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Once again there has been a horrific rape and murder incident that has rocked social media. When will there be justice and when will it all stop?
Jisha, a young girl was brutally raped and murdered inside her home in Kerala.
I wonder what the politicians will now say to justify this incident. She was not roaming alone in a secluded area and she was not out till late in the night. She was sitting quietly inside her house and going about her life.
Maybe she was dressed ‘provocatively’ inside her house which incited these men to break into her home and commit this heinous crime? The point is that there is absolutely no justification for such crimes!
What scares me is that these criminals are obviously depraved individuals who should not be allowed to roam free in the society, and when they are allowed to get away with crimes of such grievous proportion it only encourages them.
I personally believe that when one of Nirbhaya’s torturer was given freedom, it put a lot of girls in danger. It basically gave strength to the belief that no matter what crime you have committed, even if it is murder, you can get away with it if you are juvenile. Because after all ‘boys will be boys’.
I do wonder sometimes on the motivation behind such acts. What kind of rage and anger simmer inside these men to push them to inflict injuries on a young innocent person. Someone who in all probability have never met them, and even if she has, never done anything to invite such wrath upon herself.
Jisha was a law student and the only daughter of a single mom. Their lives must have had their own ups and downs, little joys and challenges. Nothing could have prepared them for this terrible incident headed their way. What’s more frustrating is that the media did not deem this incident important enough to be reported for atleast 3 weeks as they were busy reporting the elections. Only after social media started flashing this incident did they pick it up.
To be fair to media, there are thousands of such incidents happening across our country. It is impossible to cover all of them. But why should a case matter only if media is reporting it? The law should be equal for all, whether or not the incident is getting air time.
I hope for an ideal world, a world where a girl can go out at anytime of day or night without worrying about her personal safety, without looking over her shoulder, without being scared of monsters that seem to be lurking in every corner. Maybe this dream of mine will never be realised. There will never be an ideal world. But we can surely have a world, where justice is meted out, where if a wrong was done, the wrongdoer is caught, where punishment acts as a deterrent and stops someone from committing crimes against innocents.
Image source: stop violence against women by Shutterstock.
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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