From the heart of a girl
Being in the 21st century, with technology and world so advanced, we are still forced to talk about this subject, “Are Women Safe, in India, especially?” With surveys and understandings of what is happening around us, it is high time already that people join hands together to realize that — ‘Women are NOT SAFE in any means’.
She faces danger starting from when she is inside the womb, till her death. In the womb, the chances of being killed, even before seeing light, when being born and growing, she faces harsh brutalities like molestation, abusing, physical and mental tortures and above all a heap of workloads and in old age, just abandoned and still being vulnerable to more brutalities till death. What a life? The streets, public transport, public spaces in particular have become the territory of the hunters. While the ones already hunted down weep in silence or in disdain, the rest fight their way to a basic life with dignity.
There is an unspoken war on the streets. Young school and college going girls use books to shield themselves, other women wear full-covered attire to protect their bodies, and others avoid the mere glance of the roving gaze.We don’t need to look at statistics to confront the horrid truth. News stories of women from all over India being raped, beaten, killed are flashed across us day after day — and we all are aware of it. 49% of India’s registered voters are women, and the Power of 49 together needs to demand a tougher India, yet an India that is sensitive to women. Women’s issues need to be pushed in every lobby until the leaders have no choice but to yield and take a hold on the crisis that looms across every street and every corner of India.
One example which I could jot down is the recent one — caught in the eye of a storm were the protests that followed an incident of alleged sexual harassment of a girl on the BHU campus and allegations of gender bias inside the campus.
The victim in the matter has claimed that she went to the university administration for complaining about the incident but the administration in lieu of taking any action against the molesters, shamed the victim for her awkward hostel timings.Angered over the laid back attitude of the administration and lack of action from theside, the varsity students staged protests outside the campus on Friday and blocked entry to the campus through the main gate. Hundreds of BHU students took out a “silent march” against police action on the girls protesting apathy of the university administration following alleged molestation.
The protesting girls have very simple demands which are considered as basic safety requirements of the campuses across the universities. “Our demands are simple. We want to feel safe on the campus. University authorities should ensure this,” said Akansha Sahay, a BHU student. Akansha said, adding, “We want proper lighting inside the BHU campus, installation of CCTV cameras, gender sensitisation of male students and staff and officials working on the campus. That’s it. We are not demanding anything more.”The girls on the campus were angry following use of force by police against the protesters injuring many. Some of the girls received serious injuries. “Our protest was peaceful. We did not use violence and police started beating up girls. Male police personnel lathicharged the students of Mahila Mahavidyalaya. Girls were beaten up,” Akansha Singh, another BHU student said.Akansha Singh rejected police’s version that the protesting students clashed with them. She told India Today that “those who created troubles, resorted to violence were outsiders. They were not even the students of the BHU.” “Yet police beat up girls of Mahila Mahavidyala at 1 am,” she said.
The case of molestation has taken a complete political turn and so many political parties are taking advantage of the situation. Almost all the political parties have given their comments over the situation.Rahul Gandhi is yet to visit the place on 27th .We have to see how this visit goes, whether it improves the situation or takes another twist in the plot.
If we take account of all these women and then collectively see the scenario of crimes against women, it can be easily seen that stringent laws or security alone cannot do much. What really needs to be done is the moral overhauling of the minds of the masses by means of education and awareness. Many things of this sort will be eliminated from the society if we make the masses realize that they would not be who they are presently, if it was not for their mother — apparently a woman working in their household not thinking about anything but their families and their welfare.
