One person adds up to one million but the change doesn’t stop with that million, there are billions out there who are yet to change. But before we conclude that we need the change, let us speculate the present conditions.
In the metropolitan city of Delhi women don’t feel safe as they are told every day how vulnerable they are. It’s not that the news channels are exaggerating the issue but in reality the women feel unsafe. Some won’t start a conversation with a stranger even when they are in dire need. All they can expect is terror and violence and some have already started learning self defense. I chose the example of Delhi because it is the city where most incidents have occurred in the recent past. But the problem is not just with one city, it is everywhere. The following pictures were clicked in Sector 17 Chandigarh when a candle march protest was held after Delhi gang rape.
Man is called a social animal, but sometimes I fear that we are not social any more. Even animals have a sense of faith which has been observed and proven. (You can learn about it at mother nature work) Then why has man become so unfaithful? Why a daughter can’t trust her own father? Why a girl has to feel like an object put on display?
There is no one single answer to these questions. All these things are inter-related and we need to find a solution which works for all. Whether it be Delhi or Patna, girl or boy, young or old, we need to make sure that the change effects everyone everywhere.
We can start with common habits. The advertisement industry has got more creative and can inculcate good behavior by using themes like following:
A girl has been feeling low all day and her parents take her to a social gathering even though she has got no interest. They pick up their neighbors and drive to their destination. They all did their chit-chat on the way while the girl sat silent. As all are excited about the party they quickly get off while the girl is sitting alone on the back seat, feeling weird. Just then a boy who was traveling along, opens the door for her with a smile on his face. The girl can’t stop herself from smiling. The sense of importance and respect given by the boy, changes her mood and the moment she gets off the car she is ready to party.
“A gentleman would always treat women with respect.”
This can be an ad for men’s wear or the car itself. (I am not sure)
Already we have people with great ideas which resulted into ads like these:
The most basic thing we can do is to give respect to women. Reading the news-paper and calling names to the culprits, to the government and to the mother land is not going to solve anything. We need to think because we have been given the power to think, we need to act because we have been given the courage to act and we we need to be strong because the dark side has always got more heads. A simple example would be the way war heroes are being treated in Bengal: War heroes or rape victims?. If only the society (that is us), would understand the very basic norm of humanity we all can solve the problem for sure. Let alone humanity, the basic sagacity can save us from such disasters. God has given us a brain, the instrument that made us the master of our planet. Why not use it constructively?
All I can say for now is that we all have some good and some bad inside us. There are also parts of our country where women are treated with utmost respect. There are people who have died for such causes and are relentlessly fighting for the right. We all need to bring the change together and we all need to play our parts by understanding the problem and making our decisions accordingly. If you are reading this article, then you are definitely acquainted with the problem. The change that I have been talking about starts with you. If you can make sure that all women in your family are treated with respect, then you have brought the change. If you can make sure that you will stop or report any incident of wrongdoing without making any excuses, then you have brought the change. If you can make sure that you would think about the severity of the problem and ways in which it can be solved, then you have brought the change.
There is hope and there is light, we just need to reach the other end of the tunnel.
Kushal Ashok 