If you want to understand how to become better allies to people with disabilities, then join us at Embracing All Abilities: Including People with Disabilities at Work.
Who is now answerable for the numbness that Bilkis Bano and her family must feel now with respect to her security and of her entire family?
India celebrated the 75th Independence Day on 15th August 2022. Like every year, I joined this grand celebration when I was glued to my TV screen, soaking in all the patriotic flavor and feeling immensely proud to be born in this holy land of Bharat.
When the country’s Prime Minister emphasized that the need of the hour was to respect women, I felt hopeful for a better tomorrow for women.
I am sure, like me, many Indian women would have had a smile on their faces during this moment because this is what we, as women, fight on a daily basis. Be it our homes, or the professional setup, women have to make an extra effort to make their presence felt and be respected for their contribution!
But, soon the smile faded when we all witnessed the 11 convicts in the infamous Bilkis Bano gangrape case being released under the remission policy of the Gujarat state government! A shiver run down my spine when I saw them being garlanded and their release being celebrated by a certain section of society!
I mean, when we celebrate the release of convicts of gang rape and murder, what kind of message do we send to society, to lakhs of women of the country, who even today say a prayer when they reach home late, safely?
What happens to the famous ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ agenda of protecting the daughters of the land?
How can we be sure that the convicts were ‘remorseful’ of the heinous crimes, enough that they were released under a remission policy?
Were the implications that this precedence has now set examined, as accused in other rape and murder cases might just ask for remission on similar grounds?
Was the moral aspect of garlanding men who conducted such barbaric activity on a mother justified?
In India, we worship our mothers. So what happened when a young mother was being raped? Humanity died a little death.
Yes, and women understood that no matter what their status is, they are always vulnerable. They are not even safe within a family, under the ‘guidance’ of their father or brother. They are not even safe when they are with their husbands. And they are certainly not safe when they stay alone in cities, far from their own houses, trying every day to be independent.
They are just prey in the eyes of lustful predatory men ready to pounce and scar a woman for a lifetime. Even when they are burqa-clad or wearing a saree, they can be molested!
Does this very act of celebrating the release, not dilute the gravity of the crime conducted by all of them?
When we, as a society celebrate our freedom as a nation, what kind of freedom are we guaranteeing our women with such acts?
Who is answerable to numerous questions that women have with respect to their safety today?
Who is answerable for the numbness that Bilkis Bano and her family must feel now with respect to the security of her life and her entire family? Certainly, without an ounce of doubt, we as a society have not only failed Bilkis Bano but the entire women population.
Is this, the future of India, that we dream of? Please look within and try to find an answer.
The woman in me screamed after seeing the released smile while being fed sweets and the poet in me revolted. The below poem written by me on my Twitter handle is a protest, a condemnation, and a sign of enraged outcry, all rolled into one.
As the dark night receded she lay there on the ground a life in her womb withering away with time waiting silently for years her eyes searching her soul screaming her fragrance still intact who threw her to the ground? who maligned her without a doubt? they said we know your pain really? she questioned, she questioned us all! mockery of justice, as they casually excused the vice…
Author of two books - (First - FivePetals; Second - Heartfelt symphonies both available on Amazon), Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu completed her MBA in Marketing and went on to join the Corporate World. She worked as a Product Manager read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
What I loved was how there is so much in the movie of the SRK we have known, and also a totally new star. The gestures, the smile, the wit and the charisma are all too familiar, but you also witness a rawness, an edginess.
When a movie that got the entire nation in a twist – for the right and wrong reasons – hits the theatres, there is bound to be noise. From ‘I am going to watch it – first day first show’ to ‘Boycott the movie and make it a flop’, social media has been a furore of posts.
Let me get one thing straight here – I did not watch Pathaan to make a statement or to simply rebel as people would put it. I went to watch it for the sheer pleasure of witnessing my favourite superstar in all his glory being what he is best at being – his magnificent self. Because when it comes to screen presence, he burns it, melts it and then resurrects it as well like no other. Because when it comes to style and passion, he owns it like a boss. Because SRK is, in a way, my last connecting point to the girl that I once was. Though I have evolved into so many more things over the years, I don’t think I am ready to let go of that girl fully yet.
There is no elephant in the room really here because it’s a fact that Bollywood has a lot of cleaning up to do. Calling out on all the problematic aspects of the industry is important and in doing that, maintaining objectivity is also equally imperative. I went for Pathaan for entertainment and got more than I had hoped for. It is a clever, slick, witty, brilliantly packaged action movie that delivers what it promises to. Logic definitely goes flying out of the window at times and some scenes will make you go ‘kuch bhi’ , but the screenplay clearly reminds you that you knew all along what you were in for. The action sequences are lavish and someone like me who is not exactly a fan of this genre was also mind blown.
A new Gallup poll reveals that up to 40% of Indian women are angry compared to 27% of men. This is a change from 29% angry women and 28% angry men 10 years ago, in 2012.
Indian women are praised as ‘susheel’, virtuous and to be emulated when they are obedient, ready to serve others and when they put the wishes of others before their own. However, Indian women no longer seem content to be in the constrictive mould that the patriarchy has fashioned for them. A Gallup poll looked at the issue of women’s anger, their worry, stress, sadness and found that women consistently feel these emotions more than men, particularly in India.
Image source
Please enter your email address