"I have worshiped woman as the living embodiment of the spirit of service and sacrifice."
-Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Quite ironical it is to
think that the above words were said by the “father of the nation” of a country
which is being condemned worldwide right now for the way it treats its women,
even more that this very country, since ancient times, has worshiped women as
a divine being. But nothing is more ironical than the fact that it is this very
'Vedic' nation whose 'sons' rape their women and throw them in the middle of nowhere
to die!
The recent incidents in our nation's capital involving the rape of a 23
year old, her subsequent traumatizing death and everything in between brought
to popular attention the rather disturbing mindset prevalent in our society.
The horrific details brought out an out pour of varying sentiments seen rarely
before in contemporary Indian history. To top that, just when we thought the
situation couldn’t get any worse, we saw some of the most irresponsible
behavior by our political and intellectual class. Ranging from mind numbing
silences by the top brass to outrageously idiotic statements, we had it all.
This brought to fore once again that it’s not necessarily a lower strata
problem; rather it is a much deeper crisis.
The problem lies with the very core patriarchal mindset of our society.
Rape is not only a perverted and inhumane act of sexual gratification; rather
for many it symbolizes an act of masochistic dominance. After all, the idea of
male superiority is what most of the population grew up with. Why not then,
just justify it!?
And that night there were not just 6 culprits. The passive stand-byers who
wouldn’t dare to help the two ‘strangers’ were also a part. It was not just a
23 year old girl who was violated! We were all victims.
The world may not have ended but humanity will if we don’t do something.
This may sound cliché but
it’s time to correct the wrongs, time we became proud again. Time we not only
change things, but became the change itself.
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