Who should I be, if all I want is to have a life of dignity?
Growing up, I was taught girls are no less than anyone and they deserve all the happiness and joy in the world. I was taught that even the sky is not the limit to their ambitions. I was constantly motivated to dream big and go after anything I wanted. I was presented with the opportunities and the means, and so, despite instances of gender discrimination, I fought on.
Not just for me, but for all the women out there, life is a constant struggle. Each day we fight to be treated as humans, whether it be at school, college, the workplace, public parks, or even buses. Only the place changes, the struggle is constant, and we plead for basic human respect.
We explain why feminism is important. We elaborate on why consent is a necessity, and why our gender should not be the criterion for determining the choices we have in front of us. We hold placards saying “No sexual abuse”, “Save women, no rape” and “Punish the guilty”. We hold protest meetings, light candles, and offer flowers after girls and women are denied the right to live.
After a few posts and some thought-provoking quotes on our social media handles for a while, we go back to our ‘normal life’ until another piece of news shakes us to the core. Nowadays, the “normal” is scary.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), India has one of the highest rates of violence against women in the world. In 2021, there were 4,05,861 reported cases of violence against women, including 32,033 cases of rape. The statistics are alarming.
It makes me wonder what should be done to avoid being another addition to these statistics. Because I do not want to be another “India’s daughter”. Initially, I believed that education would give me the power to defend myself, but what happened to Nirbhaya disproved my belief.
Perhaps, staying at home will keep us safe. After all, it’s my nation, my homeland. A video from Manipur, which gave me sleepless nights, told me NO! It taught me how women’s bodies continue to be used as battlefields, regardless of the cause of conflict. What was more shocking was when the delay in action against the perpetrators was justified by people in power claiming that “hundreds” of such incidents happened on the ground.
I wondered, what’s the way out? There’s got to be some path to live my life with dignity. So, I thought, maybe, if I work hard, be the best at what I do, bring pride to my nation, and become famous, I may be safe. I shall have a life then. My voice will then be heard and I will not be silenced.
When a teary-eyed Sakshi Malik, the first Indian woman wrestler to win a medal at the prestigious Olympics, said “I quit”, I lost hope. Because, many a time, what makes a woman cry is not the deeds of any culprit, but the ignorance of society, in responding to things that matter!
Is being born a woman in India a mistake? Is being India’s daughter the mistake? If not, please tell India’s daughters what they should do to have a life of dignity!
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