The condition of women
in India has always been a matter of grave concern. Since the past several
centuries, the women of India were never given equal status and opportunities
as compared to that of their male counterparts. The patriarchal nature of Indian
society, which even though gives respect to women as they are our mothers and
sisters, has greatly hampered both the independence as well as the safety of
women.
One of the main reasons
of violence against women is the mentality which deems women inferior of men
and merely limits their importance to the maintenance of the household, the
upbringing of children and pleasing their husbands and serving other members of
the family.
Even in today's times of
modernization of society, many working women are still subjected to immense
pressure to shoulder the dual responsibility of a housewife and a working woman
simultaneously with little or no help from their husbands.
It is the same mentality
which, some generations ago, used to think of women as mere objects of
attaining sexual pleasure and a servant of the husband, who was considered
"parameshwar" which literally translates to "supreme God".
Times have changed but
the mentality still prevails in the mindsets of several narrow minded Indians.
Although it was a most
heinous case of cruelty, it is ironical to note that such incidents are not
actually rare in our country. There are several such cases happening everyday
where females (from infants to old ladies, from upper middle class women in
metro cities to dalit women in villages .the list can be endless) are subjected
to horrendous sexual torture by lustful men who are, in most cases, known to
the victims. One cannot generalize the victims or those guilty of sexual crimes
in India; they come from all strata of society and from every part of India and
belong to all the age groups.
Making stringent laws is
necessary to ensure that the guilty in such cases get the punishment that they
deserve and don't walk freely due to the weak provisions or loopholes of the
existing laws. But asserting that stringent laws will be able to curb male
sexual overdrive in India cannot be justified.
Unlike the cases of
sexual molestation registered in police stations, there is a large portion of
women in India who are subjected to rape and other forms of sexual assault on a
daily basis and still their cases go unnoticed.
These women are the
unfortunate wives who have to indulge in sexual intercourse with their husbands
even if they don't want to (non-consensual sex is nothing but rape). They don't
actually have a say in front of their husbands when it comes to sex, they have
to comply with the needs and demands of their husbands.
Another category of such
women who are bound to indulge in sexual activities against their wishes are
the hundreds of thousands of sex workers in India who are visited by numerous
men everyday and even tortured by many of their clients. They are compelled to
do as their clients say as they have no other means of feeding themselves and
their children other than selling their bodies to the sex-hungry men of India.
If we take account of
all these women and then collectively see the scenario of sexual crimes against
women, it can be easily seen that stringent laws alone cannot do much. What
really needs to be done is the moral overhauling of the minds of the masses by
means of education and awareness.
Strong and stringent
laws are definitely necessary as the existing laws have proved to be
inefficient in ensuring swift justice and appropriate punishment to the guilty.
But the actual need of the hour is a revolutionary change in the mindsets and
conscience of Indian men so that they stop seeing women as objects of sexual
pleasure.
- Shivam Sharma ( Editor & Co Owner Canners International )
Ya Bro v will have to stand for it...really it NOW or NEVER!!
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