Mulayam, Naresh put govt in tight spot

Reading the mor ning newspaper is a stomach-tur ning experience these days. The reports of the gruesome, horrific rapes of women of all ages, young girls and children, some as young as 6, appear almost daily. While we read graphic reports of the rapes and murders, we rarely have the satisfaction of reading that the culprits were caught and justice meted out to the perpetrators of these brutal, inhuman crimes.

We wonder what the administration is doing about ensuring safety for women and girls in the state? Why is the tide not being stemmed? Why is there so much apathy regarding this? Once the public furore surrounding the Nirbhaya case died down, things are back to square one and worse. The misogyny in the air is frightening! The world was up in arms about the abduction of girls in Nigeria by Boko Haram. It was outraged when Malala was shot at by the Taliban. How are India’s daughters any better off ? They are unsafe, unwanted and unequal. They are insecure both on the street and at home. Almost nothing is reported about the incestuous sexual violence taking place in homes. A culture of misplaced ‘honour’ and shameful silence shrouds that. If the extent to which that were to come to light, we would hang our heads in shame even lower.

Much needs to be done by all of us. As parents, we should be examining how we raise our sons. Do we raise them to respect women at home and outside? As educators, we should be examining how we educate our boys and girls. Are we guiding them towards taking a hard critical look at the gender norms governing our society and our lives? Are we helping our boys redefine masculinity and notions of being ‘macho’. Are we training our girls in self-defence, both physical and psychological? As administrators, we should be taking a very serious view of these crimes against women and taking swift and fir m action against the culprits. Very strict punishment should be meted out, to deter others from taking similar action. Our police should do what our tax money is paying them to do - they should protect us! Our government should make the state safe for all its citizens, particularly its most vulnerable ones. Instead of asking the media not to ‘sensationalise’ these cases, the government needs to tell us what it is doing. We are waiting impatiently for it to act and deliver justice instead of merely mouthing platitudes.