Last few days it seems there is a competition among leaders from various political parties, religious organizations, or cult movements to give statements about the Delhi gang rape or related to the status and role of women in changing socioeconomic environment of India. The statements cover a very wide range. I will just mention a few here. Some are telling women to cover up themselves from head to toe to avoid sexual assault. Some say they should remain indoors after dark for their safety. Some are a little kind towards women and say if they can't cover up totally then at least avoid those so-called provocative clothing like skirts etc. Some self-proclaimed Gurus advise that they should beg for safety by calling the rapist a brother so that the rapist will change his mind. Some of them are blaming immigrants for the problem of rape or sexual assault incidents. I don't want to list all of them here but one can get the idea of what these people want to say. One thing is very clear all of them don't make any sense. They all project very conservative and outdated mindsets. They all show a disconnect with reality and at the same time display a pathetic attempt to blame victims for every crime involving sexual assault.
In all these statements there is nothing new. They are not saying anything that was not being said before. These statements were used at some time in our history, maybe 100 years or even 1000s of years ago to justify crime against women. To put the blame on victims of sexual harassment in a male-dominated society. They were used to suppress women, to make them realize that they need protection which can only be provided by men because they are the weaker sex. Surprisingly this false propaganda is still going on. Some people still believe in these things and after reading all these statements and interviews I am wondering whether we are moving forward or backward towards medieval times. I believe men of this world need to get rid of some of these false beliefs like women require their protection and it's their duty to protect them, they are the weaker sex, etc. Men should get over their superiority complex.
Whenever any such unsolicited comment is directed towards women instead of them feeling bad men should feel offended and ashamed. All these suggestions assume that most men are not able to control their sexual desires. It also brands them as a very uncivilized species that need extraordinary help from a potential victim to help them control themselves to avoid raping anyone. This assumption is utterly shameful and humiliating. People who offer these suggestions and advice (including many religions and so-called holy books) don't even realize that they are assuming the entire male population to be natural rapists, and they try to blame women for this. They use terms like "men will be men" or "boys are always boys," to justify such disgusting behavior.
Women are capable of making their own decisions. They can protect themselves very well if men just learn to behave properly and treat them as equals. Women are capable of doing everything that any man can do. So, men should stop offering unsolicited pieces of advice to women. If at all anyone needs advice it's the men and they need it very badly. I hope all these people have the courage and wisdom to offer these pieces of advice to men who really need it otherwise they should just stop this nonsense. It's getting too much. Women already listened too much and for too long, please don't test their patience anymore.
[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
Reference:
1. Defendant's lawyer blames victim
2. Reactions to Asaram Bapu's comments
3. Raj Thackeray's comment
4. Abu Azmi's comment- Mid Day
5. Excellent article about stigma related with rape and related issues, a must read
In all these statements there is nothing new. They are not saying anything that was not being said before. These statements were used at some time in our history, maybe 100 years or even 1000s of years ago to justify crime against women. To put the blame on victims of sexual harassment in a male-dominated society. They were used to suppress women, to make them realize that they need protection which can only be provided by men because they are the weaker sex. Surprisingly this false propaganda is still going on. Some people still believe in these things and after reading all these statements and interviews I am wondering whether we are moving forward or backward towards medieval times. I believe men of this world need to get rid of some of these false beliefs like women require their protection and it's their duty to protect them, they are the weaker sex, etc. Men should get over their superiority complex.
Whenever any such unsolicited comment is directed towards women instead of them feeling bad men should feel offended and ashamed. All these suggestions assume that most men are not able to control their sexual desires. It also brands them as a very uncivilized species that need extraordinary help from a potential victim to help them control themselves to avoid raping anyone. This assumption is utterly shameful and humiliating. People who offer these suggestions and advice (including many religions and so-called holy books) don't even realize that they are assuming the entire male population to be natural rapists, and they try to blame women for this. They use terms like "men will be men" or "boys are always boys," to justify such disgusting behavior.
Women are capable of making their own decisions. They can protect themselves very well if men just learn to behave properly and treat them as equals. Women are capable of doing everything that any man can do. So, men should stop offering unsolicited pieces of advice to women. If at all anyone needs advice it's the men and they need it very badly. I hope all these people have the courage and wisdom to offer these pieces of advice to men who really need it otherwise they should just stop this nonsense. It's getting too much. Women already listened too much and for too long, please don't test their patience anymore.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
Reference:
1. Defendant's lawyer blames victim
2. Reactions to Asaram Bapu's comments
3. Raj Thackeray's comment
4. Abu Azmi's comment- Mid Day
5. Excellent article about stigma related with rape and related issues, a must read
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