People in responsible positions
make statements about the influence of the Western culture in dressing,
indirectly casting aspersion on the rape victim. So how provocative were the 2
year and 70 year old rape victims dressed? Another government advocates the
need to have separate buses for boys and girls to prevent rape. I wonder how
this helps to prevent rape by relatives and friends and custodians of the law.
There were very few articles on
how a societal change of the mindset is needed. I still remember talking to my
brother’s friend on how mechanical engineering is for the boys. He immediately
asked me what made me think so. That still keeps me thinking as to how we
perceive everything in the society. Giving preferential treatment to the
husband and the son is the norm of the Indian society. We don’t verbally
advocate this. But what message do we send to the children when a (good) mother
however sick is to attend to the family when the other family members relax.
The children learn more from our actions than words. The mindset that women are born
to be below men and help them is prevalent in every strata of our society.
I
was with my students who were playing in a beach. A group of boys who passed by
gave undue attention to the girls. I had two options before me. One was to tell
the girls to stop playing and keep a low profile. But I told them to continue
what they were doing and to just ignore them.
Obviously the beach was crowded and I knew that the girls were safer. But should we always restrict the movement of the girls to make them safe?
The society is making strides and
there are lot of men and women I know who do not conform to the social ideas of
a male. But we still have a long way to go.