We live in a country which has Amnesia. We forget the number of rape cases that is recorded each day. Just a quick reminder: According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), an average of 88 rape cases was recorded for each day in the year 2019. What is the cause for these atrocious acts on women who are being worshipped as goddesses in temples? Let’s take a moment and look at what has led our nation to this situation.
Women- The weaker sex
Women have been portrayed as the weaker sex. The voices of women are not heard. The family decisions to be taken do not include a woman’s opinion. In order to “protect” women, the purdah system is being followed. The cruelty in the “Purdah system”is unalterable. Even the thought of a woman to live independently on her own is unseen or unheard of in major parts of our country.In the name of culture and religion, many responsibilities are mounted on women that hinder their individual growth. The woman is responsible for the household chores and has a majority of family care roles. In order to attain individuality, a woman needs to arm herself with self-respect and shield herself with education. In order to provide her with education, first the barriers in front of her needs to be removed.
Do away with marriages and promote Abortions
The atrocities done on her in the name of a marriage, it would be better if we abolish marriage. Arranged marriages in India are nothing more than a business deal. The Dowry deaths as a result of this business deal are numerous. The National Crime Records Bureau of India recorded nearly 7000 dowry linked deaths in 2017. Dowry deaths rose from 19 per day in 2001 to 21 per day in 2016. Although receiving or giving Dowry has been criminalized by law in 1961, we can see that it is still prevalent in our country. Also, forced marriages are a common sight in our society.
Women are made slaves in this patriarchal society by the concept of child bearing. In order to uplift the situation for women, abortion needs to be given as a mandatory option for each woman. Promoting abortions and birth control can be used as a way to empower women.
A community’s progress is based on the power they hold in the society. This could also be said to be true for Women. The number of Women members in RajyaSabha is 27 out of 238, which is only a meager 11 per cent. In the LokSabha it is at 14 per cent. There were only 25 percent of women joining civil services in 2017.
Regarding the sexual harassment and rapes in the country, the question of whether stringent punishments would decrease the crimes is unanswerable. But it could be a start. Maybe we can also start by teaching our kids in a better way. The aim of this blog is only to address the issue and create a thought about it.
