Learning Respect

Rape in India has been a large issue in the last two years after a girl died after being gang-raped in 2012. Once again, it surfaced on the news when a woman was raped by her Uber driver in Delhi. There have been countless pleas from women all over asking for the Justice System to work and make sure that the people who have raped others be given a sentence that they deserve. We talk about becoming a society that will grow exponentially. That will make leaps and bounds in the next couple of years, but how are we supposed to do that when people don't feel safe?  I don't mean just women by the way. Men get raped too.  If we can't stop objectifying people, how are we supposed to grow as a nation? Can the person who committed this crime not realise that this person is a relative of someone else? What would happen if someone raped your family member? Imagine this: She walks down the street. It's 10pm and she's on her way to meet her friends for drinks. She's wearing a jeans and a top, nothing too fancy because she wanted to be home soon. The bar was close by, so she decided to walk instead of taking a taxi.
As she walks, a man starts walking behind her and follows her. She notices him and starts walking faster, hoping she can make it to the bar in time. 
She doesn't.
He grabs her and puts his hand across her mouth as he drags her behind the building. She struggles as much as she can and tries to scream. Yet it doesn't work.
He forces her on the floor and starts to lift up her shirt so that he can fondle her. Then he starts unbuttoning her jeans. He's too heavy for her to push him off her. He pulls down her jeans and she goes limp, too stunned to say anything. While he's inside her, he says that if she tells anyone, then he'll hurt her family. 
When he's done, he zips his pants and walks away.
She, is lying on the floor, unable to move because of how painful it is.
This is not a scene that you want to picture, and yet it happens more frequently than we think. Imagine if this happened to your family member. Your sister, mother, daughter. On top of that, reporting this and knowing that nothing is being done. Makes your blood boil, doesn't it? So then how can these men do this to our women.  We spend a lot of time worshiping Goddesses and saying that since cows provide us with milk, we shall not harm them and let them roam freely on the streets and yet to someone who has mothered us and given us life, we decide to defile them? In rural India, a lot of people think that men are worth more. That they will be able to plow fields, build houses, etc. But please ask me this, who gave birth to them? Who fed them, taught them and helped them grow? Women. And yet, these are the women that get treated the worst. We as a nation, no, we as a planet should all strive for one thing. Safety. We should have roads, bars, houses, cars that are all safe to use at different hours of the day. Men and women should feel safe whether they walk along the roads at 3pm or 3am. Men and women should know that they are ever violated, in any way, then something will be done. Men and women should know that their children will be ok if they take public transport by themselves.  It all begins with respect. Respect one another. Respect the old man that walks down the street. Respect the police officer that is trying to help you. Respect the small girl that is eating her ice cream. Teach your children to respect everyone. That everyone should be equals. No one should be looked down upon or looked up to like Gods. No one should be objectified. No one should be hurt. Only then, will everyone be safe.

Changing the country

On Wednesday, I went to a talk by Paul Beckett who is the South Asia Bureau Chief at the WSJ. He was talking about the Delhi Rape Case; summarising it and telling us how we can prevent this. It was a highly interesting talk and it brought about certain points which I think are relevant in a society like ours.

The problem is that it is our fault. As a society. When India claims that it is moving forward, yes it is. But our mentality sometimes isn't. How is it that when women have fought so hard for equality, there is rape that happens on a daily basis? How is it that SOME men think that they are superior and basically use their physical strength to make women feel inferior?

It all comes down to basics. We have to create a society where women are more educated. So that they can judge better and not be silent. Women have to be more independent, and that can only happen when every single girl in India gets an education. She has to be taught to be independent, fearless, and told that she is the future of the nation. And boys, they have to learn to treat them with respect. Isn't it your mother who gave birth to you? Isn't she the one that brought you up with so much love? Then why is it that these men think that it is ok to abuse the same sex that have given them unconditional love.

Just think about it. What if she was your sister? What if she was your mother? Your aunt? If you were their relative, wouldn't your blood boil?

So think about it. The change happens with us. If we are able to offer young girls the education that they need to make better life decisions, and we are able to bring up boys to respect them, then wouldn't we live in a better world?

S

Colours of the rainbow

This article was brought to my attention from a friend of mine. After reading this, I was appalled. After living in a world where we fight for equality in all forms, there are still some companies who are completely oblivious to it?

How is it that in India where people are a whole range of "brown" and there is no skin colour to define us, a crayon company has decided to call a "shade of pink or peach" skin? How is that skin colour? Who has a skin colour of that specific shade? 

We live in a world where skin colours range from white, brown, black and yellow and people are not or at least should not be judged by it, and yet we still do that. 

I know some people that say that they want the "fair" or "gori" girls for their sons and some girls are being forced to use fairness creams to achieve that look. When we can change the mentality and live in a society where our skin colour can be accepted, I think that's a time where equality will start. 

Never look at someone because of their skin colour. Never judge a person by their skin colour. If we were all stripped of that, we'd be the same person inside. Remember that.

S