Oppression in today’s times is overwhelmingly omnipresent. From patriarchy to casteism, we open the morning newspaper only to have news of atrocious acts committed by humans on each other jump out at us. What shocks me to the core is sexual violence and a sheer number of monstrosities committed against women on a daily basis in our country.
To everyone who argues that we do not need feminism, should be made to read the newspapers and just look at the number of rapes. And, it will not be a false estimate to say that these numbers are just one – fourth of the reality. I mean, 2018 has just begun and we have heard of numerous cases of sexual violence like Zainab Ansari and another one of Kurukshetra, Haryana.
Society is handling this wrong way
It has begun to feel like we are slowly becoming a society of monsters. We are losing our conscience. We are needing to actually explain to people why they should not violate other people. And, we might be even doing it wrong. Rather than telling our sons that they need to respect women because disrespecting women would be like disrespecting their mothers, sisters, wives etc. We need to teach both sons and daughters to respect others because other people are human just like themselves: others are made of the same flesh and bones as them and deserve just as much respect and kindness.
Statements made by influential people
The statements our political figures in the limelight tend to make are also quite frankly outrageous. With the people who actually are in a position to exert a positive influence raising questions like, “What was the girl doing out so late in the night?” or “Why was she wearing shorts?” only propels the mentality that rapes occur because of what the victim was wearing or what time she was out at. When people issue such critical and offensive statements, they should realize that in saying so they are actually justifying the delinquent’s behavior.
Safety for everyone, not just for people dressed in a peculiar way
If we are promoting changes in women’s behavior to “prevent” rape ( saying that certain types of clothes should be worn, that they should not move out at night, they should not be inebriated ), we are really just saying “rape the other girl”. With such a mentality, no man or woman is safe at any time of the day. There will always be someone who is less secure, less sober with lesser friends walking in a darker part of the city; that person should be just as safe as us.
Considering, Abuse is never the victim’s fault
Rape or any kind of abuse is never ever the victim’s fault. We need to take a reality check and realize that it is high time we stopped shielding the guilty people: the evil monsters in man’s skin. We have to begin working our hardest towards creating a safe environment for the citizens of our country. Laws need to be strengthened and it is time we learned to raise our children right: for they are the torchbearers. We need to teach boys to realize that even a slight hesitation might signal a “no”, we need our girls to learn that even men could have been victims of abuse. We need the people in our country to learn kindness and care in a time of harsh delinquency and a shocking wickedness.
Taking action to stop sexual violence
People are not safe from sexual abuse in our country. It was a horrifying enormity and we need to make sure that this ends now. This change can only be brought about a change in our mentalities and the way we view these crimes. And to end the sexual violence, it is needed to raise voice. Let’s start it right now. We have created this petition on Change.org about Death Penalty for Rapists; please sign the petition to support it.
