Moving Ahead in Fear

In the Shakespearean love sonnets, women have been idolized and placed almost on an elevated pedestal. Indeed, women are worth the glory they received, because it’s through a woman that runs the life on earth. What comes as a real shame is that today men of our society often underestimate the hidden power in a woman and cause her pain only to conquer her physically and establish their manhood.

 We claim that we have advanced scientifically, technologically, economically, educationally and so on but when we look at the increasing rate of crime against women, all progress seems a hollow sham. Are we are residing in a savage hostile world of devilish men where women have no security at all? Acts of male violence and atrocities against women actually are a global phenomenon, but of late our country has been a buzz of talk worldwide for the alarming increase in the acts of brutal violence that are being carried on our women by the males. Statistics show that crime against women has swelled by as much as 65% in the year 2012 since its previous year.

The bothersome question now is: ‘Why do women have to bear the brunt of male violence even in today's day and age with every passing day?’

Incidence of crime against of women is fuelled by the patriarchal social setup of our country where women forever have been grinding pathetically under our typical socio-cultural plus religious structures. Women are being ravaged by males in numerous ways. Let’s take a look at how the male perverts of our society are actually ‘toying’ with a woman or her body:

• They are being raped
• They are being molested and harassed sexually
• Large scale importation of women plus immoral trafficking cases is taking place in different parts of the country.
• Dowry related homicides are also taking place
• Cyber crimes or MMS leaks etc based on women are taking place where women are represented indecently
• Women are being kidnapped as well for various purposes
• Domestic violence; both physical as well as mental

How with more visibility the crime against women is also increasing?

In the recent times Rape has risen to perhaps the most common act of male violence against women and few months back the very brutal and tragic gang rape of the 23 year old Delhi-based student in a bus shook the entire nation from its complacent state of slumber and made all of us realize that something was gravely amiss with our society.

The case received tremendous visibility not only in our country but worldwide through the media. But on the flipside of it, a series of rape cases took place in the different parts of the country post the gang rape of the Delhi student. The only difference was that now the criminals were hiding all evidences so that they could escape penalty. They were murdering the rape victim and hiding her body. Therefore it may be argued that with more visibility the crime against women is also accelerating.

Is the reducing gender gap increasing the rate of male violence on women?

According to some sociologists, the increasing rate of male violence against women is the result of the reducing gender gaps due to various strategies taken up for woman empowerment. Men in our patriarchal society are basically chauvinists. It’s in fact in their DNA! When they see that women have risen to par with them; are earning equal pay or are in some cases more educated or intelligent than them, their male ego is seriously hurt. In their pursuit to defeat the woman anyhow and prove themselves superior, they go on to assault her physically and that too quite violently!

This theory is however debated by another group of sociologists who argue that reducing gender gap could not be the cause of violence against women. In our modern society, men themselves are encouraging gender equality and the trend shows that when it comes to marrying a woman, they seek for partners who are at par with them in every way.

How the ‘fight for women equality’ is actually working against them?

There are uncountable Feminist organizations in our country and several legislations have been passed to wage a battle for women equality. But the cardinal question at this point remains - how is this ‘fight for women equality’ working against them?

• Firstly it tickles the male ego because the males of our society, perhaps at the bottom of their heart, never want to see women equal to them. So they try to dominate the woman’s body by raping her or sexually harassing her.
• Sometimes women feel that since a ‘fight for women equality’ is going on nationwide they’ll be backed by media, NGO’s and Woman Commission if something goes wrong. So some women choose to behave very daringly, and mistakenly take undue risks provoking the pervert males of our society. This may put their life at real stake.
• Often the Feminist organizations or the courts take help of the media to inform people whenever a new bill is passed and so on. In other words media is used in many cases as a platform to fight the battle for women equality. And media, of course, sensationalizes the matter a lot. This is one major factor that is working against the women today because the criminals are becoming alert and their perverted fertile mind is thinking of new ways to commit the crime against women.

Women are the seat of procreation and need to be glorified as ‘Shakti’. But unfortunately our women today are ‘moving ahead in fear’. We really need to reconsider our approach towards dealing with these issues so that our women can step into a bright new dawn where fear doesn’t rein their hearts.