Freedom is meaningless...
In this 21st century, women can go anywhere and do anything, people say. But those who know how to grant this freedom still haven't figured out how to provide basic safety, leaving many women feeling vulnerable and unsafe in their daily lives. I don’t know why.
"Freedom is meaningless if it is accompanied by fear."
Daily, nearly 86 to 90 rapes are registered; that’s 31,500 to 32,000 a year. Every 15 to 18 minutes, a girl is being raped, and this includes children as young as two years old. Recently in Komarapalayam, a man raped a 7-year-old child. He had already been to jail twice for child rape, yet he committed the same crime again. What kind of punishment is he actually getting? Why isn't he changing? What kind of punishment would actually make someone like him stop?
We talk about women flying planes and captaining ships, but a 7-year-old child isn't safe here. Why is this happening? What is the solution? From biological fathers to elder brothers, when men close to them behave like this, whom can a girl trust in this society? Should women go back to the kitchen for such behaviour to change? Even then, what did that 7-year-old child do wrong?
If a crime happens repeatedly, it means the current punishments aren't enough. As a girl, I truly don’t know who to trust in this society. Once, they said, 'Trust your father' or 'Trust your brother.' ' Now, trust no one. The only person you can trust is yourself. We can talk a thousand things about 'women, women', but nothing is changing, and it feels like nothing ever will.
A woman is a treasure; protecting her is the duty of every man. A mother must teach her son this lesson while raising him. Those who have sons must drill it into their heads. A woman is a fellow human being, not a sex object. Only when we change things from the foundational level will these crimes be stopped. "Law and punishment act as a deterrent after the damage is done, but teaching a boy that a girl is a "fellow human" is where the prevention starts.
"We don't need to protect our daughters; we need to educate our sons."
Deepika S B
1st LLB