Amidst all the controversy over the movie and the discussion on the mindset of a section of Indian men, I am lost. I don’t know what to feel anymore: confused and irritated or ashamed and enraged. An Indian woman deserves to be raped if she roams around the city after 9 PM? She deserves to be raped if she is out with her friend to watch a movie? She does, well why not! When an educated lawyer says that he will pour petrol over a girl/woman in her family and burn her alive in front of the society then he must be correct. After all we need to trust somebody’s judgement, an educated lawyer can show us to the norms society should follow. Maybe that is the way society should progress.
A rape case in the heart of the capital of the country shook us, slapped us in the face. While we were protesting and fighting for justice on the roads of Delhi, the world spat on our face when they discussed women safety in India. The rich cultural and traditional value system that we are proud of, the figures showed rampant effect of patriarchy and the orthodox value system that we have.
Well the accused says it was his duty to teach the woman a lesson, a lesson that she should not roam around at night, a lesson that she should sit and do her homework after dark, a lesson that her life needs to be confined within the boundaries of the house. He opined that had she not fought back, none of this would have happened and she would have lived. Well he does mean that a woman should not fight back when she is raped, she should comply. No matter what a man does, comply to it.
In the past, prominent public figures have commented on this controversial topic. From “eating chowmein” to “using cell phone”, everything leads to rape. Young men rape women by mistake, rapes happen by mistake, rape happens to girls who wear short dresses and arouse boys, rape is a girl’s fault because she called out loud for it. If a girl is about to get raped, she should call her rapist “bhaiya” and she will be saved, that’s the remedy. Is it a joke? Not only are you questioning the stature of women, now you are asking her to name her rapist as her brother.
Are women not blood and flesh? We deserve to get raped? Well maybe we do! Why rape? Give us capital punishment, hang every woman who ever dares to step out of the confines of her house. Molest every girl who ever fights for her “fundamental” rights, those 7 rights. Well yes, murder every girl who can potentially get arouse young men to sexually assault her. Why show mercy, just pour acid on her face and let her burn on the streets because she does not have to right to say “no” to a man. Well if that does not work then just get a sword and chop her head off publicly. We deserve it. We deserve so much, all this for one simple reason. WOMEN ARE “FOR USE”. Women are instruments of pleasure and entertainment, women are there only for making the life simple for men, women are only for cleaning and maintaining the house, women are only for giving birth to males. How dare we eat something that is not “Indian”? How dare we adapt to the changing world and use a cell phone? How dare even think of getting educated and changing the world for better? We don’t deserve anything that this world has to offer, for we are women.
I ask the men in the traditional Indian society, if you can ask the daughters to stay in the confines of the house after 9 PM then ask your sons also to do the same. If you can teach your son that the women in the family are not equal to men, the teach him to equally disrespect the men in the family as the women. You can drool over the protagonist in a movie when she would wear a short dress, rape a woman on streets when she wears it? Does that even have a base? Enough of hypocrisy in the society. If you claim to be educated and fore thinker then teach your son the true meaning of masculinity instead of blaming the girl. For all we know, it's always the girl's fault in our "traditional" settings.
I have always believed that not all men share the same view. But somehow with every word I write, I feel more helpless than ever. However I won’t beg anyone to keep the women safe. I will urge the men to think, reason out if we deserve a chance to live our lives and then educate the society accordingly.
Rest in Peace Nirbhaya, for we will fight for justice.
