Confessions of a worried father
Confessions of a worried father
My
20-year old daughter studies in Delhi. She doesn't wear short skirts,
doesn't go out after 8 pm, doesn't visit pubs , doesn't commute on
public transport(definitely not private buses, God forbid), and—as far
as I know—doesn't have a boyfriend.
Is she safe in Delhi?
As I hear the verbal diarrhoea on television debates about women and sexual violence I am filled with a sense of impending dread and growing despair. Standing on the threshold of 2013 I wonder what sort of a world we have given over to the future generations! A world perhaps where women are treated as they were in Manish Jha's Matrabhoomi as no better than cattle. A world not fit for women at all.
So do we as a collective nation have the right to spew impassioned rhetorics on female foeticide when we can't guarantee our girl child the basic right to walk fearlessly on the public roads?
And please, let's not blame the politicians . Who are they to protect our children when we can't do it ourselves?
As I watch open-mouthed, the sanctimonious bilge emanating fron the articulate mouths of socio-political experts I hear some strange logistics on how to contain sex crimes against women. Someone even suggested an emergency rape-line on the phone, a number that ladies can dial when they are attacked.
Er...you mean if a girl is being raped she would dial a number and ask for help???Maybe she should instead dial the rapist's mother to tell her what the son is up to. The rationale to restrain rape gets even more dented and painted from there.Some wise politician suggested public flogging for rapists. How that would help our girls after they are violated is beyond my comprehension.
Those who suggest such nonsensical remedies to the rampancy of the rape epidemic don't know the 'r' of rape Maybe the experts should be put through the ordeal before they are allowed to speak authoritatively on the subject of rape. Like you need a learner's licence before you can learn to drive.
What I gathered to my horror within my limited understanding of political rhetorics is that everyone is talking about redressal after sexual violation.Not prevention of the crime.So are we to presume that crime against women are inevitable and that we as nation must lie back and enjoy it and then mete out punishment to the offender, for example chemical castration?
So okay. The six gentlemen , lodged in Tihar enjoying state hospitality at our cost, are rendered penis-less and sexually impoverished.
How would that be any consolation to the parents of Nirbhaya (as the Time Of India aptly named her)? Again, we are talking of retribution for rather than prevention of the crime. So here are some very elementary preventive measures that I , in my naive emotional state as a worried father of a grownup girl(hence a potential victim of unwanted attention, never mind the long skirts) would like to suggest.
Ban alcohol. A majority of the sex crimes are committed in a state of inebriation(and those six gentleman in Tihar would testify to that). Why do we need to drink to feel good about life? Just be happy that you and your family are safe and that your 4-year old son has not been molested by that sweet Uncle who visits your home every morning.Okay, so you can't ban alcohol? Big bucks, big revenues, huh? Okay, then ban consumption of alcohol in public places. Drink yourself silly in your home, if you like. Don't step out threafter.Close down sale of liquors in bars and restaurants. Maybe the man at the steering wheel would be able to think straight.
Ban human-rights for rapists. Criminals often kill people out of an emotional and or an economic desperation, hence the desperation is somewhere and somehow rationalized.Sex crimes are committed purely for carnal pleasure. If you violate our daughters for lust then be prepared for the worst. I suggest every rapist have his right hand cut off , so that the minute we see a man with no right hand we know what he has been up to.
Ban Free Porn Access On Internet: A lot of testosterone is running loose out there, thanks to the rampancy of porn.Internet gives the voyeur a free dekko at the most provocative porn that man ever fantasized about. Once you've seen what your loins cannot control, you are bound to go looking for prey.Get rid of the porn epidemic. It's the only way to stop our female population from becoming guineapigs for porn-induced fantasies.
Ban Item Songs: Lastly, I'd request my friends Katrina Kaif and Kareena Kapoor not to perform item songs like Chikni chameli and Fevicol. They are fab odes to feminine allure. But at the moment the last thing we need is for female icons telling the world they are game for you-know-what.
Maybe, just maybe, these measures would curtail sex crimes. But for God's sake , don't expect the Shiela Dixits of the political world to protect our children.They don't have a clue.They jest at scars that never felt a wound.
By the way, where is Aamir Khan? He shed so many tears for victims of sexual crimes on his television show last year. Nothing beyond the formal statement of regret on Nirbhaya's death from this socially conscious artiste.
Maybe when he returns from his scuba-diving New Years' holiday, Aamir would communicate a larger voice in the raging seething national debate on women's right to their space.
We can only hope for the best.
Is she safe in Delhi?
As I hear the verbal diarrhoea on television debates about women and sexual violence I am filled with a sense of impending dread and growing despair. Standing on the threshold of 2013 I wonder what sort of a world we have given over to the future generations! A world perhaps where women are treated as they were in Manish Jha's Matrabhoomi as no better than cattle. A world not fit for women at all.
So do we as a collective nation have the right to spew impassioned rhetorics on female foeticide when we can't guarantee our girl child the basic right to walk fearlessly on the public roads?
And please, let's not blame the politicians . Who are they to protect our children when we can't do it ourselves?
As I watch open-mouthed, the sanctimonious bilge emanating fron the articulate mouths of socio-political experts I hear some strange logistics on how to contain sex crimes against women. Someone even suggested an emergency rape-line on the phone, a number that ladies can dial when they are attacked.
Er...you mean if a girl is being raped she would dial a number and ask for help???Maybe she should instead dial the rapist's mother to tell her what the son is up to. The rationale to restrain rape gets even more dented and painted from there.Some wise politician suggested public flogging for rapists. How that would help our girls after they are violated is beyond my comprehension.
Those who suggest such nonsensical remedies to the rampancy of the rape epidemic don't know the 'r' of rape Maybe the experts should be put through the ordeal before they are allowed to speak authoritatively on the subject of rape. Like you need a learner's licence before you can learn to drive.
What I gathered to my horror within my limited understanding of political rhetorics is that everyone is talking about redressal after sexual violation.Not prevention of the crime.So are we to presume that crime against women are inevitable and that we as nation must lie back and enjoy it and then mete out punishment to the offender, for example chemical castration?
So okay. The six gentlemen , lodged in Tihar enjoying state hospitality at our cost, are rendered penis-less and sexually impoverished.
How would that be any consolation to the parents of Nirbhaya (as the Time Of India aptly named her)? Again, we are talking of retribution for rather than prevention of the crime. So here are some very elementary preventive measures that I , in my naive emotional state as a worried father of a grownup girl(hence a potential victim of unwanted attention, never mind the long skirts) would like to suggest.
Ban alcohol. A majority of the sex crimes are committed in a state of inebriation(and those six gentleman in Tihar would testify to that). Why do we need to drink to feel good about life? Just be happy that you and your family are safe and that your 4-year old son has not been molested by that sweet Uncle who visits your home every morning.Okay, so you can't ban alcohol? Big bucks, big revenues, huh? Okay, then ban consumption of alcohol in public places. Drink yourself silly in your home, if you like. Don't step out threafter.Close down sale of liquors in bars and restaurants. Maybe the man at the steering wheel would be able to think straight.
Ban human-rights for rapists. Criminals often kill people out of an emotional and or an economic desperation, hence the desperation is somewhere and somehow rationalized.Sex crimes are committed purely for carnal pleasure. If you violate our daughters for lust then be prepared for the worst. I suggest every rapist have his right hand cut off , so that the minute we see a man with no right hand we know what he has been up to.
Ban Free Porn Access On Internet: A lot of testosterone is running loose out there, thanks to the rampancy of porn.Internet gives the voyeur a free dekko at the most provocative porn that man ever fantasized about. Once you've seen what your loins cannot control, you are bound to go looking for prey.Get rid of the porn epidemic. It's the only way to stop our female population from becoming guineapigs for porn-induced fantasies.
Ban Item Songs: Lastly, I'd request my friends Katrina Kaif and Kareena Kapoor not to perform item songs like Chikni chameli and Fevicol. They are fab odes to feminine allure. But at the moment the last thing we need is for female icons telling the world they are game for you-know-what.
Maybe, just maybe, these measures would curtail sex crimes. But for God's sake , don't expect the Shiela Dixits of the political world to protect our children.They don't have a clue.They jest at scars that never felt a wound.
By the way, where is Aamir Khan? He shed so many tears for victims of sexual crimes on his television show last year. Nothing beyond the formal statement of regret on Nirbhaya's death from this socially conscious artiste.
Maybe when he returns from his scuba-diving New Years' holiday, Aamir would communicate a larger voice in the raging seething national debate on women's right to their space.
We can only hope for the best.
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