She is...
A mother...
A daughter...
A sister...
A wife...
A friend...
She is....
A woman...
Hey Wait!
She is a human...
Yes...
She is a woman...
And she can be anyone...
But always remember that she is a
human too!
Every individual’s life begins in the
lap of a woman... She gives birth to each one of us... She nurtures us... Thus
she is the starting point of anybody’s life... And she plays a very important
role in our lives...
Yet we see female foeticide being
prevalent around us. There are scores of news about domestic violence. Women
are subjected to brutal rape, verbal harassment and public molestation. She is
betrayed in the name of love. She is looked down for only-taking-care-of-family
and for not working. Further they are subjected to gender discrimination at
home, in workplace and in public. And, she doesn’t enjoy safety...
Her life is a battlefield in itself...
Her struggle to survive and sustain...The challenges she faces and the risks
that her gender carries is umpteen.
I can bet straight away that there
will not be any girl in this World who would not have been subjected to
violence. Every woman will have a scary dark story that they never wish to
share with anyone... Something that they try to forget...
It may that conductor in the bus... Or
that auto-wala... May be some random guy in the crowd... It can also be her
neighbor or school/classmate... A colleague may be... Who knows... It can also
be someone from family! At times, it can be parents!!!
Such violence can be physical or verbal.
A parent telling, “You are a girl. Why
should you study?” is nothing less compared to a random stranger taking
advantage of her in a given opportunity.
A woman she is... Someone who is
entrusted with the duty of procreation... Someone who has a better will power
and higher heights of patience...
A woman she is and alas! She is always
subjected to some violence or the other...
Some of them would be...
i.
Child
marriage
ii.
Dowry
Harassment
iii.
Female
foeticide
iv.
Child
labor
v.
Gender
discrimination
vi.
Lack
of security in both in public and in family
vii.
Lack
of recognition for the services she renders
Important of all, a woman is always
taken for granted!
A change in mindset of expecting
parents is the first step towards reducing, if not eradicating, such violence.
They should accept their baby irrespective of gender. No parents abandon their
child because of their looks, skin tone and such other attributes. Then, why
should they discriminate based on gender? They should educate their child and
treat her equally in par with her male counterparts.
I believe that education is the way
towards empowerment of women. They should be taught to be independent. They
should be taught and trained to take charge of their lives. She should be bold
and strong at the same time. She may not be as strong as a man physically. But
she is no less to him emotionally and intellectually.
Several laws and regulations are put-forth
for the well-being and safety of women. But, if the though process of people
does not change, no such enactments can be any use.
In spite of legal abolition of child
marriage, it is still prevalent in India. There are several rulings in support
of woman who undergo domestic violence. Yet the cases reported are very less
and the number of women become victim of such violence is increasing at an
alarming rate. Eve-teasing is still common and even rape has become as common
as accident.
The disgusting part is that people
will still accuse the woman only.
If it is a rape, they would say...
i.
The
girl should not have gone out at night time
ii.
She
would have worn some revealing dresses
iii.
She
would have given some signals that would have been welcoming enough
If
it is a case of domestic violence, they would say...
i.
She
doesn’t know how to run a family
ii.
She
is a woman who carries lots of attitude
iii.
She
doesn’t know how to adjust
iv.
Her
upbringing is improper
v.
She
is not patient enough
And
WHAT NOT!!!
GIVE
ME A BREAK!!!
The
blame is always on the woman. Even if it is a new born baby, they would say, “What
a cursed soul to be born as a girl!”
Hence,
I say that the only way to reduce (eradication in indeed a distant dream) is to
change the mindset of people. And this is possible ONLY through EMPOWERMENT of
women through proper EDUCATION!
Written as a part of #Ring The Bell campaign of Indiblogger in association with Bell Bajao
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