Sir,
What an irony… we Indians always need a strong jolt to our conscience before we rise to fight against a wrong!
This time it took the gruesome and torturous rape to tug our cords and pull us out of the comforts of our homes to launch massive protests and anger on the roads against a crime that perhaps has been an every day occurrence around us. What kind of social set up is that? The victim hides and is ridiculed and perhaps marred for life in more than one way, while the criminal roams free … in search of a new prey?
Aren’t our mothers, sisters, daughters subjected to teasing, molestation, and harassment almost every time they hit the road! It is absorbed as a normal routine! We teach our daughters not to react as it may incite an even worse reaction from a psycho! And they continue to hear obscene remarks and bear with their personal space being invaded! Why don’t we teach our sons instead to respect the opposite gender?
Shouldn’t we incorporate genuine moral lessons as an important component in curricula at all levels of education, teaching our kids to value and respect human dignity? When are we going to shun the hoos and haws and talk to our children openly without getting red faced?
Whom are we waiting for to change our set up? We often hear being said that the society needs to change? Who makes up the society? Aren’t we a component? So isn’t it obvious that until we change our mindset such irreverence shall continue to reverberate around us?
The wave of protest that rose in response to Damini’s anguish seems to have subsided while a multitude of Damini’s await justice and scores of them are added to that queue everyday.
What velocity of jolt do we await to extract our crumbling ethos from their deathly slumber? God only knows!
While our women move on, apprehensive of the lurking evils……we Indians exhibit tolerance to its superlative!
Yours etc….
Dr. Alpana Vohra
On email
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