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| Goddess Durga, "Shakti" |
Recently, two news items caught my attention. One was about, India being ranked "fourth most dangerous country" in the world for women (should we even wonder why we earned this honour?!!) and the other, about women taking "SLUT walks", in different parts of the world, including India! Wow. Should we be really surprised?
Every single day, we read about inhuman acts of sexual perversion, abuse, kidnapping, rape, incest, burning, acid attacks, dowry deaths, and so many gruesome acts of oppression of women, across all categories and class, that such news sound very "routine." We have mastered the art of conveniently ignoring this uncomfortable truth which earns our attention only when some "high profile" person is involved in such crimes.
Ask any woman, how it feels to be raped through eyes of sick men with deviant minds. Listen to their pain and humiliation of being groped by some pervert at the crowded place. We claim to honour and worship Goddess Shakti and respect her personification in women. We take pride in "Indian culture" and our "age old traditions" and fight for it when it is threatened. Let's do the realty check.
None of the crimes I mentioned above, really shame us! The truth of our reality is in female infanticides being devoured by sewages from rural as well as "global" metro cities. Our reality is charred bodies in dowry and tandoor deaths. Our reality is, painfully disturbing, rotting stench of female foetuses, and the hanged bodies "honour killings". This is our TRUE "culture" and the manner in which we "honour" women. I know, it is difficult to swallow this truth because we consider ourselves "highly civilized"!
Interestingly, when I googled SLUT walk India (I don't know what impact "SLUT walk" Delhi, will have and if it would die out after enjoying immense attention from media), I found many comments by Indian men trying to get some perverse titillation by posing questions like, "are the women going to dress in mini skirts and bras?", "how foolish it is that Indian women are aping western women by trying to stoop down to such vulgar acts and by participating, they are going to ruin their honour (izzat) and country's image (!!!)" Most of the responses have already deemed the likely participants immoral, slandering their character!
I am NOT a feminist. And I DON'T believe that all men are perverts. As a human being, every time I read about oppression of women, or for that matter any human being, I lament death of basic humanness that connects us all. I bemoan lack of will and vigilance that any civilized society should display and be accountable for. I am deeply saddened to learn that we still lack the basic education in humanity.
"Love and respect woman. Look to her not only for comfort, but for strength and inspiration and the doubling of your intellectual and moral powers. Blot out from your mind any idea of superiority; you have none.” - Giuseppe Mazzini.
