Rohtak brave hearts and issue of eve teasing

The Video of two sisters thrashing eve-teasers in Rohtak city bus has gone viral in Indian news and social media. Everyone must stand up for their own rights, against any injustice, torture, or harassment. These girls did the right thing if these boys were continuously harassing them and were not willing to listen even after repeated warnings or requests. When I heard their interview on NDTV then it was disturbing to know that in a city bus full of men and women no one dared to help these girls when a few boys were trying to molest them. This bystander approach is really worrisome, and we see this attitude almost everywhere where people silently witness wrong things happening in front of their eyes. They choose to ignore them or choose to keep silent because they think it is not their business, after all, they are not victims so why should they react. It was also disturbing when during the interview one of the sisters advised all the girls that if they face a similar situation then they should beat the guy who dares to tease them as much as they want or until they are satisfied before taking him to the police. I think this advice is more emotional than practical. Violence is not the only option to resist any harassment, there are many other nonviolent ways to resist. Also, there should be a proper investigation of this incident before jumping to any conclusion by knowing only one side of the story.

The real issue here is the teasing and harassment of girls in public places. The problem of eve teasing or taunting in public places is very common in India as well as many other countries (I even see it in the US also). This is a serious issue and needs attention from people as well as law enforcement agencies. Confronting the wrongdoers like eve-teasers or molesters is the right thing to do. Every boy or girl has the right to stand up for their rights and fight for their safety. Under extreme situations where nothing else works use of force should be exercised as an option. There is no doubt that wrongdoers should be confronted so that they don't think that they can get away with such behavior easily. But to thrash them every time is not a solution to stop these things from happening. I think this girl might have said this because she was very angry because of this episode, but whenever the media telecasts something like this they should also give warnings about the dangers of violence. This interview should not send the wrong message to the youths of India that they can take the law into their own hands and punish people if they think that something wrong is happening. Every effort should be made to handle the situation by avoiding violence. This is why we have rules and laws. If people make their own decisions and try to punish wrongdoers on the spot then why do we need to have any law or justice system?  We can just let people punish wrongdoers in whatever way they feel appropriate, but we all know that this is not a practical and logical approach to handling any crime. 

Violence might look like a viable solution to solve any issue temporarily but hardly it works to find a long-term solution. Right to use force should be exercised whenever the situation demands it, but if possible, it should be considered as the last option. One can be assertive and forceful without the use of any physical force. If many boys and girls take inspiration from this incident and stand up or speak up whenever they see any such misbehavior then it is a good thing. But if they start indulging in physical fights to solve issues like this then one can only imagine the chaos which we might have to deal with. So, let's ignore this particular sentence from the interview and focus on the courage to fight misbehavior and stand up against any harassment. Hopefully, this incident will inspire people in the right way. Once we all start raising our voices against such things then automatically it will send a strong message to these molesters or wrongdoers.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. Rohtak sisters thrash men who harassed them on moving bus
2. OTHER SIDE OF ROHTAK BRAVEHEARTS

Women are also humans

Women are also humans. Aren't they? I think sometimes many of us forget that and start offering them unsolicited advice. People start reminding them about their own greatness, about the duties and qualities they should possess as a part of their womanhood (like kindness, compassion, forgiveness). People start saying they need to be pious and this and that, but forget the basic fact that they are also humans just like men. Women also have some good and bad qualities like men, they are not very different, they have the same basic needs and must be given the same rights and freedom. Nothing more, nothing less.

Some time back I read one poem written by a woman student in Delhi which was quoted by Hilary Clinton in one of her speeches in India, "When a woman gives her love, as most do generously, it is accepted. When a woman shares her thoughts, as some women do, graciously, it is allowed. When a woman fights for power, as all women would like to do, quietly or loudly, it is questioned. Yes, there must be freedom, if we are to speak. And yes, there must be power, if we are to be heard. And when we have both, let us not be misunderstood." As long as women are kind, submissive, supportive, and do what everyone supposes them to do, everything is fine, the time they ask for their rights and exercise them, there is a problem. They are accused of overstepping their limits. Very recently I read a post about one foreign student's horrible experience with sexual harassment in India. The post was very heart-wrenching and disturbing. I fail to understand why some people always look at women as physical objects? Why can't they consider them just as another person like them? A person who deserves equal respect and dignified treatment which they expect for themselves.

How many more horrific examples like this do we need to show that there is some kind of sickness present in society when women are treated like this? And let me make one thing very clear here, I am not just talking about India, it's very sad these things happen in a country where female goddesses are worshiped, but this problem more or less persists everywhere. I agree that this is a major problem in India. Eve teasing is one such issue many women and girls have to face every day. But just because I shared the link where a victim shared her horrible experience in India it should not give an impression to readers that these types of things happen only in India, in fact, they happen all over the world, every society is facing this problem.

I think one of the reasons this is still happening is because many men and even some women are still not willing to accept the equal status of women in society. They still look at them just as objects to satisfy their sexual desires and other needs, nothing more. Men think that women are not equal to them just because they are physically weak compared to them, many proponents of patriarchy always cite this difference to show inequality between two genders. They still believe that mere physical strength gives men a fundamental right to dominate women in all areas and call them the weaker sex. They still want to believe that women are less capable compared to them, even though there are ample examples around us to prove that this is far from the truth. I always wonder how hard it can be to understand the simple fact that women deserve equal respect and rights. Women have already proven their strength and capabilities in all areas beyond any doubt wherever they had opportunities. They successfully challenged restrictions forcibly enforced on them by society and culture which thought they were fit only for particular jobs. It seems the demand for equality from women is a bit too much to handle for some people, they can't imagine women breaking free of the shackles put on them by patriarchy and misogyny and flying high. These people expect men and women to behave only in a particular way. They fail to understand that both are humans with equal rights and responsibilities, more importantly, they forget that women are also humans with needs and desires. Women deserve equal status and opportunities in society, nothing more or less but equal. I don't think this is an unreasonable demand at all, today or tomorrow everyone in our society has to agree to this, whether they like it or not this is going to happen.   

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

Links:
1. India: the Story You Never Wanted to Hear
2. To an American girl, an apology from India
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve_teasing
4. India & A Blonde Tourist: An alternate account
5. Manal al-Sharif: A Saudi woman who dared to drive

[Copyright : Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]