
woman when the modern culture itself fails to portray the real image of a woman?
The effect goes worse when he turns 18 as most of the Bollywood movies run on
exposure. The eyesight inevitably turns blue when it finds a girl with an iota
of glamour quotient. Who is responsible for fusing that image of women in young
minds? Every school has this thing
called ‘boys versus girls.’ No boy
can digest the victory of a girl against him; whether it’s grabbing the 1st
rank or becoming a class monitor, boys hate the fact of girls being ahead of
them. The same feeling prevails after marriage when a wife earns more than his
husband. Who is responsible to create that indifference?
To some extent even women have contributed in curbing the
real image. It is only a woman who can inject the womanhood in a girl. But the
modern mom is so busy in her lifestyle that there is hardly anytime left in making
her daughter aware of that womanhood. Moreover additional focus is being given
in modernizing her daughter as the girl of 21st century. The
daughter’s glamorous lifestyle gets surrounded by modern dresses, blackberry,
parties, boy-friend, etc. at the heart of this modernization the virtues which
would have made her a woman is taken for granted. Who is responsible in curbing
the womanhood?
A woman is an epitome of creation, love, compassion and
divinity. The nature’s gift of creating a human being is attributed to a woman;
the highest form of emotion known as mother’s love is awarded only to a woman;
the biggest authority of forgiveness is also accredited to her dexterity and
above all it is under a woman’s feet where the most divine place called heaven
lies. A man has to perceive a woman in that way and not just a feminine gender.
If a man is bestowed with great virtues he will certainly behave as a gentleman
even in front of a naked girl. A devil’s mind doesn’t differentiate a woman on
her clothing, age or relationship. Unless a male is injected with the virtues
of dignity and not given the eye-sight to perceive a female as a divine woman
he will keep assaulting her character. Ask yourself does a piece of legislation
can help in giving woman the status she deserves and resurrect her existence
and safeguard as well. For that, mere changes in law will not help it has to be
accompanied by changes in perception.
If we create a better perception of women in the eyes of men,
society and world we would certainly make a difference. And those roots of
perception can grow stronger if sown by woman itself. A mother can easily inject
that perception in his son along giving necessary vaccinations; a sister can easily
tie that perception along the threads of rakhi; a wife can easily create that
perception along creating the whole world around him; a teacher can easily teach
that perception along the general etiquette, a lady can easily portray that
perception along exhibiting the divine nature.
The male-dominated
society might change and whenever a man would come across any female the
perception would make him realize that she is the symbol of pride for his home,
society and the nation and that
she is a woman and not just a
feminine gender !
