Every nation has a message to deliver, a mission to fulfil, and a destiny to reach. The mission of India has been to guide humanity,” stated Swami Vivekananda.
Sadly, the guiding force of humanity is taking its back seat in the case of India. Being the fourth most dangerous country for the women to live in and being the nation where men are still expected to be emotionless and non-crying creatures, the matter of concern have been mandir – masjid and Hindu – Muslim.
As a known fact women in India are more prone to physical and mental abuse in comparison to men. Women in our country undergo rape and unlikely behaviour even in the daylight. The law of the nation gives an exception to marital rape through section 375 of IPC. Having given the holy stature to the institution of marriage, the section states “Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape”. Recently Delhi high court putforth a split verdict on the same. Termination of pregnancy too in our country has laws bound to it rather than a women’s sole will. Even in the family with her husband through the provision of law, she is physically abused without her consent. NCRB report states that “Every sixteen minutes a woman in India is raped.” But in spite of symbolic protests and agitations no other mitigation ways are witnessed yet.
“……to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;” is a part of the Fundamental duty of our constitution. Ironically the citizens and the rulers of the country are bothered more on which personality to be included in the students’ textbook rather than mitigating personalities causing threats to the dignity of women’s life.
William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, said: “Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she’ll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she’ll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she’ll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she’ll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit.”
Women being compared to nature for her patience may also roar as nature does through floods, earthquakes and Covid. And so let the message our nation has to give be peace rather than being ranked dangerous, let the mission be protection rather than attack. Let the voice seeking the inclusion of ‘Women and her bodily autonomy’ in the curriculum echo high on the walls of Parliament.
Image by Image by mohamed Hassan
