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The Kathua incident has shaken up the whole nation and rightly it should, as it is a heinous and barbaric act that only demented minds can even think of doing.
I have been reading people make statements like ‘we can feel the pain of what she went through’ or ‘my heart goes out to her and her family’ and so on. But the fact is that it is just not possible for any of us to feel the pain of that child.
As a 40 yr old female ;knowing fully well that despite all talks of equality, all the achievements of women in various fields; we are still susceptible to an indecent touch and gaze of few unscrupulous men, I feel disgusted when someone tries to ‘feel’ me. The victim here was an 8 year old child. There is no way any of us can feel the pain that she was made to go through.
I am numb and appalled at what levels such demons in the guise of human beings can stoop to! What would this 8 year old child have to satisfy these perpetrators? How desperate can such maniacs be? I saw the pictures of those involved in this crime doing the rounds on social media. One of them looks old enough to have an 8 year old grandchild and yet he is allegedly the mastermind behind this gruesome act. Another one alleged is supposedly an upholder of law! When the savior becomes the killer then the ethos of the society is endangered and on the slide. How can they even look at their own daughter and the women in their family after committing such a heinous act! An innocent little child who was enjoying her childhood silenced forever in the most horrific way! I am assured that an animal in their place would have treated the poor child in a better way.
I am the mother of a 10 year old and one of the days while watching some debate on TV, my daughter asked me the meaning of rape and I just ignored the question and changed the topic. I didn’t even want to tell her about it. These maniacs actually raped an 8 year! An innocent little child who probably had no kind of hatred or whatsoever against any person or community in particular and who just was a happy go lucky child, silenced forever in the most horrific way.
The question that comes to my mind is, who or what is to be blamed for such behavior? Have we failed as a society? Is it the upbringing or the uncontrolled aggression or just arrogance of the people who deem themselves powerful in some way or the other? Not once or twice but over and over and over again. How do we as individuals deal with such crimes? Candle light vigils, protests, numerous debates on TV; definitely the outcome of punishing the criminals is achieved. But what next?
We all were aware of the sad plight of Nirbhaya. There was an outrage about that incident as well. Political parties blamed each other, there were protests, candle light vigils and finally the perpetrators were punished. Yet, 6 years later it is this young child from Kathua. Now what? Though media has gone on an overdrive, it is because of media that we have been made aware of her case. There may be so many such innocent other children, girls, women being raped and those not getting the attention or justice and goes unnoticed and uncared for. Where does this end and when does all this stop?
I have no answers to these questions and I can only console myself that in spite of the negativity around, our world is still a beautiful place and life is good. Also, the next best thing I can do is teach my son to be respectful about the women around him, irrespective of who they are and what they mean to him. But beyond that, I feel that there may be nothing really pleasant about what we are leaving behind for the next generation. And that’s the sad truth about our society.
What is the point of all the scientific, academic and economic achievements of a country, if its children are susceptible to such gruesome acts? Hopefully we can make some small difference in our individual capacity, in our little way and try to leave a better nation for our next generation.
Image via Unsplash
A homemaker, a freelance writer who loves to travel and has a passion for reading. Firmly believe that we all are a means to a purpose and that we should do whatever we can to read more...
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A nature lover, Usha Rajagopalan set up a trust called the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) in June 2010.
While there is a glint of adventure in her eyes and a chuckle in her voice, there is also an unshakeable determination to achieve her goals which, she says, she has had from her college days. That’s Usha Rajagopalan, well-known Bengaluru-based author.
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I came across this line recently in a Tanishq advertisement (ad) and it immediately caught my attention. The ad basically demonstrates a woman as “superwoman” as she does all the professional and personal work simultaneously, she manages the social circles along with the family, she manages everything with a smile. The actual twist comes at the end when the same superwoman says that before a superwoman, I am a human first; I get tired also, I fail also and at times I am helpless too.
I feel all working women will relate to the subject line. We women are expected to be superwomen, but we are normal humans. How come a man working 9 to 5 comes home tired but a woman coming back home after work is expected to do the household chores, manage the children and other stuff too?
There is a beautiful video shared by Jaya Kishori Ji, a motivational and spiritual speaker, wherein she says, “ki hum chahte hain hamari betiyan chaand par jayein par jaane se pehle 4 paranthe or 2 cup chai banakar jaaye (we wish for our daughters to go to moon, but before going we want them to cook 4 paranthas and 2 cups of chai),” why this is so? Why are the expectations so different?
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