Trust me, there can be nothing as sad as the title of this post. The recent rape case of a 23-year old woman in the capital has shocked and disgusted millions. Yet, will this just be another case like the hundred-thousand rape cases before this, where we are shocked and sorrowed, but forget all about it within a week or so?
Thinking about this case, I don the introspective cap.Where do we, as a society, go wrong? Why is it that we have such callous attitudes to these heinous crimes? Is it because of the stigma attached to them? Or is it just that I-won't-bother-until-it-affects-my-life attitude? Nevertheless, this is something that cannot be, and must not be ignored. These people who commit such acts brazenly should of course, be punished, and in the harshest way, no doubt. The law will take its own course, but we should analyse the issue for its root cause.
I believe, that our society, in general is derogatory towards women. Just to cite an example, the normal content shown on Indian television(read: daily soaps and reality shows), is very sexist and male-dominated in general. We show female vamps, one female oppressing another. We openly see how girls or ladies in daily soaps,are abused, physically and emotionally, and they put up with it mutely.This content may be purely for entertainment, and coming with that clichéd disclaimer(that all the TV soaps show before the start of each episode), but it still sends out the message, loud and clear,that you can oppress and abuse and bully women, and it is okay, because it is Indian culture.
It is okay to eve-tease and catcall,whistle,hoot at women, because my brothers and friends do the same.
It is okay to not treat a woman with respect, because that's how a husband treats his wife.
It is okay to mistreat and molest any woman in public, because she is the helpless and inferior sex.
It is okay to abuse a woman, because it's fun!!
Basically, a woman is not my equal, and is someone to be abused and looked down upon, and nature has made her as such.
Till the time this thinking does not change, our nation will keep birthing generations of rapists and molesters.
It's time the psyche should change.
So what can we do, as determined(no doubt) citizens?
We should have a strong censor board, that cannot be bribed, and that keeps a check on the content in these shows. We should promote shows that depict a free society, where men and women are denoted as equals. Newspapers and other news media should exhibit responsible journalism. I often complain, that most newspapers these days, in the race for gathering maximum readership, tend to blatantly use the pen, to give out such gory details of any crime, so much so that they often tend to glorify these crimes. Many a time, they even sympathize with the criminals, saying that they were frustrated youth and this crime was a way of just venting their frustration!! (Yes, they do that!!!!!) Newspapers have a responsibility to write in a manner that imparts the message, that crime is wrong, and shall be punished, no matter what. Don't even think for a second that you can get away with it.
Parents and social media should be collectively responsible to hone young boys to be gentlemen, who respect and treat women as equals and not someone to show their dominance. Parents should instill the fear of law within young boys, and impress upon them, that women are equals, and have as much dignity and freedom, as men.As the clichéd statement goes, don't teach your daughters to dress properly, teach your son to behave properly with women(Well, something like that!) If you think you are the superior, more powerful sex, don't try to demonstrate that by using derogatory words and abusing a female. Show that by protecting her, nurturing her.
Don't raise your sons to be men she fears and detests, raise them to be gentlemen she adores and looks up to.
P.S. You may feel this is far-fetched, but as the modern society is slowly and steadily realizing, social media does indeed have a profound impact on what our future generation grows up to be.
