Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The Pioneer-Dilli Billi-14th.Oct.2012-"WHEN WILL THE WOMEN IN INDIA RISE?"

It is unfortunate that women in politics prefer to take a back seat despite the fact that they are more talented and let the men in the family dominate them.

Crime against women is rising by the day. Gangrapes have become a daily affair. Delhi is one of the most unsafe cities in the world for women. Haryana is another story. Politicians getting involved in dubious land deals, affairs with women and rapes are not looked upon as anything unusual. Last month, two educated young women like Fiza and Geetika involved with two Ministers (now former) in the Haryana Government met with a brutal end.

What is sadder still is that the society is not blaming the men. What leaves me even more confused is how the rich and the powerful manage to get away with heinous crime. I have heard many horror stories about what the poor or even the middle class women have to endure even today.

I have a friend who comes from a fairly influential background but her husband beats her up regularly. Her in-laws side with their son who is living off his father’s money. The fact that he gets away with wife bashing is an example of his father’s influence. My friend’s parents don’t want their daughter to return to them. The reason — what will the neighbours and relatives say? The fact that they don’t want to antogonise the influential in-laws is an added woe. Her two children always side with the father. He is the one who provides for their luxuries. She is smart, educated and yet hapless. There is a perpetual look of fear and sadness on her face. I see her wilting in front of my eyes and all I can do is lend her a shoulder to cry on when she visits me.

Many times, she has talked of ending her life. But the love for her children, the heavy responsibility of not maligning her father’s or in-laws’ names stops her from taking the ultimate step. I feel helpless for my friend. But then she is not the only one who finds herself in such a situation. Every third woman in India faces a similar situation.

Of course, one doesn’t get everything in life but this kind of life, where one dies a little bit everyday is not really worth living.

Today, we talk about Women’s Reservation Bill and rights for women. Until we change the mindset of our society, nothing will change. Women are taken for granted and actually treated as doormats. If a woman takes the bold step of leaving her husband, she is labeled as easy prey. It is sad that in a country where we have powerful women like Sonia Gandhi, Kiran Mazumdar, Pratibha Patil and Meira Kumar, we are still unable to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill. Elections have come and gone but women of this country are still waiting for the Bill to be passed as promised by the UPA Government many times.

Forget the Bill, even the tickets distributed by political parties, including the Congress, are not in accordance to the percentage set for the women.

Whether it is the BJP or the Congress, the Women’s Reservation Bill is not something that the leaders are interested in pushing. Men are insecure about losing their seats and, may be, the women also have a lackadaisical approach. If women do not get rights when a leader like Sonia Gandhi is at the helm, it is unlikely to ever happen.

Even women who are in politics today are wives, sisters and daughters of established political leaders. But they prefer to take a back seat even though they are more talented.

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