Teach boys to treat girls with respect they deserve

Girls are often told how they should behave and how they should take care of not just themselves, but of others, too. The message is loud and clear, early on in life, that make a mistake and she will end up with a reputation she cannot shake off. But where are the boys when it comes to all this? They need to be told to treat the girls around them with regard. Let’s not assume they know the values intuitively, they have to be taught explicitly. The basics have to be spelled out — that a girl is an individual with feelings and those feelings have to be respected; that he should not spread rumours about any girl, instead should protect her reputation; that he should not cross his limits, but should treat every girl with caution; and that he has to build up his own reputation as a gentleman.

The Indian Supreme Court on Friday confirmed the death sentence awarded to four convicts in the the Nirbhaya rape and murder case, which had shaken the conscience of the nation. “We are confirming the death sentence,” pronounced the judges, and what followed was a loud round of applause, quite unseen in any Indian courtroom. The court said the act “demonstrates perversion of the accused” and added that if any case warrants a death sentence, it’s this one. On December 16, 2012, the victim and a companion were attacked by six men aboard a moving bus in Delhi. The woman, who was brutalised, died at a hospital 13 days later. Gender-inequality, instilled as a child, could be the primary cause of such heinous acts. And rape, trafficking and female foeticide are the off-shoots. In a civilised and democratic country like India, the problem is not lack of laws — after all, India is a civilised democracy moving rapidly towards development. The problem is implementation of them. It is the thought process of barbarians like the four who have received the due punishment, and many more out there, that need to be addressed. It is only when values are instilled while young, at home and in schools, will they realise that girls are not just commodities but individuals like them who need to be held in esteem.