Tuesday 18 December 2012

Women: Mere objects of Physical attention???


A creature existing in our society called GIRL; there are three things which define and confine her life:

1.       Sexuality – A girl in our society is not allowed to a zillion of things in the world just because she is a girl
2.       Timings – The timings of the day when a girl is supposed to go out of her house for any activity is limited and defined
3.       Dress Code – The clothes a girl is supposed to wear are defined and designed as per the societal expectations

Throughout their lives, the girls/women are being judged on these pre-defined notions of our society. Her character is being judged on the basis of her adherence to these above mentioned codes of conduct. Why???? Because she is one who has to get picked by some (good) guy someday for marriage. Really?? This is where the problem is rooted. Deep down we admit this that women, no matter how much educated intellectual, are, at the end of the day, just a body of flesh. And by doing this, we assure men, every single day, that no matter how much education we have imparted to our daughters, no matter how much salary she earns, she can never ever be equal to you. You are the one who has the choice to marry, divorce, assault, rape or disown her.

Ironically, when cases like the recent Delhi gang rape happen, the parents get extremely trenchant in making their daughter realize the importance of those three golden guidelines set for women behaviour in India. Well, you can’t say much to the parents when our honourable Chief Minister herself is affording her precious advice to all the Delhi girls to say at home and not roam around at odd hours. Stay at home??? Yes, definitely. This is exactly what we are aiming for after 65 years of independence and democracy.

In a country like India, first of all our law and order is so stout, that no one dares to fear it. Then on top of it, we make our girls so diffident that it inevitably gives encouragement to the boys to develop the feeling of domination. Just think about it, at home itself the parents are always partial towards their male child in every sort of issue. Why the rules are just for girls? Why a boy’s character is not judged on the basis of clothes he wears or the timings at which he roam outside? A boy can have numerous affairs, but when it comes to girls, it becomes an honor issue. Where is the space for equality then? What is the meaning of education when you simply have to judge a woman based on her sexuality and attire? By doing all this, we are not protecting our daughters; we are simply facilitating those bigots in our society who feel that they are superior to women and they can do any sort of heinous activity with them.

Activities like assaults, rapes, etc. are social crimes. While, a firm law and order is categorically required to prevent and prosecute them, however, a community based approach and actions are also required to prevent these atrocities. A sustained behavioural change in the men fraternity is definitely being called for and this can be brought only and only by the society (read us). It is essential to plug out the feelings of chauvinism, desire for power and sadism from men. Instead of teaching women to confine them, it should be the men who must be taught not only to respect their mothers and sisters but also the women who are someone else’s daughters and sisters. By confining and restricting our girls, we are merely making such chauvinists/rapists win.






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