Confession as a woman: 'Scream' came out of my throat that day…so whenever I hear or read such news, such a 'scream' comes out of my throat. Maybe it will be the same 'chis' that he tried to make but could not! Maybe it will be the same 'scream' which has been suppressed by placing the palms on his mouth! Perhaps it will be the same 'shriek' that has pierced thousands of ears and gone across the chest! As a woman, I have to admit that my screams in every such case could neither bring the girl back to life, nor erase the scratches on her body and mind! I know my screams are fake, my screams have not had any 'concrete results'! Disappointment as a woman: During 'Nirbhaya', thousands of women demanded that the murderer be hanged! In this country, in the corners of the villages and towns, when the little girls were being pinched and we women gathered together and said, hang these brothers-in-law! After that, the courts put the rape cases on fast track, the convicts were sentenced to death, but the door of 'mercy petition', 'appeal to the higher court' was not closed for them! When Nirbhaya's naradhamo exercised his right to plead for mercy to the President, my conscience asked me, if these bastards did not give that daughter the right to plead for mercy, then why protect her rights as a human being – as a citizen? Me and thousands of other women like me kept believing that the death sentence would make many other such criminals tremble, their pants would get wet in panic before the worm of lust crawls between their two legs! But I was disappointed! Capital punishment could not create an earthquake in the chest of these criminals! Now this world is whispering in our ears, 'O women, we cannot keep Ravana in Lakshmana Rekha, Ravanas roam free, so please learn to live in Lakshmana Rekha! Disappointment! Deadly disappointment! Freedom as a woman: When I was born, someone said, 'Lakshmi incarnated, someone called me Saraswati! So some addressed as Maa Durga and some as Maa Kali! My daughter's beloved songs were also sung! I am very proud of being born in the 'daughter age'! I was brought up like a boy and shared blood in my veins! I was told that I am a free woman. I was empowered, but I missed being armed! Such incidents happen and people ask questions like 'Does this happen if you wear a short skirt?', 'Do you need to go out alone till late?', 'Always clap with two hands!' Etc Etc! The shackles were removed from my legs but the shackles were hung by hand! Talks of women's freedom certainly freed me from some customs and ideas but increased my freedom on my femininity! I knew the difference between freedom and cleanliness – but attempts were made to erase the border between freedom and freedom! My freedom became a curse for me! Advice I get as a woman: The advice you get when you're a woman changes. Everyone is eager to give you advice. Everyone is ready to judge you. When such incidents happen, we get advice from Jaatbhat! Caste advice not to stay out late, not to wear short dresses, to walk with eyes downcast, not to argue with anyone, not to walk on the road, not to go for a drive etc. etc. 24/7 watch over our femininity! It's okay if their white ganji is peeking through the transparent shirt of men, but if our bra strip is accidentally seen, the character certificates would start to burst! My questions as a woman: I have more than one question in my mind! When a daughter is bitten, I question every effort to prevent such incidents! I wonder if even a small candle is enough to light a fire, then what happened to the millions of candles lit in this country? Capital punishment will create fear among criminals…where has the confidence gone? Could the petitions given to the collector revive the daughter who was dying in agony? Fast track cases in courts stop rapes? Could poems written imagining the girl's pain heal her wounds? Suggestion as a woman : I am a woman and I have to follow my limits as a woman, it is my duty and responsibility too! My humble suggestion is that any case of violent assault on a woman when it comes to court should go under a female judge! The prosecution should have at least one woman lawyer fighting the case! It is not that men are not trusted, but because a woman can easily relate to a woman's pain! Appeal as a woman: When a daughter is pinched, we go out with candles, but our sorrow, our despair does not last long! We feel a sense of cemeteries! Let's sustain this cremation Vairagya a little longer! As a woman, when a rape case is going on in the court, what happened in that case, how much punishment was given to the accused, what arguments were made by the lawyer, etc. As a woman, my appeal is that in a matter like athlete rape, show women's unity-women's power. After all we too are descendants of Maa Kali!
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
Tsunami: Ladies, draw your own Lakshmana Rekha as Ravana roams free!
