Every now and then, amidst the rush of news, there's always an incident of rape that is high lighted, hyped and forgotten. The news channels will talk about it, flashing a blurred face on their cluttered channel screens, some big shot woman will criticize and condemn the happening in the news paper, raising the same old questions on the culture, the status of women and the authority. Once the cycle of these events end, it'll all be back to square one.
Let me not complicate what I'm trying to say. Let's just segregate this concern in two questions.
The first question,
Why the rapes?I still remember what one of my friend used to say, foreigners keep the sex in their beds and their work in their heads but it's the other way round for Indians; the sex is always in their heads. We're chained by our cultural restrictions, and hence we become like those dogs in captivity who want to run away to satisfy their natural urges.
Rape will remain a societal hazard as long as the sexual freedom is not given to the people. Such kind of freedom cannot be given as the impositions will remain due to the heavy cultural protocol on our shoulders.
But this restricted sexual freedom is a good thing, as it gives sex an exclusivity. An act that holds a sacred kind of importance and isn't an amusement.
This restriction is bad too as the sexual frustration will accumulate and rapes will persist.
The second question,
Why a victimized woman ?In response to every rape incident there is always a famous lady voicing her complaints regarding the status of woman in the society and the gender difference evident in Indian families.
Before raising the blaming fingers, one has to understand our strict hierarchical existence. Because here in India more than the individuality it's much more about the families. Due to our strong family ties we have a specific status for everyone. That's why there is a difference and diversification. Diversification is a good thing but discrimination is bad.
So all the blame game just hides the fact that we don't look at each other as individuals but as constituents of a society, family and a cultural union. That way the difference remains, as the entire setting facilitates this difference. A woman is mostly a victim with regards to this difference.
ConclusionDespite of seeing through the reasons to these tragic happenings. One cannot deny the seriousness of this issue, the plight of the victims and the shamelessness of men who're not men after all, but dogs of the worst kind.
The solution lies with the authoritative power and our administration system. A system which is full of loop holes.
The bottom line is, it's hard to change the thinking, the society or even the cultural influence. The only change that can be visible is the change in the authority. An authority that should be bribe-resistant and justice-friendly.
Once the authority starts exercising its power of righteousness, only then will we start justifying the status of Goddesses we give our women.