Of all ages and sizes.....
Two articles I read, yesterday and today, have once again brought home the dreadful place the girl child and the woman has in our society. (I'm not talking about the fairy-tale of a few privileged, but of the reality of the masses).
Yesterday, Uddalak Mukherjee in her article in The Telegraph, 'No laughing matter this', mentioned how 'our culture teaches women..... to be forever inhibited by and ashamed of their bodies'. And this, in spite of all our major deities being women...
Today's paper has a gruesome story on the front page of hoodlums pouring alcohol over a 23 year old girl, a call center employee, who was on her way back home from the city. She was being escorted by her 16 year old brother. When the brother protested, they dragged him off the cycle, and beat him to death.
Leave aside the fact that when the girl asked the passengers of a passing van to help, they chickened out. Leave aside the fact that in her despair and fear, she called the guards in front of the DM's house, and they asked her to go to the police station. Leave aside also the fact that though she was screaming madly, not a soul came out to help her.Check out what the Trinamul Congress Chairperson of the Barasat Municipality, no less, told the grieving girl: it was her fate...
Yes, it seems to be the fate of the girl-child and the woman to serve the man, to be beaten, not to be helped, and....not say a word. In fact, it would be better if she is not seen at all...
Most Indian boy-children are converted into monsters by adoring mothers who see no fault in them...older and younger sisters have to go on sacrificing their dreams, wishes, even life for these monsters...and these monsters go through life expecting and demanding to be served, giving nothing in return, not even recognizing the human spirit in the girl/woman who is giving up everything, and that too cheerfully, for them...The girl child studies hard, and works harder, and uncomplainingly, juggles home and school/job as best as she can. In return, she is not to be seen, is put down and ill-treated whenever possible, and is made to believe that she is a non-entity, a non-person...
and her giving is never enough.....no matter what the age...
While we see women of other cultures walking with their heads high, we crawl with our heads hidden in the ghungat...
While 80 and 90 year old women in the West are unafraid of living it up, even go bungee jumping, our 40-50-60 year old women are already covered with a shroud...
While girls and women are encouraged to get a life, explore and live up to their potential in other countries, our women are told - 'what life', 'you were cursed the day you were born' and 'this is your fate'...
It's most always the woman behind the man...rarely does a man lift a woman on his wings...