       A mother, a daughter, a wife… and so on, the list continues. We are here talking about the distinctive roles played by a women. What have we done to them now? Why is it that ‘she’ is being looked down and continuously criticized by her male counterparts? What is the status of women in this world,who claims to be democratic and to have achieved global equality? These are just handful of questions, but there are similar more hundreds of questions that are being raised, especially by women,but are largely unanswered. Daily crimes are being committed on women and many of them go unreported,which indicates negligence towards safety of women.
Rape, murders, dowry, bride-burning, sati, sexual harassment, female foeticide/infanticide etc. are various heinous acts committed on a women. Women are being raped day-in and day-out,be it behind closed doors or in public. The rapist would not even leave a child of 2yrs old to a 70yrs old woman. But,the age group of woman who get raped is largely 15-40yrs. Our everyday newspapers flashes headlines about various rape cases in different parts of the world. Men have looked woman more as a means of sex. Dowry,another system that is being carried in India since ancient times,has led to death of women in our country. Dowry is given to a girl by her parents at the time of her marriage as her financial security,but at times her in-laws tend to claim it in the lust of greed. Many a times the daughter-in-law is tortured by her husband and in-laws to get a heavy dowry from her parents,which may sometimes further lead to bride-burning or even suicides. If caught by the police, a mere fine of Rs.5000-10,000 would easily bail the dowry suspects off. Has the respect of women in our nation gone so cheap? Sati,which was traditionally carried out in olden days, still haunts some parts of rural India. Raja Ram Mohan Roy abolished sati years ago. So,why do not we have a Raja Ram Mohan Roy stepping out to stop it now? Why does a woman need to give up her desire to live and start a new life after her husband is dead? Why does she needs to immolate herself on her husband’s funeral pyre? Circumcision is another painful torture inflicted upon women in many rural parts of the world.
A woman is being harassed every single minute,be it domestic violence or social violence. There could be a woman who is being tortured right next door but,we are forced to remain silent as per the societal norms. The question that raises here is why can’t the male chauvinist hold back and think a bit differently, largely from a humanity point of view. All of us need to think whether what we are doing is right or wrong and safeguard the interests of women. It is only then the world will be a safe and a peaceful place to live in.
– By Urvashi Shah
2 Comments