A Woman She is!!!

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