By now, you must have heard of the Delhi gang rape case.
Most unfortunate incident as it was, I was more alarmed by the reactions that
came from the crowd. Newspapers, social media, electronic media, everyone is
talking about harsh punishments. Some went as far as applying the Shariah law.
What are we trying to achieve by that? Revenge?
Just think if capital punishment is really the solution
here. Saudi Arabia and Iran are repeatedly being named as examples to follow in
this area. But have they been able to stop rapes? Is it really good to go in
that direction when the rulers of Saudi Arabia are trying to make their societies more moderate? Publically killing somebody will only make society
insensitive. Where it is practiced, people tend to be more cruel, brutal and
barbaric. Places where death penalties are carried out in clean manner and not
celebrated publically, people tend to be more sensitive, even about smaller things.
Other popular take is blaming women for not dressing
properly. But the fact is, women are victimized most where the dress “properly”,
that is, keep themselves covered and never show their face to a strange man.
UP, Bihar, Rajasthan are some examples. Because covering women (as they say,
like precious diamonds) makes them seen as objects. No matter how precious, but
physical objects at your mercy.
Remember, animals live all their lives stark naked, and they
never rape! We are humans and can certainly do better. As they say – “If you
say the girl is raped because her clothes provoke the rapist, then I should
break your face because your stupidity provokes me!”
What we should do, then? Teach your children to respect
women, irrespective of their clothes or jobs. But before that, YOU must learn
to respect them. If you think they should be covered, then I think you should
be chained.
