She is neither divine nor she is perfect…
She is just as normal as she can be...
She is neither an angel nor she is a demon...
She is just a woman…
She is courteous and serene…
She is courageous and a classy queen…
She is what everyone wishes to be…
~The Writer of This Article

AN INTRODUCTION THAT ACTUALLY IS AN UNTOLD CONFESSION

“Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finer always finds a woman. Always.” ~ A Thousand Splendid Suns

What?? Well, you look offended seeing the title of the article and I can feel your those judgmental eyes!! But before you judge me regarding my views and opinions on the so-called “Women Empowerment”; let us hear a quick little story. As much as I am aware people love stories!

About 15 years ago, during the time of summer holidays, one day I was travelling along with my mother on a public bus. I was aged around 5-6 years when for the very first time I experienced an unsolicited touch by a man sitting on the seat next to my mother. At that very moment, I was too young to understand what had just happened to me and how to react to it. All I knew was that that touch was illegitimate and no other men in my life before had ever touched me like that. Hence, all I did next was get up and move away from that man and never talk about it. That was the day when for the very first time I felt unsafe as a woman.

The above-said incident is just only one of the innumerable painful experiences that I have dealt with as a female during my 21 years of existence on this planet. Do you want to know an interesting fact about this article? Well, as I’m writing this right now a 12-year-old girl has been raped by her caretaker; an adopted 5-year-old girl child has been assaulted by her parents and a college-going girl has been involved in making adult videos with a 67-year-old man. No, amigo, that’s not the interesting part; the interesting part about all these is that in all these cases the one whose life has been hampered is the girl; the one who is being accused is the girl; the one who is held responsible irrespective of their involvement in it is yes you guessed it right the freaking girl!

You know what let me tell you another story of mine hoping you aren't bored; I was in 12th standard when for the very first time I fully understood the meaning of the word “misogynist” I was like dude it’s an extremely derogative word and every time I noticed anyone saying any kind of inferior things to a woman or despised them in any way, I was quick enough to judge them and make them the definition of misogynist. But slowly as I became a little more mature and grew a bit wiser then I started realizing that misogynist does not only consists of a person beholding a penis but unfortunately you, me, or anyone reading this including our family, our friends, someone we know or even someone we don’t know; each one of us is a misogynist. Each one of us has whether knowingly or unknowingly somehow even once disrespected women around us and somehow prejudiced them.

SOME FACTS IN CASE YOU DIDN’T KNOW BEFORE OR DIDN’T WANT TO KNOW

“If you can’t take care of me when I’m alive, you have made me dead anyway.” ~ Gone Girl

I know right now you all are expecting me to share with you the latest statistics relating to the crimes women face all over the world daily. You might be certainly thinking that I'm going to be sharing some real databases with you about the ongoing rape culture or the harassment against women throughout the world. But! But! But! let me just stop you right there fella cause let me put this very clear in front of you no matter how many articles are written every day; no matter how many news is being made on this topic; no matter how many people are forced to death or are being given capital punishment, unfortunately, the crimes involving women are never going to end. The most ironic part here is that no matter what the statistics say, each woman on this planet has someday in their life been a victim of the oppression showcased by the men around them. Each one of us being a woman has once in our lifetime faced a situation we are ashamed to talk about or even worse felt guilty for being born as a female. Each one of us has at least one time in our lives wished that we were born as a man. Women around the world are not even safe inside their houses let alone outside. Today, India might be the largest democratic country in the world but still, 48% of its population consisting of all its females goes into curfew after 6 p.m. Somehow, that’s not even the worst part; the worst part of all this is that 98 out of 100 times the crimes that are convicted upon women happen inside their houses by someone they already know.

You know these harassments of women is not a new concept and it has been going on since the inception of the human community. For example, Hindu Mythology consists of various stories of appalling incidents where women were the only sufferers. For instance, Lord Indra was accused of raping Ahalya (there are some other versions to this story too though but I'm not going deeper into that issue), Ravana forced Sita to be his wife only for the cause of seeking revenge and even Draupadi was on the verge of being raped by Kauravas and many other such stories where women were certainly harassed indicating the fact that women were seen as an object of men’s satisfaction and a source of entertainment. These men were incapable of thinking about the emotions and content of women since a very long time. My point out here is that in an era where supposedly only the divine people lived; women were still the ones who suffered the most. Then how can in this Kalyug, where there is no noticeable difference between Ram and Ravana and cruelty is in its best form, women are supposed to be safe and there is supposed to exist a place where no crimes are convicted?

THE PERFECT SOCIETY AND IT'S NOT SO PERFECT CONTEMPLATION

“A wise girl knows her limits, a smart girl that she has none.” ~ Marilyn Monroe

We all from our birth are always told to be like Ram and despise Ravana but if Ravana was always supposed to be despised then what was his importance in the epic? Why was he ever there? Why was evil ever created by nature? We always talk that Ramayana is only of Ram and it was written to showcase the greatness of Ram but we miss here the simple fact that without the existence of Ravana the greatness of Ram would never have been able to come out ever. What I am trying to explain here is that I fully resonate with Tennessee Williams when he said, “If I got rid of my demons, I’d lose my angels”.

The case here is that evil is going to exist in this world today, tomorrow, and forever and nobody can ever stop it from existing no matter how good someone is. We live in a world where neither a Ram exists nor a Ravana. We all consist of both good and evil within ourselves and it is only one’s circumstance that decide what a person is going to be in his life.

So, instead of worrying so much about the criminals and crimes and whining over the fact that why someone is ever involved in crime; let's just stop overrating crimes and tell the victims that no matter what happens to their bodies they have a right to live a normal life. One cannot decide what circumstances they are gonna face in the future but one can certainly decide what their attitude towards their circumstances is gonna be despite whatever those circumstances are. The biggest irony here is that while I’m writing this and while you are reading this someone out there is being raped or harassed and you, I, or even the Prime Minister can do nothing about it. And it’s okay to be raped, harassed, or sexually assaulted because it is not in your hands that someone out there thinks that they are the most powerful species on this planet and they have all the power over you and they can do anything to you to save themselves from the guilt of their own unsuccessful lives. Why must we give so much emphasis on the pain that a woman goes through and reminisce only her wounds? Why is it that we connect a girl and her family’s honor to the agonies she suffers physically?

THE LEGIT CLIMAX WHERE NO ONE EVER WON

“Because our whole is greater than the sum of our parts.” ~ The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo

Now here comes the fun part about the ongoing trend of “Women Empowerment”! You know when I first heard the word, I just loved it and used it in every damn sentence that I could be consisting of the word “women”. But however now as I think of it I believe it’s the most absurd thing that has ever happened to the entire species of Homo sapiens. I mean, just look at us! All that the women of this generation want is to have men down at their feet while they continue gossiping about other women over tea. That’s not how it goes lady!

As of now, we have realized that there exists a problem with the safety of females around the world but the question that arises here is that is there a solution to all of these? Well, unfortunately, there’s no golden solution to this issue. No, no, I am neither any nihilist out here nor any pessimist to sulk about the half empty glass! All I am saying is that all we need to do is change our perspective regarding this entire harassment thing.

Now let me ask you a question here. Have you ever pondered upon the fact that why is it that when a girl is raped her face is covered in the news? Do you ever somehow think about it? Now if you feel that it is for her and her family’s safety so that in the future they do not go through any kind of inconvenience and I’m completely insane about making this an issue then you are wrong right here. (P.S. - no not about the sanity part though) Why is a girl and her family’s honor directly related to her sexual activities be it consensual or non-consensual? You know crimes are going to happen; women are going to be convicted of various harassments and all I or anyone can help do is reduce the rate of it and have a practical approach towards it. An approach where anyone is not expected to behave like a god or a demon; an approach where one understands each other and respects each other no matter what we experience as an individual.

We cannot stop a criminal from doing a crime but rather we can increase the consciousness of women around us and make them able enough to try to protect themselves. We as a society must join our hands together and stop blaming women for being born as a woman and focus on increasing better social practices rather than capital punishment. We must stop caring about a victim and her family’s honor more than her life. We must build a society where there is no visible barrier between a female and a male. We must not let a small incident alone decide the entire future of a female victim. Most importantly we must adopt the practice of adult education amongst our youth and help them learn the difference between consensual and non-consensual touch. I believe men and women are not equal; neither physically nor even mentally; but they do have the right to equal opportunities and. So let’s come together and instead of celebrating women, normalize them and instead of limiting their boundaries, tell them that they have none.

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