“Women are the pride of our country!!”
!!Spoiler Alert!!
For your kind attention please, listen to the rules that you need to abide by for the rest of your life.
Don’t be out of your house after 7 in the evening.
Don’t speak loudly.
Don’t sit with your legs spread out.
Don’t speak with everyone.
Don’t give any opportunity to the people to speak about you.
_________
Do’s and Don’ts are probably something every girl need to hear each and every day. Girls of our society are judged more by outside people than by their own families. You speak a lot? Oh you have a personality problem. You speak less? Well, you must have a lot of attitude. You are too thin? Oh! Do you suffer malnutrition? You are too fat? I’m sorry you’re so ugly.
In a country where a girl-child is killed even before she could take her first breathe, where women cannot go out of their house feeling safe at night, where it takes more than 7 years to get justice for girl who is raped brutally; can we really say that the women are the pride of that country?
Even though we speak about equality in gender, there are still some group of people who think that girls are so vain. It is true that in the fields of jobs women are given a change. But hardly few know the hardships they go through out there. Being abused by the boss or the male employees is something many women have to bear. In some families, the girls are not even allowed to continue higher studies just because of their gender.
There are still some remote areas where crime against women is practiced and there’s no one to help them. Domestic violence is one of those major crimes. Domestic violence can be seen in several forms such as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, etc. Domestic violence can be physical, emotional, verbal, economic and sexual abuse. Domestic violence can be subtle, coercive or violent. In India, 70% of women are victims of domestic violence.38% of Indian men admit they have physically abused their partners. A woman is beaten everyday every night and all she does is keep quiet; because she knows no one will ever fight for her. Bruises, scars and tears are all what she gets for sacrificing her own life. The man loses his job or dies; it is the woman who is to be blamed. Raja Ram Mohan Roy abolished the practice Sati, but did that help? Because even if they are not set on fire, the bitter words that the society throws at her burn her alive. She dies even while breathing.
The practice of child marriage was abolished a long time back by the government but still in some areas the crime of child marriage is still committed. Girls, who are married before the age of 18 and are made to leave school, depriving them of their right to education and be independent, are more likely to experience domestic violence. Also, young married girls who conceive while still physically immature are at higher risk of dying from pregnancy and childbirth complications; and their babies have a less chance of survival too.
When a girl is raped, everyone blames the girl. Did she wear short clothes? Come on, when a girl of 4 years is raped, would you still give the same excuse? There are thousands of cases when women are teased by men using vulgar words. It’s nothing but the mentality of the men of our country that needs to be changed. Women mostly do not receive justice for their rapes cases, because the police often do not give a fair hearing, and sometimes the medical evidence is also unrecorded which makes it easy for offenders to get away with their crimes under the current laws. Women trafficking and forced prostitution is also a heinous crime committed against women that is practiced secluded from the views of laws and very less people get justice in this case.
Acid Attacks are one of those crimes that are able to destroy the life of a woman. People commit this heinous crime either out of jealously, or on being rejected. As a result many women lose their sight and are often kept away, looked down upon just for their damaged face and lost identity. Several victims commit suicide not being able to tolerate the disrespect they get and the pain of being cornered.
A woman being a mother, a daughter, a wife, a sister does a lot of works. From office work to household work she never fails to fulfil the needs of her family member. If in this whole world there is someone who works with love and care without being paid but instead served with disrespect are the mothers, the wives, the women. So why do we need to set rules for them to live by? Why do we need to judge them for each and every action? Why can’t we give them the freedom to live their life by their own rules with total respect?
Let us all take a step forward. Let us change the way we look at the women. Let us change our perception. Let’s create a country where no child is denied its entry into this world just for the mere gender. Let’s create a country where the women don’t feel unsafe going out of their houses. Let’s create a country free from crime against the women. Let’s create a country where everyone lives peacefully.
Writer: Oiendrilla Chakraborty
Artist: Priyanshi Borad
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