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The 2012 Delhi gang-rape shook the nation to its core and had mothers worrying about their daughters. Who will bring about a change, asks this mother.
It was a cold and sombre night when a 23-year-old girl stepped out with her friend to watch a movie, never to return back. Little did she know, that wintry night would be her last.
Yes, you might have guessed that I am talking of the horrific gang rape of 16th December 2012 that shook the entire country. The one that raised questions on the thought process of the men of our country.
It was widely discussed both in India as well as abroad further tarnishing our image as a country. A country is more known by its people than geographical boundaries, culture or heritage.
More shocking was when rapists successfully twisted the arms of law by postponing the execution dates not once, but twice. This is the justice received by the family of the victim after fighting for seven long years.
Candle marches, nationwide protests, onscreen as well as off-screen debates led to nothing. The rarest of the rare case saw no amendments in juvenile crime lawyer who not only raped but did something so heinous that I dread to think, read or even imagine.
We all slept over this case, till recently it resurfaced before us through media. Probably only one woman who did not give up her fight, was Nirbhaya’s mother. I believe, mothers never give up on their children.
I, too, woke up when I saw the heart-wrenching video of Nirbhaya’s mother on the scheduled hanging day. Her tears had dried up over the years of struggle and fight for justice but she stood there, strong as a rock to fight till her last breath.
Her daughter fought for nearly a fortnight as she had the will to live, maybe not for herself, but for her parents. For no fault of hers, she was lying on a bed in a vegetative state. Was it her fault that she resisted the assault and fought back every minute without the fear of being beaten up or even killed?
I believe, that’s what woman are built of. We know how to rise like phoenix from the ashes. Nature has embedded the ‘never to give-up’ attitude deep within us. We are safe neither in our homes nor in our country. Everybody talks about the incidents, abuse, domestic violence but no one talks about the change that needs to be brought about.
The Nirbhaya incident should have been the last gang rape recorded. But to everyone’s utter dismay, more cases surfaced from various parts of the country in recent past. Women of influential and highly-educated background were also not being spared.
Nirbhaya incident and many more horrific incidents have transformed me from a carefree girl to a worried mother.
Today, I am the woman who fears for her daughter in school. And whenever she steps out.
Today, I am that woman who fears to step out late in the night.
Today, I am also that woman who reads about atrocities on a woman daily.
I am also the woman who has to teach her 3-year-old twins, the good and bad touch.
Today I am an anxious mother if the school bus is even a minute late.
And today, I am a suspicious aunt who assures her daughter is safe even when she is playing with her cousin.
Today, have I become a mother who worries more than usual? Probably, YES.
Or is it the incidents around me taking a toll.
Today I am that woman who desperately wants a CHANGE.
To break free from the shackles of fear.
But who will bell the cat to bring the CHANGE?
Should I wait for a man to come in a shining Armour to slay all my fears?
Or be that Woman to bring change?
Here, I join the hands with the mothers of the fearless to take a pledge to bring that Change.
We were enough crushed and trampled, not only our dreams but our identities too.
Time has come for the change.
Us, mothers, take the Onus of bringing Change by raising our Sons and daughters,
EQUAL and RIGHT.
Womanhood can only be celebrated in its true spirits when we don’t give up our fight. Don’t accept being crushed but rise like a phoenix from the ashes.
Hope 3rd March 2020 brings a new Dawn in the chapter of justice and finally, Nirbhaya gets it.
Update: When the article was submitted, the rapists of the Delhi Gang-rape were still awaiting execution. They were finally executed on March 20, 2020 at 5:30 am IST.
Picture credits: Pexels
Mommy of two tiny tots, an ex Banker by profession. Passionate Odissi and Kathak dancer. Painter in leisure hours, a chirpy girl by heart . read more...
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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