India got a taste of independence in 1947 and was declared as a republic country, but the women in India still haven't gotten the flavor of freedom, as yet. Women, here in India, are the target for many things. Killing the girl child, dumping her in a dustbin, leaving her in an orphanage; its tearing many a hearts apart. In public transport too women are the victims. We find many women working, but with a fear about being dominated by a male colleague or by her unmarried boss. The horror is always in the heart of a female, dying to stay out of everything and being individualistic.
If I have to go out after the street lights are turned on, I always have to be accompanied by a male, because the society in which I live, hasn't yet allowed the freedom for females to even go out on the streets after hours. Even in the broad daylight in public transport, women are sexually abused, even without their realization. Even if they realize, they can't raise an alarm or hit him, because you are raised just a few questions of what happened. Instead of bearing the humiliation women shut their mouths and continue to travel to reach their destination. What else can we do? Though there have been schemes to help women travel by public buses safer, they haven't really worked out, call it the lack of funds or the lack of enough vehicles to support the scheme, the idea died out in between. Stalking, blank calls, eve-teasing has been common since quite a long time with men.
A boy asks a girl her hand for matrimony, the girl denies. Result will be in the next day's headlines - "Girl killed in acid attack" or "Girl stalked to death" or "Girl stabbed 20 times". Such headlines are common. Many such incidents in several parts of the country have been observed. But no one could do anything, the guy escapes eventually. Here, I am not trying to say that its always the men's mistake for such things to happen, there might be a mistake from the female side too, but the victim is always a women. The lady is dragged into the media, humiliated and the result her future is shattered. No one will ever even approach her and help her out. Its the way the nature is. Maybe this will ever change.
Dowry is another curse to Indian society. Even if you are from a lower middle class family, eventually you have to pay a definite amount to the groom to marry him. Are we buying a guy for our self? Or are we paying the guy to support us for the rest of our life? Or are we paying the guy to act as our bodyguard so that we can freely move in the society? Which ever reason, money is eventually paid. Even if the girl is well-educated and is earning more than the guy is, she has to pay more money. There are cases where the guys deny any such kind of dowry, but the parents put their legs down, emotionally blackmail the guy and get the amount they want for their son.
I am happy that practices like Sati and Widowship have been removed. Now the widow needn't jump into pyre of her husband. A widow can remarry too. I am glad that such issues have stopped. Is a girl a pain in the ass for parents that they have to pay money and get rid of them? Is she a burden to the family she loves the most in the world? If a pregnant woman is sent for abortion then the fetus must be a female. Though the government is taking actions and certain rules, in rural areas such things are common. A parents loves his/her daughter. But his over-affection might lead to some humiliation in her life. She is bounded to her parents till a certain time and later to her husband's life. She's never given the freedom she wants. I just hope that some day the life of the girl will change and will rise without the need of a man in her life!
3 comments:
It's really good writing's mahathi.you rocks..
Well, this type of issues are there everywhere. Not exactly of the same kind but very similar.
In NY, fair guys think twice to go out single when it is dark in some areas.
And the current burning issue in Australia, Indians go in flocks (rather I could have said "groups"), because they are not sure of what would happen to them if they venture out single.
These are things which are present everywhere else in the world.
Not to undermine things, these are shown under a microscope in India here because these happen in a greater magnitude than anywhere else in the world. And your references to marriage, dowry .... I feel 99% of Indian families are hypocritic. That has been our way of life for ages. :(
@ram : i so do agree wit u tat Indian families are hypocritic but not 99% mite be around 98.99%. I have written all this because i feel every girl or every person can relate themselves to it
Not only in India, i agree but wen v call our country a republic and independent country wat's d use wen 60% of d population is not able to live republicly or independently?
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