This has
become one of the most widely asked questions in India and rightly so. Indian
women are no longer safe in their own motherland. The recent rape cases of
Damini and a five-year old girl have rocked the nation’s foundations. A country
which celebrates Navratri by worshipping nine avatars of Goddess Durga is now
witnessing horrific incidents against women. Crimes against women have been
rising from a long time but it is now that they have succeeded in catching the
world’s attention.
What’s really
saddening is the attitude of people toward the victims. Rape is one of those
crimes in India where victim often becomes the accused. There are many
hypocrites in our society who blame women for getting raped either because of
their dressing styles or for being out of their houses at night. It’s ironical
that the gruesome rape of an innocent five-year-old girl came into light after
the anti-rape bill was passed earlier in March. Surely, one cannot hold a
five-year-old girl responsible for getting raped by wearing indecent clothes or
for provoking the male of the species. Time has come when women from all over
the country are protesting against such heinous crimes. Passing a new bill for
women is only one step ahead in the right direction. What we really need to do
is spread awareness amongst the people. Education builds character so it’s
really important that sex education should be imparted in every school.
Children need to be taught at a younger age that they should respect not only
women but all human beings.
As it is often said children are
like clay. They can be molded in any way. It is therefore, very important how a
child is brought up. Parents are responsible for inculcating right morals and
ethics in children. We often fail to notice that children are very observant by
nature. They imbibe the atmosphere at home. Equality should be practised at
home. There should be no discrimination between a girl child and a male child.
Both have equal rights to live with respect and without any fear. Boys need to
be taught, at a younger age, to not only respect their mothers and sisters but
the female sex as a whole. As it is, sex ratio in India is deteriorating
rapidly. Bridegrooms are running from state to state to find their prospective
brides. Can we really envision India without females in future? If the crime
rate against women keeps on rising then this possibility will soon turn into
reality.
That is not all. All of us need
to take baby steps to make India a better place for women. Our Government did
its duty by enforcing a law for women’s protection but as the citizen’s of
India, it’s our duty to implement these laws. Blaming the government or
politicians or the police force will not get us nowhere. It is our duty as
human beings to be moralistic and ethical in nature. Each individual is
responsible for his/her own actions. It is necessary that we act for the
betterment of our society rather than for its degradation. We can help a soul
by just being true and responsible human beings.
