“Girl” what comes to mind when one got
to hear or read this word? There are two prominent versions that
represent the forefront of mind’s horizon. In the first version, what
human mind characterizes is the appearance whose most likely adjectives
connotes an ultra modern figure, dressed in skimpy clothes, tight jeans
and clothing whose appearance gives the glimpse of promiscuous entity.
While the second version being strictly conservative in nature depicts a
portrait where woman has been reduced to degraded wretch, shrouded in
the veil of male hegemony, wrapped in the so called societal moralities,
carrying on what ‘wise man’ euphemistically called household or
motherly responsibilities.
Ever though both these versions plague
our psyche, why do ‘men’, even in this ‘satellite age’ still cling to
old, irrational and decrepit system of thought? There are no easy
answers to it, only conjectures, and the one which suits the ordeal and
which satisfies the maximum quest is conditioning and commissioning of
human mind.
An unfortunate legacy that is passed on
to future generations has survived is the onslaught of Western
Modernism. A legacy has silently taught us that we ‘males’ are superior
than our female counterparts since our physical built is far
stronger. Similar arguments are common with regards to intellect and
spirituality. Some people will use this line of argument while
forgetting the pain enduring prowess of a woman which is far stronger.
If to tow an egalitarian line then we can refer to, Gandhiji who once
remarked “woman is companion of man, gifted with equal mental
capacity…..if by strength is meant moral power, then woman is
immeasurably man’s superior, if nonviolence is the law of our being, the
future is with woman”.
Reverting back to the original
visualization how both of these descriptions are instrumental in
culmination and perpetration of the worst crime against woman’s dignity
and her modesty, namely “rape”.
First visualization is the handiwork of
the neoliberal media advertently propagating sexually explicit content.
We visualize whatever we see. Major newspapers that boost of being most
widely distributed dailies have turned into soft porn magazines often
carrying “superfluous and unsuitable content” and have terribly misused
the freedom of expression and ethical limits that comes with this noble
profession. Television advertisements are replete with fairness and
freshness agendas often intruding into very private domains. This
commoditization coupled with ‘item culture’ of our cinema has portrayed
woman merely as “sex object” and has done an irreparable damage to
woman’s dignity and further aggravated the modesty concerns. Robbing
woman of her individuality it has perpetrated a notion that woman is a
promiscuous entity whose modesty can be outraged at whims and pleasures
and she is nothing more than the integrated package for relishing carnal
desires and a subsidized “keep”.
The second visualization is outcome of
traditional practice well entrenched through centuries. Arising out of
discriminations, prejudices and social antagonism directed to keep her
backward it prevents her from developing into a individual. This
continued devaluation and disempowerment of woman that starts at her
birth and from that tender age continues till her death infuses in her
psyche in a rather subtle manner that she must not transgress the
societal boundaries. This whole phenomenon also contributes its bit in
making woman meek and timid eventually making her vulnerable to criminal
tendencies including rape.
Had the society endorsed the principle
of gender-equity espousing man and woman as equal creatures and
forwarded that woman too commands respect in equal measure as man, it
would have been tougher for criminal tendencies to act against her. It
would not have been easier to invade her body without her consent and
then woman too being psychologically strong would have resisted any such
attempt tooth and nail.
Some of my “so called learned friends”
will argue that the woman’s attire or what she wears is also in some way
responsible for rapes thus making her culprit and shifting on her all
the blame. This is very simplistic view of the deeper malaise. Indeed it
is an attempt to save ourselves (males) from the blame for the ill fate
we have brought to our mothers, sisters, daughters and friends and to
absolve us of all the responsibility that we should bear towards
bringing to her respect, equality and dignity. It is my humble opinion
that man’s manliness is not in running away from this blame but in
correcting the previous wrongs and in respecting her dignity, providing
her space for equality.
June 1, 2012
June 1, 2012
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