The recent protests
against worst crimes on women is a sign showing that the society is getting
together to fight and repeal these evil crimes-which have been occurring since
ages. This is a result of India’s younger generation’s courage to fight the
system and their will power to bring justice into the society. The increase in
awareness via growth in communication amongst the citizen via Internet is also
helping everybody to get together and fight. This should give a strong warning
to those crooked minds who think they can get away or even think of committing
crimes against women. Indeed there
should be strict laws to protect women, but we all know that laws alone cannot
solve the problem. The minds of these pathetic perverts should change. It is the responsibility of parents, teachers
and elders to teach children of today to respect women so that these crimes can
come to a complete end in another ten years.
In
the midst of these protests, it was disheartening and shameful to see politicians
and spiritual leaders those preaching religion projecting women, yet again, to
be the wrong doers. They also put the
blame on the influence of western culture instead of blaming the actual wrong
doers- the perverted people. This made me think as to what could possibly have lead
the so called sage-wise men, occupying highest positions in the society, to
think so narrowly-going against those women who have suffered the brutality. I
was sure that it takes a much more brutal and narrow mind to think on those low
lines. These acts and comments were at the heights of stupidity. It put a
thought to me that there should be a foundational flaw which shapes the
mentality of these sadists who sexually attack women or project women to be on the
wrong side after they were attacked.
It
struck to me that these crimes against women happening now are a result of
cascade of events. They are in a way the result of the Indian culture that
teaches men to be the dominant gender and their actions, no matter what, as
justified/appropriate if they feel they are right. Men seek their lessons from
the stories they learn and lay strong impression in them from the mythology.
It all started with Ram. . .
There was a king who
was considered to be ideal. He obeyed his elders and did everything right. One
day, his wife got abducted by the wrong guy of the story when he left her in
forest and went to hunt for an animal. He later kills the wrong guy but
abandons his wife after his laundry guy puts a hint of a doubt over her
integrity while she was hostage of the kidnapper. This came even after she
passed the test of fire- as asked by her loving husband- the ideal man. This is
one of the first incidents about Indian mythology that children in India learn
but it is obviously sugar coated with the moral of the story being that the
ideal man sacrificed his love life for the society, not for its well-being but
being a king his stature will take a blow if his wife is suspected in the
society he rules. This is one of the first atrocities against women that were
carved into the culture of India.
Then
there is a famous story in which a woman was married to five men who put her on
gambling and lose her to the opposition who later molest her. Of course she was
heroically saved by her super star brother lord but even after this
discriminating act, the five men are praised in Indian culture as the best and their
eldest brother is considered the symbol of Dharma and his action of gambling on
his wife is portrayed as a duty to
protect this Dharma. Then there are numerous other incidents to follow in the
culture like, to name a few, the practice of Sati, where the widow is burnt on
the pyre of her husband, alive. The practice of Kanyasulkam, where young girls
were sold to old widowed men for money. These two practices are now outdated
and are almost nonexistent. The practice of Deva dasi, the prostitutes of
Temples is another horrifying example another example of atrocities against
women via religion and culture. The
practice of accepting dowry is still prevalent all over the country.
I
feel that what we are seeing today in the society is a result of practices that
have been followed in the country since ages.
These are few of the countless incidents written and celebrated as dominance
of one sex over the other all through Indian culture and our children- from all
communities and creeds are exposed to it. The India traditional culture has
always been on the side of displaying the dominance of male over the female. It
is no doubt that the two great epics of India are the most wonderful stories
ever written or told in India but the way they are taught should be changed. There
are those hidden subtle imbalances inherently casted into the system. This is
true with most of the religions and cultures across the world. These need to be
cleared out before any change could substantially take place. If an incident is
a wrong doing, they should be taught as one and everyone should be advised not
to do so.
Education
is the only weapon to end all evil in the system.
