I wasn't sure how to spell "Guwahati"..So, of course i Googled it. And Surprise! Surprise! The first few result pages had nothing to offer, except news reports about the recent heinous incident, or blogs condemning the same. What happened in Guwahati was terrible to say the least; it was also incredibly frightening for so many of us who sat reading the reports and had the common thought, "That could've been me."
Of course that could've been us! In fact, how many times have you had a narrow escape from a similar situation? I've lost count of mine.
Terrible, terrible, terrible! BUT....here's the great news! I'm confident that JUSTICE will be done. The identified culprits will Definitely be punished. They have to, right? The media is condemning it enough, we are sharing the images of the culprits on Facebook enough, and we are definitely blogging about it enough. So, soon, this initial wave of outrage will be replaced by a subtle satisfaction that AT LEAST justice was done.
Bull shit.
So what is the Difference between Us- the distant Facebook-twitter-blogger supporters for a girl we know little about today, and knew nothing about a few days back, And those Journalists who were at the scene of the crime recording away and doing NOT ENOUGH to help? Well, the camera people can give their feeble justifications and the spine-less on-lookers can stay anonymous at best. The Difference between us and them is that WE weren't at the right place at the right time to be of any help. The best alibi on the planet!
So then, the question is- if YOU WERE there, what would you do? Would you try and rescue the girl? How hard would you try? Would you take on the mob, Or, would you hold onto your clothes and stay invisible, when you know that if you risk action, you risk sharing the victims fate?
Let's be honest here. REACTING as we do Now, solves nothing. A couple of months or years down the line, this incident will be a distant memory and this victim will be a Statistic. Until of-course ANOTHER incident happens. Then we will dig up this gruesome Guwahati grave and create a new more morbid statistic. But next time it could be you; it could be me.
Some may disagree, but NO, all men are not the same. Not all of them look at women as Objects. Not all of them believe that women have rights and power ONLY as long as the men approve. The problem is the millions of others. "Women empowerment". What a concept! Oprah Winfrey, Sonia Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi, the top women in the business and corporate world- all are inspiring examples of powerful women, WOMEN ON TOP. And yet, when they hear "Woman on Top" many of those million think of nothing more than the Reverse Cowgirl.
A random thought i had just now....
We all feel for the victim. But what about the wives, mothers, sisters and maybe daughters of the perpetrators? Are they not suffering as well? We may focus on the 10 odd identified men in this case, but by doing so, no one is solving any problem. No-one is even addressing it! Because the problem seems too huge to solve! It's a Moral disease. Why wait for the appendix to reach the point of explosion? Remove the damn thing when it starts getting infected! I am NOT suggesting any form of Gendercide against men. What i'm begging for, is a solution that actually SOLVES something.
So what is This solution? Well first and foremost! Girls shouldn't walk around alone at night. They shouldn't go to bars (Unless they want to risk being called PROSTITUTES by top Cops), they should dress appropriately, they should keep friends and family informed about their whereabouts 24/7, they should maintain a low-profile (meaning- timidly ignore any obscenity anyone may hurl their way) and worst come to worse- women should carry pepper spray.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!
Each of the above solutions imply that the WOMAN is responsible for her fate. She asked for trouble by being at a pub or by dressing "Provocatively". Even Pepper-spray is like giving a man a PENCIL to fend off a pack of wolves- you knows after a couple of jabs, that pencil will snap.
Some say, this is the Age of the Aquarius, the age when women no longer submit to the will of men; Where women will be self-sufficient, and Where women really shine at the fore-front. I've always drawn motivation and consolation from the fact that the time for women all over the world has just begun. But recently i heard that the age of the Aquarius isn't due till sometime 2150A.D. Given the state of affairs, i'd say that's a reasonable estimate.
Truth be told, i don't know what the solution is. All i know for sure is, that we are not part of the Solution, then we definitely are part of the Problem.
So that's it i guess! The perpetrators have had their fun in their attempt to "Outrage the Modesty" of a girl who spoke up for herself. (How dare she!).
Since we are talking about it so much, there's a very high probability that "Justice" will be done.
So that it that! Be Troubled little today and not at all tomorrow. Have a good evening..Until next time...and the time after that. Unless of course, you have a solution? And if you do, please put us women out of our misery and tell us already!
