Indian Women: Fighting with Physical Abuse

Women were regarded as central part of the society from time immemorial though society continued to be patriarchal. Women were worshipped as goddess; adored as mother, wife and sister. But some incidents of recent times show that they are nothing more than objects of flesh and blood to satiate carnal pleasure through force. Every day when people flip through newspapers in search of good news like development in the country, economic progression etc they are confronted with just the opposite story. Women are been assaulted, molested and tortured both physically and mentally by men who can best be equated with beasts.

Pic Source: Maktub Photos (picasa)

 

Leaving aside the Vedic age when women commanded a lot of respect they have always been looked down upon as a commodity which is for pleasure and enjoyment. It is depressing to digest debates across the country which partly blames the tempting dressing of women leading to their rape. But these discussions cannot be accepted when globalisation is in full swing and when the global transfer of culture and ideas has reached a sizable proportion. In western societies women are much liberal in deciding what to wear which may raise eye brows in Indian standards but still the crime rate is lower compared to us. Primitive thinking of parda system is still in the mind of people who think dressing sense of women is all to blame. However, dress hardly matters to the perverts. We read in newspaper or see in television that a girl wearing salwar suit gets raped and furthermore women who are wearing sarees are also not spared. A woman who wears provocative dresses (according to Indian sensibilities) attracts a lot of lustful onlookers. 

 

Now we can come to a conclusion that cultural backwardness of Indian society is the main factor for lack of respect to women. We hear or read that our country has undergone a revolution or it is developing day by day but the actual scenario is bleak. Society is thinking over ways which enable women to get more opportunities so that they can be placed on an equal footing with men through legislations and enactments. Today we find women as ministers, chief minister, prime minster, president, top executives, sports-person etc but the fundamental question regarding respect to women still comes secondary. At present women irrespective of their age are searching for "security”. Now question is- who will ensure their security? 

About the Author- 

Nilika Banerjee is student of Journalism & Mass Communication at Rani Birla Girl's College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and they do not reflect in any way those of the Dispassionate Observer.