She Cries Softly To Herself In The Corner...

This is in reference to my friend Kierthi's recent blog entries 1 and 2, and the related link he posted in one of them.

I felt ashamed to be part of a class of beings capable of such dastardly acts. I kept picturing my mother, my sister and my friends in such a situation - the very thought of it was unbearable.

Why does our society blame the victims? Why do we make the victim undergo more trauma after what they've been through already? Why are crimes against women dealt with leniently? These incidents are not just fodder for trashy Indian movies - thousands of our women go through these every single day.

I remember an incident during my BTech days when I was travelling on a bus with some of my classmates (whom I didn't know very well). A guy standing next to the conductor was talking and laughing rather loudly. I didn't pay much attention to him at first, but I realized something was wrong when a classmate of mine started exchanging angry words with him. I then realized that he had been passing petty comments at my her and her companions. What had prevented me from realizing what was going on in the first place was that the conductor was joining in the fun, laughing with him. I spoke a few hesitating words to add to my classmate's mincing tones and the miscreant got off at the next bus stop.

My classmate, who later became one of my closest friends, stared long and hard at the conductor and got back to her idle chatter, with an air of impregnability surrounding her. The other men in the bus however, just looked at her as they would look at a freak.

Despite all the cynicism surrounding it, we are a indeed a long way from achieving empowerment of women. We have yet to accord them the most fundamental right of all - dignity.