Being An Indian Female

I wonder how I can still weep saying I suffer from writer’s block when girls are assaulted all over the country. The degree of proximity plays an important role in everyone’s life. It is the same reason that made me feel so weird after watching a news report in my local TV channel. A 17 year old girl raped by her father is pregnant. Since it is a local channel, they explained every minute detail including the video of the arrest of the accused. People give no value for relationships these days. If not, how can he do that to his own daughter?  Usually, a girl’s first hero will be her dad. What will be that girl’s mindset while delivering her own dad’s baby?

Kerala has witnessed some unusual and brutal attacks against female community for past few years. A girl was raped and killed by her friend’s father in Nilambur. She was just 9 year old! Again, a lady in her fifties was assaulted by her sons’ friends. Soon, you may hear news of sons raping their mothers. In addition to these cruelties, there are cases of killing babies just because of being females. The death of Baby Afreen is the latest ‘known’ incident. Unknown murders are countless.

I should admit that I’d never received any torture physically or verbally from my relatives or friends. I know I am a lucky female in this country to say so. However, in the society I had to suffer discrimination like every Indian lady. Once I proudly called myself a member of a state that has 100% literacy. Education is supposed to make a man cultured. Here, it is just the opposite. Women in Kerala cannot walk freely after dusk. Though the situation is changing slowly, God’s own country still remains a male dominant area at night. I would blame ladies for this situation (includes me too). We never bother to break the rules and act as if men are the ‘super powers’ in the world.

Indians address their own country as Bharath Matha and they worship Kali, the goddess of power. Our countrymen know how to respect and treat well. This is a nation known for patience and brotherhood. Similarly the law offers ‘equal’ rights to all citizens. Yet girls are considered as curse by many families. Female community is stamped as weaker section even today. Many times I feel it is the complex of men which make them control females. In Malayalam, there is a phrase aanaku aanayude shakthi ariyilla (An elephant doesn’t know its power). Same way, a female doesn’t know her strength. Or else, men never allow her to realize her potency by caging her with many dos and don’ts! Only the moment we recognize our power, we can move fearlessly and make our society spell ‘females’ without hesitation.

PS: I think I have deviated a long way from the point I started. The mix and match is not done proportionally. One thing you can read, i.e. the suffering of woman in India. After all, conclusion is tough for me when it comes to women issues.