According to Captain Lakshmi, a society will be independent,
only if it has achieved political, economic and social independence. Even after
60 years of political independence, social development, or rather social equality,
i.e. equality of all, irrespective of religion, caste, gender, class, color,
etc etc is one thing the Indian society is definitely lacking in.
We live in a country, where the Woman’s Bill is tabled in
the parliament, which if passed will ensure 33% of the seats for women in the Lower
House of the Parliament. We live in an era where we have reservations for women
in Post Graduation courses in some of the country’s best institutes. We have separate compartments for women in
train, separate seats in bus, even separate school buses. In spite of all this,
have women achieved equality? Do women need reservation or do they need respect?
Are we promoting respect and equality to women through reservation? And lastly,
has the society degraded so much that respect for someone needs to be “promoted”?
One incident, which was in the limelight for a while (till
the media manages to get TRP ratings for that), was the Park Street rape case
in Kolkata. The victim, who was at a pub, was offered lift by a guy, following
which she was gang raped at gun point. Our
thoughts are plagiarized in such a way that, whenever we hear of any such news,
we start questioning the morality of the victim involved, as the victim is of
the “weaker” sex. Questions arise from all corners, as why she was in the pub,
why did an “Indian woman” consume alcohol, why did she accept a lift in the
first place, and the conclusion “She deserved it” creeps naturally in our mind
that we do not even think twice about it.
Forming these conclusions is made easier by the fact that most
of the bureaucrats and politicians, whom we look up to, start questioning her morality
(in some cases, publicly). There have been several instances where these
“educated” officials attribute such cases to “indecent” behavior from the female’s
part. For instance, the police officers for the Park Street rape case mocked
her and used the fact that she was in the pub to (mis)judge her character. In
spite of being raped, a situation in which no one could even imagine the physical
and mental trauma associated, she has to suffer mockery and that too from the
people responsible to find the culprits!
The Chief Minister of the state in the above case, a female
herself, claimed that the case was fabricated to malign the government. How much
more insensitive and ignorant can the leader of the state be! The recent story
of the girl, who was molested in Guwahati, and many others, are not a bit different.
No wonder, rapes are considered so casual, and the culprits walk scot free.
Now, these are the stories that reach the public. What about
the countless other cases! We live in a society where females suffer more,
after the physical rape. She tries her best by fighting against the sexual
advances of the “stronger” counterpart, till she is beaten up, and forced upon.
Regardless of this, after the incident, it is she who bears the brunt. And, in
spite of her trauma, she will be forced to hush, not to react, and will be without
any support or a shoulder to lean on.
We never think twice of our ability to judge anyone,
especially females. We want her to follow a certain set of moral rules that we (males/society)
created for our own benefits. Regardless of their comfort, we want her to be
dressed fully, regardless of her taste, we want her not to consume alcohol,
regardless of her career interest, we want her to sit at home and raise our
kid, regardless of her love interest, we just want her to get married off to
some guy from a “decent” family and the list just goes on. If she tries to
break the rules, the whole society including the males and females, unite against her.
If she does anything against the stereotyped rules, if she loves a guy, or if
she gets raped (as if it is her fault), the cruelty that she has to face varies from isolating and
ignoring her to honor killing.
Respect towards women is not something that comes easily,
especially in our society. We (males) consider it “mission accomplished” when
we touch the privates of a woman when she is in a bus. Why consider a bus, even
in the queues inside a temple, where people stand to get “salvation”, this is
quite common. Even the minor aspects, like whistling, or singing certain songs
when women walk in front of us, have to be stopped. The portrayal of women in
the media, movies, and all other entertainment sources should undergo a
complete revamp. Her opinions have to be considered in making family decisions,
and ultimately, every kid should be brought up in such a family, where women
are not considered inferior, or for that matter even separate.
According to Morgan Freeman, the best way to get rid of racism
is not to talk about it. Let our kids grow up in a society, where separate rights
are not even talked about, a world where women and men are considered
different only because of the physical aspects. That is the only way we can
establish social equality, gender-wise.
P.S: Ashamedly I admit, I had been one among the
overwhelming majority, thinking just like the ones I described above. However,
now that my perspectives are changing, so are my thoughts and my approach.
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