From the Capital, with shame!

Yes, my native place is not Delhi but I am born and brought up in Delhi, and I always felt more of a Delhite than anybody else and I was pretty proud to belong to such a beautiful place, the capital of India, the glorious place, but not any more, I am ashamed, I feel helpless and I am heart broken. I cried reading the newspapers on December 17,2012, I could well imagine the excruciating pain that the gang rape victim must have gone through, as a woman that was my first reaction, I shuddered and my heart felt heavy at the brutalities she was submitted to. The thought that how she and her friend must have felt upon realizing that they are trapped and they shall have to fight it out unsuccessfully weighed down my whole being. I looked at my innocent little daughters and didn’t know whether I shall ever be at peace when they shall grow up and go out for studying or working, infact, I am also apprehensive about sending them to school under such conditions, what with the news of a 3 year old being raped at play school.

 I myself am a working woman, and as a teenager, and as a working woman before and after marriage I have faced  kinds of harassments in buses, streets, lonely streets etc. there have been times when I had ran to the safety of my house, when I was coming back from my evening class and a long , suave car kept on following me when I was walking home from the bus stop on a cold , rainy December night, it seems all the beasts come out during dark and lonely winter nights.

The anger , the outburst of the crowds in Delhi is 100% justified, as a woman from Delhi, who has lived her life in Delhi I am proof enough to myself that this city is anything but safe, even when we are venturing out with our Father, brother, Husband, Son or boyfriend. If you happen to look at any man for a second longer than usual for any reason or just because you were thinking something else and your eyes wandered off to some ones direction, you shall get dirty looks and gestures in return, as if that is enough for them to fantasise that you are game , you are ready to sleep with them.

How come our men are so insensitive and so perverted and sexually starved, is it something to do with the upbringing, the family background or it is in their basic nature, but then we can not generalize every man like that, there are men who are perfect gentlemen, with perfect courtesy, polite speech and decent gaze, but they are surely rare to find , the majority are ready to pounce on any woman, given a good opportunity and time.

It is the moral responsibility of each of us to bring up our children especially the male children with utmost care and sensitivity, to make them sensitive to such incidents, to let them know how it is the worst thing in life to violate a woman , her modesty , it is equivalent to killing her.

Our system needs overhauling, fast track courts, more women judges and lawyers, more sensitivity to women. Any man ever, before thinking of such heinous crime should shudder at the thought of the consequences he shall have to bear as punishment. Every woman should have the right to venture out of their homes fearless, carefree and with confidence about her safety and well being.

I Hope and pray that the New year shall bring in all the above for all the little girls and women out there in Delhi and our Country as a whole and also that 13 shall be a lucky number for us .