Rising cases of rapes across the country : Not safe for women
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 24 2018 -

Kathua in Jammu, Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, Surat in Gujarat, Patan town in Gujarat and countless many other places and clearly nothing can be more abhorrent than to identify India with what has happened at the places mentioned here.

So from raping and killing minors today it has gone to a ‘porn addict’ son raping his own mother.

This in a place where the mother is not less than Ma and clearly nothing is right in how India sees and deals with the fairer sex.

Today situation has come to such a pass that rape can no longer be seen as acts of sexual deviants for it seems to have become part and parcel of what happens daily in different parts of the country.

Even as Parliament has passed an ordinance to make rape of a girl under 12 punishable by death and when the quantum of punishment of rapes in other cases has been made much more stringent came the news that a ‘porn addict’ son raped his own mother some days back.

Something is seriously wrong.

Or is it a case of people now coming out in the open to file their complaints while earlier everything was kept under wraps ?

Either way, it does not speak well of society as a whole and there is something seriously wrong somewhere.

Crimes against women, including rapes, may be as old as mankind itself but when rapes and molestation become daily affairs, then obviously it is time for all to sit up and see how situation has come to such a pass.

Even as the country is reeling under the impact of the series of rapes across the country came another news that a young model was molested on the streets of Indore and some people deemed it better and proper to say that the molestation occurred as the young lady was in a skirt !

A revolutionary change in the mindset of the people is what is required now.

There may the strictest provisions of law but how far these can be a deterrent is yet to be seen but as pointed out in an earlier commentary here, what is badly needed is a change in the mindset of everyone.

As long as women are taken as objects then rapes can be said to be a natural corollary.

It is this approach to the fairer sex that needs to be addressed to on a priority basis.

What is the status of women in the society is a question that should be raised now and this question should start from each family.

All young boys need to be taught that women are not objects of lust and this lesson should start from each family.

Time to also do away with the hierarchy within society wherein sons are always preferred over daughters.

This is a serious point for it is becoming more and more clear that the country is not exactly safe for women.

Manipur has not yet seen a Kathua or a Patan, but here too crimes against women continue to benumb the sensibilities of the people.

It is here that all, particularly society need to seriously deliberate on why Manipur should produce so many rapists who have not hesitated in preying on women.

This is all that more unacceptable given the fact that Manipur has given the Meira Paibi movement to the world, is the place where there is a market place exclusively run by women folk and is the only place to set aside a day to acknowledge the contributions of womenfolk on Nupi Lan.