INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
Post-2
Contd....from Post-1.
Life is incomplete without
the Union of Man and Woman. Indian culture has always realized this Great goal
of Life and made all its rules and procedure to ensure such a harmonious union
of man and woman.
When a marriage takes
place, the whole society approves it and blesses the new couple. Marriage is
considered to be a bond for 7 births from now on – and not just for this one birth.
There is no concept of Divorce at all in the Indian Marriage system. Even when
Ahalya indulged in sex with Devendra knowingly, her husband could only curse
her to become immobile for several years, but could not severe marital ties
with her. After Ahalya saw Rama, Gowthama, her husband came back and took her
back as wife.
Siva is considered as
Ardhanaareeswara – Parvati being his better half. The concept of Better half is
not a western concept – but is a purely Indian concept. India only considers
man and woman as a single, indivisible entity. Each compliments the other and
there is absolutely no competition between the two.
India only considers every
woman as a mother. Even a 100 year old man calls even a small girl child as
Maa, or amma or mother. That culture has however degenerated with the invasions
of external cultures. Woman in India today does not enjoy the same safety,
respect or rights that she did in ancient India. Read any of our ancient
literature. Love marriages were common. No woman was married off without her
consent. Woman enjoyed a pre-eminent place in all decision making in all homes.
Manu said – where women
weep, there the Gods do not smile. That home will never have any happiness in
which women are unhappy. And, woman’s happiness is the direct responsibility of
men. Likewise, man’s happiness lies in the hands of the woman. There is no good
deed in which the woman cannot participate.
But, who remembers the
past? Today, all sorts of canards and lies are being spread about India’s past.
But, at the same time, woman’s safety and happiness is coming down dangerously in the
present. Never before were small children subjected to sexual assaults. Never
before were older women touched with sex instinct. Never before were any gang
rapes heard of in India. These were the most heinous crimes and were punished
with death in India.
So, why are these things
happening in India today?
Some of the most prominent
reasons are the degeneration of women on the silver screen and the small
screen. Half clad women dancing in most obscene way is a common feature of many
films in India. Sexist dialogues are most common. Eve teasing, especially by so
called heroes, in Indian films is present in every second film.
And the heroines
are made to fall in love because of this eve-teasing, with a drunkard hero, who has no employment or even an earning instinct !! This sort of insane
concepts are spreading from Films to actual life. And all this has come from
silver screens to our drawing rooms and bed rooms via the small screen.
Even a
child is a vivid onlooker of all this non-sense. And, sexual instincts and behavior
do get aroused in all people because of these stupid things on the silver
screen and small screen. Very few women may be half clad and gyrating sexually in
the name of dancing - but crores of men are looking at them and getting
sexually aroused, even in their homes. An aroused sex instinct seeks its
satisfaction in too many unseemly ways – because, it is aroused in an unseemly
way by unseemly women. That is why, the next available woman, be it a child or
a dying old woman also is also becoming a target. Unless these sexy dances and
dialogues on small screens are stopped, we can never hope to arrest these ugly
things happening in the homes.
The second factor is the
habit of smoking, drinking and drugs – and card-playing with bets. Somehow, all
these habits are inter-linked and can be found to be simultaneously occurring
in many young (and Old) men, including school going and college going students. You can
never trust a drunkard with a woman. A drunk man is more likely to take undue advantage
of a woman, whoever she is. Add to it, drugs and
card playing with bets. You have all the ingredients to make these men indulge
in rapes and gang rapes with no compunctions.
Let us not forget that a
great man like Yudhishtir was tempted to bet his wife also in the game, lose
her and get her subject to forced
stripping in full view of the entire court. Today also it is happening. A drunken
man and a betting man will bet even his wife and submit his wife and sister
also to the sexual lust of his friends, just to continue his playing and drinking.
A drunkard man is the
biggest problem in the homes and is the chief destroyer of every woman’s
happiness in the home. He will do anything to continue his drinking habit. He
will sell anything at home, including his wife’s earnings. Homes are turned
into Hells by these drunkard men. Women should refuse to marry drunkards. But unfortunately, look at our movies, many
heroes play the drunkard, who fights enemies and whom the heroine covets and
marries.
You will never find a hero studying or doing anything innovative. You
will find most heroes drinking, playing comics, then fighting some stupids,
then eve-teasing; then marrying the teased woman. This is the common theme in
most movies. Male students learn drinking and eve-teasing especially from these
heroes.
Until we stop these heroes from
playing drunkard, eve-teaser roles, they will continue to be the role models
for our male students and the students will do all these things to be like the
heroes.
Eve-teasing is the easiest
violence against women, which can be easily stopped – provided the Political
will exists.
Women must express clearly
that if eve teasing exists in Buses and trains and campuses in any state, women
will vote against the present Government for this one particular reason. This
is a sufficient reason to vote out a Government. A Government cannot continue
to tolerate male students indulging in eve teasing in Buses, trains and
campuses. This is the easiest thing to stop.
The number of eve teasers is of course small.
But all students get bad name. But, governments are afraid of strikes etc by all of them. Therefore, girl students also must
strike until the atrocities of male students are stopped by Government. Put the
errant students in jail for 10 days for every eve teasing incident. That is
enough punishment. A repetition must result in dismissal and jail for one year.
Deterrent punishment is a must for eve-teasing.
If a college Management does
not act on such errant students, the college licence must be cancelled and it
must be asked to go to outskirts of the town, if it wants to restart its
operations. No such errant males college must be allowed to function inside the
town/city.
If we don’t act even in
case of such eve-teasing incidents, there is no point in conducting
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY.
We have
ACTS, ACTS, ACTS - What we need is ACTION now. One leader said this recently. I agree with this. Act against eve teasing. Act against half clad dances on silver screen and small screen. These are easy.
I had once complained to the Southern railway authorities about eve-teasing in a section of their trains. And, they had acted in a very wonderful, strict way for over a month - and put a complete end to eve-teasing in that section of the trains. Why can't others do it? If the will exits, it can be done today.
We will see some more angles of women's rights in a third post.
* * * TO CONTINUE.....
