For Women's Day

Source: http://fearlessleon.com/2012/03/800/

Today is the International Women's Day. It began as a celebration of women attaining the right to vote. But in most places, it has gradually evolved into a day of celebrating womanhood and everything a woman represents: endurance, beauty, love and quiet strength. Now is the time to introspect how far we, as a country, have come in empowering women. From the look of things currently, I'd say we still have a long way to go. It is true that today, there are more women in the workforce in various professions, right from the army to politics, than there were fifty years ago. Women now have the right to vote, they even have a lot of representation in the government. However, these are just baby steps forward. Social malpractices like dowry and honour killing are rampant. So are heinous acts like female  foeticide and infanticide. Security of women in this country leaves a lot to be desired.

It is ironic that ours is a country where so many female deities are worshipped and yet, women are treated like dirt. People actually believe that, if a woman goes out at night and gets molested, it's entirely her fault and that she deserves what happens to her. So it's a woman's fault that she was out at indecent hours (if 8 p.m. can be called indecent. And what about all the rapes that happen in broad daylight?), her fault that she dressed provocatively and seduced the unsuspecting pervert who did this to her. Some people also hold the opinion that, when a woman is attacked, she should not even fight back, but should enjoy it!

It is always the woman who is told to be careful when she goes out. She must not do anything to attract unwanted attention. She should keep herself covered up, she should not be out after dark. She must be proficient in self-defence, be armed with pepper spray and pointed objects, because who knows when these might come handy. She must accept the everyday groping and ogling while travelling as a part and parcel of being a woman. No one thinks to tell the animals (yes animals, because people who commit crimes against women don't have even a shred of humanity left in them), to behave, to understand that when a woman says no, it freaking means no.

We hear of rape and molestation everyday. It is not that such incidents have increased in recent times. It is just that more of them are being reported. The most disturbing thing about them is that the perpetrators of the crime do not feel any remorse. They would do it again and again, without any sense of wrongdoing. There is no fear of the law, because the punishment meted out is not severe enough. 

I used to believe in the internal goodness of people, that when people do wrong, someday, somewhere down the road, they realise that they have been wrong in the past. They then try to make amends. But in reality, this almost never happens. We live in a big, bad world, where people have to fight for their rights. If we don't express our displeasure, some people will go on treating us like a doormat. We need to speak up, even in times where we shouldn't have to speak up. One would think that safety of women is fundamental, not something that one would have to fight for. But the sad reality is that, women are responsible for looking out for themselves.

So ladies, the next time someone misbehaves, do not shrug it off casually. Stop the delinquents and shame them publicly. Show them that you won't put up with their nonsense any more. Most offenders don't want to draw attention to themselves when they commit the crime. So scream, shout, raise your voice, report it if you have to.

One reason why things have gotten so bad is that people assume the role of mere onlookers to a crime. Maybe it is because they fear for their own safety. Or maybe it's because they just don't care, plain and simple. Whatever it is, the victim can expect no help from them. This is why the wrongdoers have become bolder. They know that even if people see them, they won't do anything about it. Now imagine if the society joined hands to curb this menace, if people came together to rescue the victim, to fight off or at least condemn the wrongdoers. It could become quite a force to be reckoned with. It could make predators of women think twice before attempting anything.

There is something to be said about creating awareness. People need to be made aware about what is acceptable and what is not, on the ways that they can help to make our country safer. Many people think that such incidents happen only to other people, in only rural, secluded places. They need to be made aware that even cities, filled with educated people, are not safe any more. Children should be taught right from school itself, how to live and let live so that they don't become a danger to the society when they grow up. The media can play an active role in spreading awareness far and wide.

Having said all this, I would like to stress the fact that it is neither fair nor right to club all men in the same category. We all have fathers, brothers, friends, who care for our safety and have always looked out for us. Male bashing isn't going to do us any good. An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind, in the words of Mahatma Gandhi himself. And as Kalki Koechlin rightly said in an interview, we are humans first and then a gender.

There is hope for us yet. All we need to do is take a stand and take proactive measures the next time we witness such an incident. Because there will be a next time. And when it comes, we need to be ready to take the offenders down, so that it becomes a warning for potential offenders. Here, taking the offenders down, doesn't mean taking the law into our own hands. Then we would be no different from the criminals themselves. It means doing whatever is in our power to do in order to prevent the crime, while staying within the reach of law. It could be something as simple as being alert and notifying the police about suspicious characters or gathering several people and confronting the criminals to buy time till the police arrive. If each one of us shoulders even a part of this responsibility, our country can become a much safer place for women.