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Seventy years may have passed since we got independence, but have we really gained the freedom we seek? Are women truly independent?
Don’t we feel amazing when we talk about how our brave freedom fighters freed us from the colonial rule? Well, I know I do. I feel extremely blessed to have been born in such a brave and diverse country. But is that all there is to it?
Yes, while I do feel blessed, I also feel a little disgusted. A while ago, I was reading some history. I am an eleventh grader from a small city in the state of Haryana.
Haryana. Sounds familiar, right? Yes, I am talking about the state with the lowest female ratio. Well, looking at our society, it comes as no surprise. The society we live in is a male-driven chauvinist society.
What I mean to say is – remember reading in your history books about rituals like child marriage and sati pratha? Apparently, the Britishers were the ones who passed laws to stop these practices.
I am not saying that the colonial rule was good or anything but what I am implying is that the English believed we ‘weren’t civilised’ because of this. And it makes me very sad to say this, but looks like they were right!
More than seventy years have passed since we got our independence. And maybe now, men are free, but what about women? Are we free?
Even today, all over the country, women fear going out of their houses. Men still harass and bully women into doing what they want them to do. Women in India, still need a voice and help. And they are still questioned about their character based on their clothes and other absurd things!
Should I be proud of the freedom now? I don’t get it! Where did it all go wrong? We are a country where men can pee in public and roam around without a shirt. However, a girl is taught to fear even showing her shoulders or wearing comfortable clothes!
Sometimes I would wonder if it were for my own benefit. But you know what I’ve realised? I found out that it’s done to not attract a man! Wow! A woman covers up herself so she does not attract a man! So, I guess being beautiful is not a good thing?
But we forget that society also shames women who aren’t beautiful according to its standards. A beautiful girl dressing up is judged but so is an ‘ugly’ girl who doesn’t dress up. Is the opposite is also true? Yes! We judge beautiful girls who don’t dress up but also ‘ugly’ girls who do!
It doesn’t matter who you are, what you wear or what you do, if you are a woman, be ready to be judged, criticised, rated, bad-mouthed and ill-treated!
Well, I wish I could change society. I wish it was a society where no one is judged, labelled, rated or criticised on the basis of their looks or clothes.
Most of us worship God but we also criticise the people made by God! I mean, skin tone, gender, race, colour, caste and beauty are all the things we can’t control. Only the Almighty know what he did. So, why not question Him?
Picture credits: Still from Hindi TV series Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hain
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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