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As Yogi Adityanath's Government completes 100 days, let's have a look at it's second most favourite thing after Gau-rakshaks, i.e. anti-romeo squads.
As Yogi Adityanath’s Government completes its first 100 days, let’s have a look at its second most favourite thing after Gau-rakshaks, i.e. Anti-Romeo Squads.
“After the formation of anti-romeo squads, women in the state feel much safer,” UP Chief Minister Adityanath said while speaking about the crime against women in the state.
“Do they, though?” is a question we should ask ourselves and all the women in UP. In the same article by the Times of India, the top comment answers this question quite appropriately: “Women feel safe in UP, because they don’t go out of their homes due to fear of getting harassed by anti-romeo goons.” by someone who called herself Sarcastic Bee.
Ever since their appointment, the anti-romeo squads have been the centre of debates, with people arguing about their purpose: whether they actually protect women or is it just a ploy to harass couples, as it becomes clear from the numerous reports of their goon-ery and violence, and some ridiculous statements about identifying the said ‘romeos’. And now the CM very conveniently blowing his own trumpet speaks volumes about the actual work that is being done under all that noise.
Why is it that the government went in for a measure that aims at such an ambiguous eradication of molesters and perps? How does a said ‘anti-romeo’ distinguish a ‘romeo’ from an ordinary man? Except for the publicity that this move has gained, nothing much has been reported about its effectiveness.
The point to note is, whenever the dial stops at women’s safety there are only big statements made, speeches emphasised and posters stuck behind vehicles, generally before an election. Why we need to have such explicit and additional safety measures for women is a question for another day. What about the things that are already in place but don’t work? For instance, regular police patrols, registering a FIR from a woman without asking her questions about her outfit or about her friends circle or her routine, proper investigation and not assuming that ‘boys will be boys’.
Wouldn’t more than half the problem vanish if the systems in place do their work and not undermine a woman’s statement because she is… drum roll a woman? Governments should focus on first strengthening their basic amenities, rather then go on forming special squads.Do something tangible, make a difference – not do something different to gain praises and publicity. If we need a special force for our protection, tell me, what then is the difference between us and an endangered animal? Not much, I’d say.
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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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