Tainted Vs. Painted

So much has already been said in the media, newspapers,TV Channels, through neighbours, friends etc.,on the subject of rape, that there is no point in dwelling on repetition here! I was wondering what the root cause of all this is! It is most certainly the mind set of the Indian male and his lopsided thinking!

Why do Indian men immediately jump to conclusions if women barely ask for their fundamental rights? Is it insecurity that the forte which they have been holding for centuries is going to crumble very soon? That their manhood is put to test? Manhood? Really? I would rather label these so called 'opinion makers' as cowards. By no means are women interested in starting gender wars or competing with men. We are pretty happy to be 'all woman' and feminine. Not many women would want to be in the shoes of Indian men, I assure you. I admit, it is unfair to generalise because the mindset of a larger percentage is wayward and outdated, like an antique rusted clock, barely sounding the gong at hourly intervals, they do come across as stale tapes wanting to be rewound, playing the same old music again and again. It jars on the ears and our system! Yes, our men are still living in the era of cassettes and tapes. Simply backward. What they really mean is, even if women want to take to the streets in protest of an agonising injustice, they need to first seek the permission of men? Dress appropriately. And what may I ask is 'appropriate'? Who are these men to define what appropriate is? When most of them have docile wives tucked away in their kitchens and they are busy gallavanting around town with 'hep' (sic!) girlfriends who are dressed inappropriately? Double standards? Understatement!Outdated thinking coming from a so called 'progressive' nation!

Indian society is clearly divided into medieval India and progressive India. While you have the youth, with the advent of globalisation, having become fairly progressive thinkers, supporting and standing side by side with women on any cause affecting society, be it a man, woman or child that is hurt, you have another section of vicious, opinionated chauvinists making sexist remarks at women, that too, in the midst of already burning and raging controversies. Why dont men, yes Indian men understand the following basic facts?

* When a woman goes out to protest or participate in an event for a cause, she has every right to do so as a citizen of this country.

* If a man can enjoy the benefits of travelling by metro trains, hanging out with friends at midnight, travel by public buses,goes clubbing, pubbing, watching movies and enjoying his freedom, well, every woman also has a right to do so.

* Aren't women paying their taxes, contributing to the household income, sharing responsibilities and also multi tasking? If you men want her to do all this, you jolly well let her have her space and right to lead her life the way she wants.

* If men can walk around in shorts and sleeveless Ts, what's wrong if women dress they way they want to? What is the role of moral policing in a progressive nation? On one hand we want to compete with the West ( really, that's pathetic) on the other, men want to dominate under the pretext of wanting to preserve our cultural heritage and not allow women their basic rights? Can the confused, self professed 'saints' ( Oh! Yes we have seen a lot of 'virtues' of so called 'godmen' )decide what exactly is their priority?

* All that today's woman wants is complete abolition of double standards and restoration of a woman's dignity, allow her to live her life like a citizen of free India. She is NOT going to be bound by the fetters of male chauvinism any more. If you men don't change, society will soon change your mindset for you!

* And yes,we want responsible, mature leaders with courage to change the system, amend the laws own responsibility and fix accountablity when things go wrong. Any prospective leaders out there? I dont see any!And please! Stop making frivolous, juvenile remarks about women being painted and dented! When their own senses are demented and they are tainted, they have no right to pass judgment using imbecile brains!I have many a time walked out of polling booths in disgust! Whom does one vote for? The ballot paper has candidates who are woefully short of having any leadership qualities and we are compelled to choose our 'leaders' out of them! A fix between the devil and the deep sea!

* Finally, a plea to all mothers! Unless you lead the way and teach your sons right from wrong and make them understand that all women are to be respected, their mindsets will not change easily. YOU need to drill this into their psyche at a very young age!Society can only be reformed when change begins at home. When a mother corrects her errant son at adolescence that women are not objects of fancy, that he cannot grope, pass lewd remarks or paw every woman he fancies. If every mother makes a conscious effort to inculcate a sense of discipline and teach her child to look upon all women with respect, then perhaps, yes perhaps in the next 50 years we could be on par with other civilized societies with lesser gender discrimination.

I know, many men reading this would label it as 'feminist' or 'female chauvinism' a new term doing the rounds, by the way! Misters! rest your opinions. We are not interested in your judgements, since you too are citizens like any one of us, and if you can enjoy certain privileges in peace, so can we! That is all,we ask for!