'The Want' Courtesy- Google Images
Let’s say there are thieves on the roads, ready to rob and steal, what do you do?
Hide and not come out until there’s no thief around?
Nodding in agreement, well some may be, but then for majority of us, it’s a NO. Because honestly there isn't one of them or two for that matter, there are many, many to rob you off your clothes and steal away your innocence.
I say just clothes for I firmly believe that getting eve teased or sexually harassed has nothing to do with the demean of a woman’s respect and dignity. Anyway, not deviating more, that’s how I see the exclusion of women from public spaces in our country.
India is one great nation where in the leaders ask the female population to stay inside their houses, wardens command female hostelers not to step out once the sun sets, parents instruct their daughters to return back in due time and they do all of that not because they want to control a female’s life, taking away one’s right is never their intention, all they want is to keep the fragile gender safe (note the sarcasm).
The funniest thing, our society has this weird and highly inappropriate way of classifying people. The common notion is, there are two types of women- respectable and the 'Sluts'.
It is believed that the respectable women stand the risk of potential defilement in public place while so called characterless women are themselves a potential source of contamination to the purity of public places.
Excuse me?
I beg to disagree, not even in the smallest way do I think that we can decide whether a woman deserves respect or not on the basis of her profession.
A doctor deserves respect and a bar dancer does not, Why? Both of them are living for themselves and have made the best of the resources available to them.
I have never seen anyone aspiring to become a bar dancer.
Have you?
Also I condemn the idea of generalizing the men of a certain class and occupation as the potential threat. Not necessarily every one who is unemployed, shabby looking and poor has evil intentions just like not every rich brat flaunting a foreign degree can be called decent. The idea of generalizing thus is highly hypocrite.
Heard of ‘Men will be men’? Another extremely annoying ideology that pertains in our society, any indecent behavior, gesture and comment by a man is not only accepted but also expected. That is how they are, they say. Be careful and alert, they say. Why? May I know, what have these people from the stronger gender (as is believed) done to enjoy such a privilege?
The idea of rape being worse than death needs a recheck because it is NOT. You have a life, a life which is pretty much the same, a life which you can use to live every dream that you once dreamt of, what happened was just a bad incident what you still have is a very precious possession ‘life’, make the best of it.
As females we understand that not everyone can be safe all the time, that there is risk that we have to be cautious about. We fight for our right to engage in risks without being questioned. We want you not to treat the female child like some fragile piece of antique which should be taken care of and shielded all the time, which loses its inclusiveness if it survives a crack as and when it crashes against the ground. We are individuals, we are powerful and we demand respect in terms of equal treatment and not special care.
- Kanchan Bisht
UE columnist
Hide and not come out until there’s no thief around?
Nodding in agreement, well some may be, but then for majority of us, it’s a NO. Because honestly there isn't one of them or two for that matter, there are many, many to rob you off your clothes and steal away your innocence.
I say just clothes for I firmly believe that getting eve teased or sexually harassed has nothing to do with the demean of a woman’s respect and dignity. Anyway, not deviating more, that’s how I see the exclusion of women from public spaces in our country.
India is one great nation where in the leaders ask the female population to stay inside their houses, wardens command female hostelers not to step out once the sun sets, parents instruct their daughters to return back in due time and they do all of that not because they want to control a female’s life, taking away one’s right is never their intention, all they want is to keep the fragile gender safe (note the sarcasm).
The funniest thing, our society has this weird and highly inappropriate way of classifying people. The common notion is, there are two types of women- respectable and the 'Sluts'.
It is believed that the respectable women stand the risk of potential defilement in public place while so called characterless women are themselves a potential source of contamination to the purity of public places.
Excuse me?
I beg to disagree, not even in the smallest way do I think that we can decide whether a woman deserves respect or not on the basis of her profession.
A doctor deserves respect and a bar dancer does not, Why? Both of them are living for themselves and have made the best of the resources available to them.
I have never seen anyone aspiring to become a bar dancer.
Have you?
Also I condemn the idea of generalizing the men of a certain class and occupation as the potential threat. Not necessarily every one who is unemployed, shabby looking and poor has evil intentions just like not every rich brat flaunting a foreign degree can be called decent. The idea of generalizing thus is highly hypocrite.
Heard of ‘Men will be men’? Another extremely annoying ideology that pertains in our society, any indecent behavior, gesture and comment by a man is not only accepted but also expected. That is how they are, they say. Be careful and alert, they say. Why? May I know, what have these people from the stronger gender (as is believed) done to enjoy such a privilege?
The idea of rape being worse than death needs a recheck because it is NOT. You have a life, a life which is pretty much the same, a life which you can use to live every dream that you once dreamt of, what happened was just a bad incident what you still have is a very precious possession ‘life’, make the best of it.
As females we understand that not everyone can be safe all the time, that there is risk that we have to be cautious about. We fight for our right to engage in risks without being questioned. We want you not to treat the female child like some fragile piece of antique which should be taken care of and shielded all the time, which loses its inclusiveness if it survives a crack as and when it crashes against the ground. We are individuals, we are powerful and we demand respect in terms of equal treatment and not special care.
- Kanchan Bisht
UE columnist
RSS Feed