Women, WAKE UP

Image courtesy: www.awaaramusaafir.in/conceptual/
“Jis duniya mein maa behne rishte nah gaali hain, uss duniya se maryada ke rishte saare todungi; kadam milake dekho to main saath me tere chal dungi par chhed ke dekho tum mujhko main tumko nahi chhodugi” –
Mardaani Anthem (2014)

A *slow clap* for those of you who kept quiet after the Kathua and Unnao rape cases, a minor was raped and killed in Surat this time, thanks to your silence!

It is sad to say this but given the circumstances, it is important to cite the same. Your sister, mother, niece or aunt has in some or the other point been a victim of harassment in India. From either men forcing themselves on them to eyes scanning their bodies in anticipation of what is behind the piece of cloth, they have had it all.

If the problem is with men ogling at a woman’s fairly covered body, a greater problem in the acceptance of or silence over the same by the women of our society. Should we shrug it off as just another man staring at your breasts or is it time enough to face your molester and make him uncomfortable for his audacity?

A “you do not know how difficult it is for a woman to raise her voice” will not do. If Kathua, Unnao, Nirbhaya and many more have disturbed you then raise your voice. The worst that can happen is death which is imperative but an end for standing up to your evil is better than to die each day for doing nothing.

“Aaj se ab se aan meri main tumko na choone dungi, jaan ko chaahe chhalni kar do maan ko na choone dungi”

Image courtesy: www.awaaramusaafir.in/conceptual/

Silence has not proved to be of any help. It’s the roar that we need now after a slew of rapes and molestations that has plagued our country. It is not a tougher law that will help to reign in the patriarchal mindset; it is your voice that will matter.

In a crowded bus, in an unbalanced workplace, at your gym or even at your home you have been abused, used as an object. The time has come when you raise a voice. Even the Gods had to invoke the Devi Shakti to win over Mahishasura and it is you that society needs today. It is a fightback from your end that will make a difference to society.

Remember that time when a man was constantly staring at you at the bus stop? The other time when your boss patted you for your good work but eventually ended up feeling your bra strap? Or when a distant uncle made you sit on his lap when you were old enough to understand the difference between love and lust? You have faced it all but chose to keep quiet. Look around you and you will find many like you who raised a voice and have made a difference.

While some may cite examples of being run down by ‘people who matter’, eventually boiling down their voice to a mere stupidity, remember, even India’s Independence took 200 years. In 1857 had Mangal Pandey thought of a failure from the beginning, probably today we would have been still polishing a gora sahab’s boot. Do not wait for others to fight for you, be the reason yourself for a change.

“Skirtein, saari, raat dopehari darr darr ke nahi chalungi, candle jala ke sandal dikha ke mar mar ke nahi chalungi”

If today you choose to stay quiet, tomorrow a young girl will be brutally raped and murdered or worse, a child as young as 8-month-old will be raped out of her innocence. If today you stay silent, tomorrow do not sync your feet to a candlelight march. If today you keep shut, tomorrow do not expect a change to arrive. The law of nature is to fightback on your own. The oppressed needs to wake up, battle it out and make society realise the importance of speaking up.