The last few weeks have been, well for lack of a better word, depressing. Depressing as a male, a human being and a citizen of this country that is much respected for its moral values. Last month, we saw what some unruly men could do to a young woman in the capital of this country, where obviously, security would be high. Even more depressing was how some sections of the society responded to the incident. Instead of questioning the morality of the men involved, buzz was about the ethics of the girl involved. Can you believe that? Nowhere in our culture does it say to rape a girl who may have dressed provocatively, who might have been having an active night life. Then why the hell would someone question that?
I hail from a culture, which as i mentioned before, is known for its moral values. Years past, we keep most of them unshaken at the same time improving upon some to suit the times. We've had a lady Prime Minister and a lady President. So surely we shouldn't be expecting the ladies of our country to stay tied up. That is no reason to violate someone.
Yes, sexual pleasure, because of its forbidden nature, has been of some importance in a person’s life- especially for a man. Questions from peer groups like “Haven’t you done it yet?” have been common for decades now and are indications towards that. And men have been known to resorting to paid ‘services’ to some extend to get over with it, which is least justifiable, yet not so taboo. But when someone succumbs to alarmingly low levels of self respect and commit such heinous crimes, what explanations do they expect us to accept? If you think about it, rape is equivalent to murder. Not forgetting the physical torture, it is very hard to come back from such emotional shock for the victim. Blame it psychological, blame it peer pressure or provocative dressing/behavior from the victim, there is no acceptable explanation to this and certainly nothing more than a murderer can offer.
So never call them men, call them rapists because they are a disgrace to men. Even animals do not mate by force. So do not call them animals, call them rapist. Call them rapist and condemn them with the same vigor that we condemn a murderer.
Much discussed and yet much unknown is how such situations can be avoided. Strict laws can be helpful in at least reducing the blatant openness of the act as in this case. Also proper education could reduce it even further. With education, people become more open to individual freedom and learn to respect each other’s personal choices of life. Certainly, this can’t be a paradox which the brilliant minds of the country cannot solve. We just have to keep fighting our battles till justice prevails.
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